question 1

“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger displays a different view of the 1950’s time period. Holden is not your average teen; he hates people and almost always finds a flaw to everyone, thus giving him a reason to think they are morons. Since he does not prefer to be around people, his view is rather completely different than most during this time period. It seemed that most people during this era wanted to move to the city, get a job, and just be surrounded by people. However, in Holden’s case he wants the complete opposite. He wants to escape the city, escape all the phonies and move to the wilderness to live in a cabin away from people who do not annoy him. This characteristic of Holden is greatly influenced by the author, J.D. Salinger who moved to Cornish to escape distractions and to avoid people. In this era however, like most teens his age, he is sent off to boarding school. After being kicked out, he spends a weekend in New York City having a blast and seeing all the sites and various attractions. Holden, on the other hand does not have a blast, he goes to a show, walks by Broadway, and tries to drink at about every place he passes by. He does not have a good time because he thinks that the shows and Broadway are all phonies. He spends most of his time just complaining about it and always finding something that annoyed him.