In The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger utilizes several thematic devices and motifs to convey the difficulty of growing up to the reader. The question still remains, however: “Is The Catcher in the Rye a good book and should I read it?”
To this question, the answer is probably yes, not because I liked it, but because it’s a challenge of concentration and empathy. In The Catcher in the Rye, the reader is not only challenged to lift the weight of understanding the overarching themes of the narrative, but is also tricked into empathizing with the mentally insane, an important life skill that we all do every day. On top of this, I also think it’s a well written book with several themes working subliminally to deliver an astounding final blow.
