To teach or not to teach Teenager, a word that was first incorporated into an everyday American’s vocabulary in the 1920s, due to the fact that there was not a word describing the adolescence ages of 13 to 19. While you do not have the responsibilities of being an adult, you also do not have the freedoms of being a child anymore. It was also brought into existence because this time period in an individual's life is when they are thought of as very rebellious. Teens want to drink, smoke, and even try to change the world, even if they are not even twenty. In Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield, is a teenager struggling through life and wanting more. This internal struggle, that is a pivotal part of this
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He has so many different sides to him, and in that, so many ways that he expresses his many emotions. One of his most raw moments is when he describes how, “I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going. I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all id do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be. I know it’s crazy.” (224-225) Holden wants nothing more in life in this moment other than catching people from going over the edge, he wants to save them. But not only this, it shows that its ok to need a catcher. Teens relate today because growing up has always been hard, but in some ways it's getting even harder today. As Katie Stryker states in article 1, “I highly doubt that my generation ever calls anyone ‘phonies,’ but that themes and emotions in the novel are timeless.” The idea that everyone needs a catcher in there lives and that it is important to be a catcher is still relevant today, and will be for the ages. People need catchers or they can end up hurting themselves or others. Holden struggles through the book and ends up in a mental hospital because he does not have a catcher, even though he is well over the edge. This novel should continue to be taught at THS because it shows how vital it is to have a catcher in your
He has so many different sides to him, and in that, so many ways that he expresses his many emotions. One of his most raw moments is when he describes how, “I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going. I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all id do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be. I know it’s crazy.” (224-225) Holden wants nothing more in life in this moment other than catching people from going over the edge, he wants to save them. But not only this, it shows that its ok to need a catcher. Teens relate today because growing up has always been hard, but in some ways it's getting even harder today. As Katie Stryker states in article 1, “I highly doubt that my generation ever calls anyone ‘phonies,’ but that themes and emotions in the novel are timeless.” The idea that everyone needs a catcher in there lives and that it is important to be a catcher is still relevant today, and will be for the ages. People need catchers or they can end up hurting themselves or others. Holden struggles through the book and ends up in a mental hospital because he does not have a catcher, even though he is well over the edge. This novel should continue to be taught at THS because it shows how vital it is to have a catcher in your