Holden Caulfield as a Universal Teenager

In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger leads us into the mind of Holden Caulfield, a troubled teenager, as he gets kicked out of school and struggles to hold onto himself. Throughout this journey, we see that Holden's feelings and actions are quite relatable and he is depicted as a universal teenager.

Within the first few chapters of the novel, it's easy to relate to Holden and see how he's similar to a lot of teenagers. For instance, he's judgmental of his peers and criticizes their looks and personalities. He describes Robert Ackley, and the terrible characteristics about him. Holden says, "He had a lot of pimples. Not just on his forehead or his chin, like most guys, but all over his whole face. And not only that, he had a terrible personality. He was also sort of a nasty guy" (Salinger 19). Many teens, no matter how hard they try to deny it, will make judgements about people and criticize them behind their backs. It's human to judge, and teenagers happen to do it quite often.

Holden is also shown to be a universal teenager because of how he feels about religion. In one part, he is in his hotel room, trying to pray, but can't. He says, "I can't always pray when I feel like it. In the first place, I'm sort of an atheist. I like Jesus and all, but I don't care too much for most of the other stuff in the Bible" (Salinger 99). It seems that many teenagers struggle with religion and go through a phase of figuring out what they believe in, or if they believe in anything at all. It's a common process for teens. We want to know more about the world and its creations; we want answers; we want acceptance. And through this journey, we find our answers, whether it's in Christianity, Agnosticism, Atheism, or whatever religion (or lack-there-of) you choose to follow. There are a lot of controversial things in the Bible, so it's very common for teens to not care for it, especially since nowadays it conflicts with many morals and beliefs of people.

Holden is also a good example of a universal teenager because of his depression and how he tries to cope with it. Holden is very depressed and feels lonely. It's hard for him to connect with people and talk to someone. Especially since he's on his own through a good portion of the book, it's hard for him to find someone to actually talk to. He asks the prostitute for conversation instead of sex, but she just leaves him since he didn't want anything physical. To cope with not having anyone around him, he smokes and drinks a lot. He drinks and it fills a void; it makes him feel numb so that he doesn't have to realize how depressed he is. Although it shouldn't happen, there are many teens who try to drink away their problems so they can feel something other than sadness. Teens who are depressed and try to find outlets to make them feel better - whether it is drinking or something else - can relate to Holden's feelings and the thoughts running through his mind. When you're at an all-time low like him, there's nothing in your mind except for negative thoughts and ideas of how to feel numb or just disappear. Depression is a relatable feeling, no matter if it's only a little bit or if it's severe.

Holden Caulfield is a relatable character for many teens. J.D. Salinger really did a good job at depicting someone who can be a universal teenager.

Personal Reaction to Ken Kesey's Characters

Throughout Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, there is a development of the characters McMurphy and Big Nurse, and the war the ensues between them.

Big Nurse runs everything around the ward like a machine. She makes sure it's done right, and doesn't seem to care about the patients. Everyone listens to her; what she says is law. The patients certainly don't questions her, nor do the other staff members. Big Nurse ultimately rules, and has the most power.

Then McMurphy gets brought in, and starts changing the way things work around the ward. He doesn't put up with Big Nurse's rules like everyone else, but rather challenges them continuously. He talks back and questions Big Nurse's methods of therapy and how she runs it all.

Big Nurse's therapy sessions emasculate the men and makes them feel bad about themselves. McMurphy refers to it as a "bunch of chickens at a peckin' party" (Kesey 55). He basically means that Big Nurse is pecking at their private parts, or trying to make them less manly, so that she can continue to control them without any problems.

McMurphy, on the other hand, treats the men much better. He talks to them as if there is nothing wrong. He takes them on fishing trips that make them truly happy and plays card games with them that boosts their morale. Chief even describes the laughter on the fishing trip as "a laughter that rang out on the water in ever-widening circles, farther and farther, until it crashed up on beaches all over the coast, on beaches all over all coasts, in wave after wave after wave" (Kesey 212). They've never experienced such fun while being in the ward until McMurphy came along.

McMurphy is definitely more therapeutic for the men. He makes them feel normal, not belittled like Big Nurse makes them feel. He actually tries to boost their happiness and enjoyment in life, which makes them feel all-around better. Big Nurse, it seems, tries to make the men feel worse. She talks down to them, doesn't let them do anything that would make them remotely happy, and makes them feel useless, especially in therapy. The men feel better with McMurphy, it's easily seen.

As for who's more powerful, it's hard to say. While Big Nurse has her staff that she's trained to listen to her and can control very easily, McMurphy manages to get under her skin and make her frazzled so that he's able to help the men more. Big Nurse has her staff, but McMurphy has himself, which ultimately wins, in my opinion. The only way he was beat was by cheating on Big Nurse's part. I feel as though McMurphy was more powerful, though.