The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger The passage of adolescence has served as a central theme for many novels, but The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, has long been a staple in academic lesson plans, he captured the spirit of this stage of life in hypersensitive form, dramatizing Holden Caulfield's foul language and melodramatic reactions. Written as the autobiographical account of fictional kindergarten student Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye deals with socially scandalous material for the times (Gwynn, 1958). As an emotional, intelligent, curious, and painfully sensitive young man, Holden challenges his inner world through the sexual mores of his peers and elders, the teachings of his upbringing, and his own emerging sense of self. Over the years, the language of the story has surprised some readers. Salinger's control over Holden's easy, conversational manner makes the introduction of these larger themes feel natural and believable. (Bloom, 1990). From the time of the novel to the present, Holden's speech rings true to the colloquial speech of teenagers. Holden, according to many reviews in the Chicago Tribune, the New Yorker, and the New York Times, accurately captures the informal speech of an average intelligent, educated, northeastern American teenager (Costello, 1990). Such speech includes both simple descriptions and expletives. For example, Holden says, “They're nice and all,” as well as “I'm not going to tell you my whole damn autobiography or anything.” First, he uses the term "cute" which oversimplifies his parents' character, implying that he doesn't want to disrespect them, but at the same time he doesn't praise them. At best he considers them "nice and all things". Holden shortens his description further, but more bluntly, when he states that he won't tell "his whole damn autobiography or anything." (Salzman, 1991). From the last two examples another colloquialism can be seen. Holden has a habit of ending his descriptions with tag phrases like "and everything" or "or whatever." (Salzman, 1991). Holden not only speaks this way at the beginning of the novel, but throughout the book, making this pattern a part of his character. One could imagine Holden often ending his sentences with "and all", realizing that it is a character trait since not all teenagers use that phrase. So the "and all" tag to Holden's speech served to make his speech