Year in and year out, millions of school aged kids across America read through their school's required reading list with the anticipation of agonizing essays and treacherous tests. While some of the selections on the reading list will make kids cringe, others will immediately win the hearts of these kids. These books will quickly become a staple in the literary diet. One of these heart winning books and a popular selection on required reading lists is The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Salinger's novel which The New Yorker calls, "A brilliant, funny and meaningful novel," is the second most taught book in American high schools. The Catcher in the Rye is widely taught because it expresses emotions and issues that adolescents and adults can relate to. The Catcher in the Rye deserves this standing because it withstands the test of time by still being relevant to the modern day teenager .
"I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth" (Salinger 213). While Salinger writes with sloppy syntax and crude diction, his descriptions of emotions leave a great impact on the reader. Though his words are simple, they have a profound meaning. The simplicity of his words are so profound because they don't dance around the point that Salinger conveys. They are blunt and raw with the emotions that an adolescent encounters on a daily basis. Adolescents are able to recognize that they aren't the only ones to experience the extremes of emotions. With recognizing the various emotions, adolescents can converse with their peers and teachers about their feelings towards school, friends and in general, life.
Salinger's simplistic way of expressing emotions is also used to address the issues that adolescents must deal with. The issue that is most commonly dealt with adolescents that is addressed in The Catcher in the Rye is the loss of innocence.
Americans have been envied since they have evolved. ... That's why Americans comes in different colors. ... In the 20th century Americans have changed dramatically. ... Americans has a reputation of being lazy and rude. ... In his essay "What is an American" he states that all Americans are of European descent and that people who comes to America lives a better life. ...
The song "America Town" by Five for Fighting tells a tale of contradiction on the positives and negatives of American life. ... "America Town"s lyrics capture a contradicting opinion of American life told through the eyes of the artist. ... But first I"ll take a nap tonight and know someone's looking out for me" shows how the artist is content with the feelings safety that America produces, and the line saying "but first I"ll take a nap tonight" shows how most Americans take for granted the safety in America and how only a certain percentage of Americans actually do anything to protec...
Are Americans really over the plane attacks of September 11? ... The destruction was supposed to rip America apart. ... Some Arab Americans began to discover the other side of American life. Arab Americans started to feel that they were being profiled. ... September 11 is a day that Americans will never forget. ...
Fear has consumed the United States of America. ... America's violence was committed by America's people. ... America has a reputation of self-centeredness and superiority. ... Getting to that point will take as long as Americans push it. ... It is important that Americans overcome their fears. ...
Why can't America just mind their own business, and stop getting involved in everyone else's. ... Is it true though that American is the only super power in the World? Yes, many people believe this, and even if so, they shouldn't get too used to having America always on their back. "Although that belief is reported around the world, our officers attribute that to Americans and not necessarily to the rest of the world's belief." Now this isn't fair, because America has and still is trying to do their best to solve other countries problems, before they even try to solve ...
Let America Be America Again Langston Hughes The Poem "Let America Be America Again" is a very emotional and moving poem. It was most likely written around the same time slavery ended in America. ... The poem speaks of America's dream for freedom and for all to be equal. ... America is supposed to be a land of freedom and opportunity but this was not the America so many experienced. ... The character does say though that "America will be" to him meaning he is determined to live in the America that this poem speaks about the one where he can live free the one without greed th...
In the film "An American Tail" there is a song that includes the lyrics, " there are no cats in America and the streets are paved with cheese". ... In the first part of the lyrics they describe an America were there are no cats. One of the ways I took this as was that there is no war in America. ... This could mean one thing that every one in America is rich and everyone has job. ... This is why I think that their actions were truly American....
For countless immigrants, the struggle to arrive in America was rivaled only by the struggle to gain acceptance among the existing American population. It has been said that immigration is as old as America itself. ... At that time, the Americas had been settled by the Indians, who were soon threatened by the first immigrants of America. ... In America, they earned 50 cents to one dollat in a day, doubling their paycheck. ... Americans accused the Chinese of almost everything possible. ...
