Salinger and the picaresque

[MalignD at aol.com]

<<... it concentrates on a crucial phase of late adolescence and specifically 
on some particular adventure or set of exploits that ignites an epiphany and 
propels the character into sudden manhood or womanhood. Perhaps we might
 call this form a "rite-of-passage" or "adolescent hero" novel. Examples 
would include Huckleberry Finn, Red Badge of Courage, and especially "The 
Bear" episode in Go Down, Moses. Holden C. would seem to present a late, 
ironic version of this sort of adolescent quester/picaro. >>

Nathanael West's, A Cool Million (or, The Dismantling of Lemuel Pitkin) is a 
horribly funny example, and a send-up of Horatio Alger.  

A book everyone should read.