"The Catcher in the Rye": Comparison

     

Holden Caulfield walking the streets of NewYork alone.

Throughout my time spent blogging about the classic The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger, I honestly cannot help, but think of a similar, yet more modern piece of literature.  Stephen Chbosky's Perks of Being a Wallflower also tells of the personal struggles of an adolescent boy.  Truthfully, in my last blogs, I, working quite fast, would write "Charlie", then have to go back and change the writing to read "Holden".  The two both endure an intense sense of isolation though they are physically surrounded by many people.  Charlie uses thought to not participate, while Holden watches people and makes his own judgments.  Moreover,  Holden recalls a football game and says, " 'I remember around three o'clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill... You could see the whole field from there, and you could see the two teams bashing each other all over the place... You could hear them all yelling' " (Salinger,23).  So, Holden, is strictly watching the game from afar rather than connecting with those at his school.  The two teenagers know who they want to spend time with yet struggle to fulfill that wish.  Charlie enjoys hanging out with the outsiders of the school, but often finds himself inexperienced and naive to their behaviors and activities.  With Holden, he is always finding company with people who give him the time, such as the women in their thirties, the stripper he hires, the taxicab drivers, and the numerous"phonies".  But, the two admit how depressed the world makes them, which is what ultimately linked the two together for me.  All in all, although in different times, both Charlie and Holden are faced with similar teen issues.

Charlie from Perks of Being a Wallflower