2. What did you learn about the novels time period?

Throughout the novel Catcher in the Rye, I learned about a lot of new history facts that took place before and during the novel that really interested me. Once I was finished reading the Catcher in the Rye, which was based in New York, 1940s, I took the time to research and discover the background behind the exquisite novel. I learned things such as World War II was over, and the boys had finally come home, but not to a glorious life like what they expected. When they returned home, Financially, life had improved significantly for the average worker since the Great Depression of the 1930s, but inflation presented new problems. The political scene generally moved toward conservatism near the end of the 1940s and into the 1950s which was the time period of the novel, but there were noteworthy exceptions. The atomic bomb, which many had considered a blessing when it quickly ended the war with Japan, was increasingly seen as a curse. Culturally, the United States was both conservative and liberal but leaning increasingly to the right. So as you can see, I learned a lot of new historical facts throughout this novel and it not only educated me more, it got me more interested and researching more American historical events.