1). "Treat You Better" By Shawn Mendes
For one of the songs that would be on Holden Caufield´s playlist I chose ¨Treat You Better¨ by Shawn Mendes. The song tells the story of how a boy has a girl he really likes but she ends up with someone else, and the boy knows that he is not the right one but instead himself. I felt like this song would be a good fit for the scene where Holden is sitting in the hotel remembering Jane Gallagher, and how he believes the Jane and Stradlater should not be together because Holden knows that he "...can treat you {Jane} better than he {Stradlater} can"(Mendes 9). Holden describes how much the idea of Jane and Stradlater together bothers him when "Every time I got to the part about her out with Stradlater in that damn Ed Banky's car, it almost drove me crazy"(Salinger 80). This especially applies when Holden finds out that Jane is "abused" by her stepfather, and after that moment Holden just wants to comfort her and "...give you {Jane} the loving that you're {she's} missing"(Mendes 18). Holden knows the kind of care Jane likes because he's been with her, he just wishes he could have her back.
2). "Here I go Again" By White snake
The second song I chose was "Here I Go Again" by White Snake. This song talks about a person who was born to just be alone and just drift around from place to place looking for hope. I felt that this song applied to the scene where Holden has had enough of Pencey Prep and decides to pack up his things and leave for New York. The lines "An' I've made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time" really tie into how Holden is fed up with the people and vibe at Pencey Prep, so he makes up his mind to waste no more time there and leave for something else. We see this when Holden tells us that when "All of the sudden, I decided what I'd really do, I'd get the hell out of Pencey-right that same night and all. I just didn't want to hang around any more"(Salinger 51). Holden knows he wants to go to the city but he doesn't really know why and what he is going to do or get into. That's where the lines" I don't know where I'm going, but I sure known where I've been" tie into this scene. As Holden packs and walks to the train station, leaving his school, he doesn't know what New York has in store for him but he does know that it must be better than what he has been going through.
3). "Good Riddance(Time of Your Life)" By Green Day
The song "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day, talks about how life gives you challenges and things you don't want to do like growing up. I feel that it preaches that we should hold on to the good times always, so the hard times seem easier in a sense. Although we may move on from the things we know, the good times will always be in our minds. This would tie into the scene where Holden and Phoebe are at the zoo. Holden watches as his little sister rides around the carousel, and finds tears coming to his eyes because it reminds him of his childhood and the innocence of it, but these thoughts make him happy, "I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth"(Salinger 213). In the song the lyrics read, "So take the photographs and still frames in your mind, hang it on a shelf and good health and good time", I believe this means that we should take the good past memories and put to a higher standard to help ease our pains sometimes. This correlates into the story in the sense that Holden will use his memories of a great childhood to help cope with the difficult process of growing, which we know Holden seems to come to terms with at the end of the book.
4). "Shut Up" By Simple Plan
The song "Shut Up" by Simple Plan talks about most likely a young man who is upset about how everyone is constantly telling him what to do and how to live his life. He believes he is the only one that knows what is best for him and his life. The correlation is very evident throughout the story, specifically when Holden receives advice from Old Spencer. We see this in the story when Old Spencer asks, "What's the matter with you, boy?" Old Spencer said. He said it pretty tough, too, for him"(Salinger 10). In this scene Old Spencer is criticizing Holden for plunking out of Pencey, this ties into the message of the song when, "You think you know what everyone needs, you always take time to criticize me". Everything Spencer says to Holden just seems to go in one ear and out the next, he doesn't want to here any of it. Clearly, Holden acts like he is adult enough to know what he wants, but in reality should probably listen to any advice given.
5). "She Will Be Loved" By Maroon 5
The song "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5, is a story about a girl who has kinda been through a lot and this guy who just wants her to be happy, and will do anything to make her feel loved. This guy knows everything about this girl and loves her to death. I feel that this ties into the relationship between Holden and Jane. Holden seems to know everything there is to know about Jane even the little things like how she "...used to keep all of her kings in the back" while playing chess(Salinger 31). This songs ties in through the lyrics as they read, "Know all the things that make you who you are". We also that Jane has had a pretty bad childhood, "Anyway Old Jane wouldn't answer him when he asked her if she knew where there was any cigarettes"(Salinger 78), and Holden catches onto this quickly and feels bad for her so he started to "... kiss her all over"(Salinger 79). Holden does these things because I believe he feels bad for Jane and just wants to make her feel loved, "And she will be loved".