Evaluation:
Published: 19.05.2004.
Language: English
Level: Secondary school
Literature: n/a
References: Not used
  • Essays 'The Contemporary North American Teenager', 1.
Extract

Holden displays all of those behaviours and attitudes in Salinger's novel.
<Tab/>After primary school, Holden has been sent to prep school after prep school. The reason is attributed to him dropping out continuously. This could be seen as a call for attention from his parents. It also shows that his parents do not really care about his achievements in school. In the scene where Holden sneaks into his family's apartment to visit his sister, Phoebe, it demonstrates the absentness of his parents. At a time when he needed someone to talk to and confide in, his parents were not even home. When they did come home, and his mother smelt the cigarette smoke in Phoebe's room, she did not really show any concern when Phoebe claimed she had lit it.
<Tab/>Holden is not open to change and is not prepared for it. …

Author's comment
Atlants