Free Essays - Holden and Modern Teenagers :: Catcher Rye Essays

The Catcher in the Rye - Holden and Modern Teenagers The characteristics of Holden from the book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, will be compared to the "modern teenager". The characteristics of both sets of teenagers are basically similar, but in some parts, they are different. I chose myself as the modern teenager to be compared to Holden. There will be four major subjects to be talked about in the essay. The main subjects that are going to be discussed in this essay are academics, family, experiences and slang. I thought these four categories are interesting and easy to explain. In school, we are very similar in many ways. Both of us do not do well academically. We both have problems with grades in our classes. Holden failed four out of five of his classes while I failed none. But instead I received four "C's" from four out of eight of my classes. Although Holden has problems with grades, ironically he does well in his English. Holden stated, "I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot." (p.18) Reading books improves your grammar and vocabulary. This was be the reason why Holden does well in his English class. I do not read much and therefore I have problems in my grammar. The family background of Holden and I are fairly similar, both of us come from opulent families. Holden and I are both very lucky to be studying in eminent institutions. Unfortunately, Holden does not take this advantage. Holden's mind is elsewhere in a reverie, day dreaming how to save the virtuous children from the evil. While studying away from his family makes Holden's relationship with his family worst. I study in a private school with my sister and we go home every day and meet our parents when we get home. Since Holden does not spend quality time with his parents long enough, he rarely talked about them in the book. Holden even wrote about his brother in a negative way, "Now he's out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute."(p.2) Using the word prostitute means a lot, maybe he did not know him as much as he needed to. Unlike me, I will never insult my sister a prostitute because that is like insulting yourself.