it seems to me that teens may >have somewhat, or somehow, inciteful views on Salinger, and his characters >(especially Holden, knowing where he's coming from). > Wisdom isn't necessarily confined to the Advanced In Earth Years; I've known plenty of teenagers who were many times wiser than the Oldest people I know... The general problem I've found, however, with the General Teenage Reading of Catcher--being a rather recently emancipated teen myself--is that teens DO relate to Holden so much. I think as you get a little bit older, you see that Catcher might not have been intended so much as a Doctrine of the True and Decent of Heart as an observation of a very disturbed young man and the very sad adult world in which he lives. Oddly enough, Catcher began to mean a lot more to me after I began to discover that Holden isn't necessarily right about everything, he shouldn't necessarily be followed like a Christ...that he serves more as a sort of Fresh View of our Society. Brendan Free web-based email, Forever, From anywhere! http://www.mailexcite.com