Introduction

At first glance, Holden Caulfield may seem like just an ungrateful jerk who hates the world. However,  Holden's character has multiple layers to his personality, and as each layer is exposed he becomes more and more sympathetic. At times he may seem like an overbearing parent trying to protect his child from everything in the world, and at others, he may be a 17 year old boy who just wants to know where the ducks went. I believe that we can all relate to Holden Caulfield in one way or another. We don't have to be a rich guy from the 1950's to see things the way Holden does. Teenagers nowadays face the same problems that Holden did in the book: depression, loneliness, the death of a loved one and the unwillingness to grow up. The Catcher in the Rye shows us that no matter the time period, all teenagers encounter the same issues.