Universal Themes - The Catcher in the Rye

In my opinion, the theme of a book is the message that the book is trying to get acrossed to the reader.  It is a very key component to the book, because it can be very powerful to whether the book is good or bad.  In The Catcher in the Rye, the theme that I got out of the book, was that of how hard it is to grow up.  I as a kid look at my family and think that my life will be just as successful, but I do not realize what is coming.  You have to get a good education, and pick a job that you think you will be good at and one that will support you and your family, if you intend to have those plans.  Not everything will be handed down to, and kids do not realize that.  Just like in Holden's case, he is struggling to live (not in a death kind of way).  He is struggling in school, and is searching for ways to fit in to that category of growing adult.  A perfect example is of Holden's sex life.  He realizes that more and more kids are having sex and he wants to be able to say the same things and to fit in, but he struggles with the concept.   "Sex is something I just don't understand. I swear to God I don't." (Salinger, 82).  He is struggling with what sex is.  It is a hard concept for him, because it seems like everybody else is doing it, and he is not. 
I think that the universal theme ties in with what the author understands about human nature.  I think that when he was a kid, he may of had some of the same problems that Holden did growing up.  I believe that Salinger understands that growing up and becoming a grownup is not an easy concept to grasp and to overcome.  You have to work at it.

Bibliography

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.