"The Typical Abnormal Teen"

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view of the world; no one understands what is going on in his head.

Holden also uses colloquial speech instead of forming sentences with proper words and grammar. Many reviews of The Catcher in the Rye say Holden's words "accurately capture the informal speech of the average intelligent, educated, northeastern American adolescent". Most teenagers, today and when the book was written, use slang as a way to individualize themselves. It separates teenagers from adults and children.

The theme of materialism also gives insight to the average teenager. Many situations illustrate how absurd teenagers act over materialistic objects. This is particularly evident when Holden belabors the point of suitcases:

The thing is, it’s really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs – if yours are really good ones and theirs aren’t. You think if they’re intelligent and all, the other person, and have a good sense of humor, that they don’t give a damn whose ...

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