Shakespeare: "If you really want to hear about it... the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born... and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it." Welcome, dear listeners, to Timeless Pages! I am William Shakespeare, exploring J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye." Shakespeare: This remarkable tale chronicles a few chaotic days in the life of Holden Caulfield, a troubled teenager who, after being expelled from yet another boarding school, wanders through post-war New York City grappling with the painful transition to adulthood and decrying the ‘phoniness’ he perceives everywhere. Shakespeare: The paramount theme here is Holden's profound alienation. He feels disconnected, driven by his fierce opposition to what he calls the ‘phoniness’ of the adult world. He scorns his school's empty ideals and his brother's Hollywood success as selling out. His encounters, from strangers to failed phone calls, just highlight his isolation. This resonated deeply in post-war America, an era grappling with conformity and a potential loss of authentic values – precisely what Holden rebels against. Does this not echo today? In our age of carefully curated online lives, Holden’s cry against ‘phoniness’ feels incredibly current, reflecting the modern search for authenticity in a seemingly artificial landscape. Shakespeare: What makes this tale endure? Like my own Prince Hamlet, young Holden is caught in an existential crisis, questioning the very fabric of society. His sharp internal monologue reminds one of my own Jacques, observing that "all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." Holden sees the performances but longs for something real. Its classic status comes from this raw, unfiltered voice capturing adolescent disillusionment. Perhaps Holden's urge to be the ‘catcher in the rye,’ protecting innocence, finds a modern echo not just in parenting, but in our collective anxiety about preserving truth itself from falling off the cliff in an age of overwhelming digital noise and misinformation. Shakespeare: Holden’s quest remains unfinished, a mirror perhaps to our own search for what is true. Where do we find authenticity when the stage is vast and the players many? This is William Shakespeare for Timeless Pages.