The Catcher in the Rye: What universal themes does this book address? What does the author understand about human nature?

“Do you feel absolutely no concern for your future, boy?”  

“Oh, I feel some concern for my future, all right. Sure. Sure I do." I thought about it for a minute. “But   not too much, I guess. Not too much, I guess.”

“You will,” old Spencer said. “You will, boy. You will when it’s too late.”

That dialogue from the book was taken from page 14, when Holden was being talked to my Mr. Spencer about his future and his failure at school. One of the themes this book addresses is the fact that everyone must take responsibility in their lives and become mature. Holden, from the start, is not a responsible kid at all. He mentions forgetting the fencing team equipment on the subway (Salinger pg.2), and later on, this discussion with Mr.Spencer reveals how irresponsible he is in school. Mr. Antolini, a teacher he meets later, tells Holden that this irresponsibility is going to lead to his fall. He says. “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” (Salinger pg,188) Soon after he says, “I think that one of these days, you’re going to have to find out where you want to go. And then you’ve got to start going there. But immediately. You can’t afford to lose a minute. Not you.” (Salinger pg.188) Holden has to take responsibility and become more mature in his actions, or he’s going to only make things worse for himself. It is unavoidable. In order to succeed in life, you have to take responsibility. You have to choose which actions to take, and choose wisely.

Salinger understands SO MUCH about human nature. You can tell this because of how his character Holden acts. Salinger understands that all people in this world have a hard time growing up. Becoming responsible for yourself is a hard thing to do, and people can relate to Holden in a way because he struggles with these pressures throughout the novel. Its difficult deciding where you want to go and what choices you should make in your life, especially when you are young. It’s only human nature to fear the unknown and to also fear the outcome of your choices. Holden is the same way. He doesn’t know what his life is going to turn out like. In fact, he gets so frightened, he even thinks about running away and escaping everything. (Salinger pg. 200) Salinger also understands that it’s human nature to reject things that seem fake, or phony. We naturally want people to be REAL. To be genuine. Holden fights this problem with “phonyness”, and is extremely judgmental of people.        Holden is just another human, and he suffers the same nature as us all.       

            Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.