Catcher in the Rye- Question 8

The questions I will be answering are “How accurately does this novel reflect events in history? What responsibilities does the author believe exist between various groups in society, such as workers and bosses, men and women, blacks and whites, etc.? What people, ideas, and events probably influenced this author?” from the book Catcher in the Rye. The book itself really did not have any historical events displayed at all. The book was just a story of a young boy and his struggles. There were not historical events to even comment on whether they are accurate or not. So in this case I can just say that the book was neither accurate nor inaccurate when it came to actual events in history. The book just didn’t really need to have specific events because it would not have furthered the story. In fact I believe it would have hindered it because it would make it meaning be sidetracked. Holden is very socially awkward and the book was in first person so there was little talk of other people. The only real responsibly in society I could see was given through the teachers. It was their responsibility to help the children in all aspects of their life. This was a huge thing for Holden because they were the ones that really affected him in the time in his life that the book displayed. By how the book was written he was probably very influenced by his teenage years. Since the book is all about the years of being a teenager the author must have had his own experiences in dealing with these times. Maybe he was exactly like Holden and that’s why it seemed such effortless writing when it came to writing about Holden. It could also be that he was the complete opposite and wrote from the stand point of what he was not and saw of other students or maybe even another student in particular. I can’t really find much other things the author could have been influenced by in the book.