Catcher In The Rye Theme Essay

The theme of childhood is present in the four above named novels, but portrayed differently in a number of ways whether it be dealing with poverty, growing up, change, poverty or identity. Each novels shows how each character adapts to their situation as they get older. In Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, the portrayal of childhood is showed in the style of a memoir, unlike most memoirs he tells us the story as if one was there in the moment. This in turn lets us as the reader see the changes in his mind set from his childhood to early adulthood. Like McCourt, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is also told in the form of a protagonist which includes actual moments from his early life. Similarly, Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia the portrayal of childhood is seen through the eyes of the protagonist Karim, this novel is also autobiographical as it includes challenges faced as a mixed race child in London during the 1970’s. Like the other novels Roddy Doyle’s Paddy Clarke Ha Ha is said to be somewhat autobiographical “Fiction remains at the heart of the text, despite its constant references to real events and real people”. Having said that Roddy Doyle’s style of writing is one which gives the reader a …show more content…
Holden is a teenager who chooses to be stuck between the complex world of childhood and adulthood. Holden hates change, we see this when he visits the Museum of Natural History. Holden enjoys the museum because it will always remain the same, this can be looked at metaphorically as the museum stays frozen. Holden too wants to stay frozen and never reach adulthood. The title of the novel itself is also metaphorical, he wants to be The Catcher in the Rye. This means he wants to be the person who will catch the kids that will fall off the cliff covered in rye, this is metaphor as Holden wants to save kids before the fall into the corrupt “phony” world of