Looking beyond the vulgar language and "adult- topics, the theme of materialism provides insight to the average reader, and it is one reason why The Catcher in the Rye should not be censored .
from high schools. Salinger uses clever mockery to illustrate how inane teenagers act over materialistic objects. This is particularly evident when Holden elaborates about 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 suitcases are better, but they do. They really do. It's one of the reasons why I roomed with a stupid bastard like Stradlater. At least his suitcases were as good as mine. (109).
Through Holden's voice, Salinger purposefully makes him appear foolish, deriding teenagers' penchant for materialistic objects. Salinger draws a connection to young adults through the protagonist's materialism, compelling the teenager to scrutinize his or her own shallowness. Salinger illustrates how mindless Holden behaves when he and his roommate ask to be separated, not because they do not like each other, but because one has inferior suitcases. Not only does the adolescent reader think Holden is dotty, but the reader also espies the puerile and silly preoccupation with materialistic articles within himself or herself. The theme of materialism in The Catcher in the Rye allows teenagers to witness how comatose their demand for materialistic objects is, a necessary apprehension for adolescents who are making the passage into adulthood. .
Another cardinal notion for teenagers who are entering adulthood is the central theme of The Catcher in the Rye, the loss of innocence. The theme of loss of innocence is constitutive to teenagers because it teaches them not to grow up so posthaste.
