The Catcher in the Rye: Holden vs. Consumer Culture

The transformation of industrial city into modern city entailed the change in the dominant nature of the city from the site of production to that of consumption. In the postmodern city, the trend accelerated, or better to say, heightened into "mass consumption". Consumption is no longer considered a routine and banal activity. It is rather a consciously and unconsciously affected affair that is engaged in continuous dialogue with the most vital issues of contemporary urban life such as identity, aspirations, class status and culture. This is the context into which Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye was born and thrived; therefore, it should be conceived in the same context.