Holden Caulfield: Not a typical teenager
             In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher and the Rye, a young boy struggles through his teenage years. Some commentators have argued that Holden Caulfield is a typical sixteen-year-old. I disagree with that statement and believe Holden was far from a normal teen. He showed several traits of a troubled child and went through many hard times.
             Holden is a troubled and unreliable teenager. First of all he fails out of four schools. Not many typical sixteen-year-olds flunk out of four schools. Holden shows complete apathy toward his future as well. He has no plans for his life and could care less about what happens to him. Holden should be concerned for his future, developing ideas for his life. Most teens of his age are beginning to plan their future and have ideas for college. None of this ever crosses his mind. Holden is hospitalized and is visited by a psychoanalyst for an unspecified complaint. At his age, this seems very strange, unlike a typical teenager. Sometimes problems do occur, but a typical teenage life does not consist of this. With all that has occurred in school, at home, and in Holden's mind, I don't see how anyone can say he is a typical sixteen-year-old. Having fun and enjoying life is what most normal sixteen-year-olds should do.
             The most noticeable of Holden's "peculiarities" is how extremely judgmental he is of almost everything and everybody. He criticizes and philosophizes about people who are boring, people who are insecure, and, above all, people who are "phony." Holden carries this penchant for passing judgment to such an extreme that it often becomes funny. Once he speculates that
             people are so rude that someone will probably write obscene words on his tombstone. No human
             being would ever write such things on someone's grave. Holden thinks the worst of everyone he meets and never gives people a chance. Holden a
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