J D Salinger

Wednesday marked the passing of an icon for all lost, alienated, confused and lonely teenagers. Jerome David Salinger, celebrated, yet reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye died at the age of 91.

Known for The Catcher in the Rye, he also wrote other stories, often looking at life, families and growing up (both literally and emotionally). He was a notorious recluse, his privacy something he held so dear that he entered legal battles to maintain it, and never parted with the rights of his work (hence why there has never been a film version of Holden Caulfield).

I've always been a reader, and so it was inevitable that at the age of about 15 I would read his most well-known book. Often referred to as a Bildungsroman, it traces the events, thoughts and feelings of Holden Caulfield, the main character.

And yet it is strangely opposed to the concept of a typical bildungsroman, which traditionally traces the maturity, and the journey to adulthood from adolescence. The Catcher in the Rye seems more focused on what is lost during this transition, rather than what is gained. Caulfield is in a constant battle against growing up. He is lost, indecisive, always looking back and idealising innocence and youth.

The book represents the confusion and fear of adolescence, of growing up, of sex; it embodies the constant state of flux and imbalance one feels as a teenager. Perhaps this is why Holden Caulfield seems to unanimously appeal to teenagers the world over. There is something about him that actually speaks to the reader, in a way that is so direct, so real that it is impossible not to identify with him. For me it is his superiority, which is actually a mask for insecurity and a form of self-preservation; a quality that I so easily recognise in myself, both in adolescence and at times in adulthood.

And so to Mr Salinger, though you have departed, Holden Caulfield still lives on, forever appealing to the awkward teenager.