The Catcher in the Rye A perspective from the

1950sEnglish 11

The Catcher in the RyeAuthor: J.D. Salinger

Introducing literature’s most cynical teenager: circa 1951…

The 1950s

The classic American familyTraditional roles:Dad was the only provider and head of the houseMom was a stay at home type; tended to: cooking, cleaning and child raisingKids spent most of their time outdoors exploring their community (it was safe)

And the TEENS?Education was much less of a priority than it is

todayIf you finished high school, college was a

relatively infrequent opportunity• Getting a job and getting married straight out

of high school were much more common• Anyone interested in this way of life?

What changed?

After World War II ended in 1945, the conventional family structure and roles started to take on different perspectives:• Victorious war effort left the U.S. much more

financially stable…people had money again! • And what do people do when they have money?

WE WIN!

Spend it!In the late 1940s & early 50s, there were two consumer products that helped to create a modern concept of the teenager:

The televisionThe automobile

So….• How would an increase in TV and car

purchases change families?• More specifically, how would these

purchases impact teenagers?• Discuss…

TVs/Hollywood• Advertising created demographics (men, women, old, young, AND… the teen)• “Family time” changed• Different shows appealed to different ages• Music became more and more “rebellious”

1950s 2000s

Anne

Leo

Marilyn

James

Elvis Presley

Justin Timberlake

CarsMore accessible + more affordableDetract from familySense of freedomImages of “cool”Emergence of fast foodPossibilities for drinking + sex

The new Teenager• Basically, the 1950s was the inception period of

“the modern teenager” • Holden Caulfield, the narrator of The Catcher in the

Rye, is arguably the first ‘modern’ teenager of literature