Runaways Caught in the Rye Lost in the System essays

Runaways Caught in the Rye Lost in the System essays The novel by J.D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye portrays a disaffected youth named Holden Caulfield whom has recently been expelled from his preparatory school for his poor academic performance. Caulfield has also failed to socially thrive within the narrow confines of his school. Thus, Caulfield must return home to his parent's apartment, but not before he essentially runs amuck for several days in New York City, living in a transient fashion. However, he is not relegated to the street. Caulfield is of an affluent Manhattan family, as his status in preparatory school attests to. His adventures revolve around him attending swanky nightclubs and staying overnight in motels and talkingand just talkingto prostitutes. Eventually, Caulfield must return home, mainly because he desires see his beloved younger sister Phoebe, before he is shipped off to a mental institution, a status he notes at the beginning and the end of the In some ways, however, Caulfield is not so different from many young runaways today of very different socioeconomic status. Although he is from a wealthy family, he feels a strong sense of moral and social alienation from his parents as well as the peer groups of his generation that he is exposed to. He frequently dissociates from his outer lying problems, such as the fact that he is flunking out of school, rather than attempts to actively engage with them. Holden prefers to live in a world of his own internal creation, rather than the real world' in a strategy that is anything but psychologically and socially healthy. Although heterosexualmany young runaways are gay, lesbian, or transgenderHolden's assurance in his sexuality seems confused. This is evident of his contempt and conflict his more conventionally sexed and confident male roommates. His behavior towards the pr...