Answer:
The US population was increasingly literate in the 1950's. School was more and more accessible to the population and the government was making a push for more children to go to school. Enter Catcher in the Rye, a story that's target audience was teenagers in a time when young adult fiction didn't exist.
Explanation:
Of the several important and compelling themes in The Catcher in the Rye, the one that seems to underscore all the others is the novel's presentation of the effects of grief. What drives Holden to drop out of school, to roam the streets of New York, to put himself in danger and to find some human connection?
The simplest answer to this question is that Holden is still deeply affected by the loss of his younger brother, Allie. In wandering about the streets of New York and in asking where the ducks go in the winter, Holden is most likely trying to come to terms with his brother's death.
