The Catcher in the Rye

I disliked this book when I read it, I was uncomfortable being in Holden's mind and it was a place I knew I never wanted to visit again, once was more than enough. I read it when I was in my teens and kept expecting the good stuff to show up, to justify or explain the popularity of the book, but it never did. I have no idea why so many think this is such a classic, I found it depressing, tedious and boring. I had zero sympathy for Holden, and while I never wished him ill, I thought his problems were all of his own making, he did not need any outside help to contribute to his angst, it was always there if its own accord. Reading the book felt like walking down a filthy street in a slum with overflowing garbage cans and the fug that goes with it and no salavation in sight and I was SO glad when it ended! However, as they say, "chacun a son gout" so I will leave the words of the miserable teen to others who have a bigger tolerance and appreciation for that sort of thing.

This book was reveals some very interesting, sometimes revolting, and in-depth character development. The book starts off explaining Holden Callufields' life and why he's in his current predicament. The rest of the book explains the next 3-4 days and what goes on between them. A whole range of emotions is presented in these days and reveals the confusion of his immature teen self. He goes through prostitues, tons of ciggaretes, and has a depressing adventure through New York.

One reason I like this book is because the way things are always happening. Holden is a character that supports this aspect of the book and is almost always on the move. I also liked how Holden is not perfect like in many books. This book shows you the darkside of life and the dangers of pyschological depression. It really makes you feel bad for Holden and wish the others in the book can help him in the right way, when there isn't a good way to help him in entirety.

Holden really does feel real when I find myself thinking about him. He makes realistic decisions and you find yourself hoping for him to do something and he does it. When he doesn't do something you want him to do it just makes you even more exicted to see what he will do next.

I just don't get it. This was one of the most boring reads ever. I had to force myself to finish the book, short as it is. When I was 16 or 17, I knew who I was and what I wanted from life. I can find no basis for identifying with any of Holden's psychotic mental rantings. If you find yourself groundless and life to be a bewildering chaos, then maybe you can find some connection with this character, but I, for one, find Holden to be a narcissistic whiner, and I find this "classic" to be a complete disappointment. Oh, and for the reviewers who carry on about the symbolism: ok, it's there, but I think the "deep" symbolism that you gush over is trivial. But then, I'm a little jaded because one of my best friends wrote a novel that made the NYT Best Seller list; he says he did not purposely put ANY symbolism whatsoever into his story, but found that he later had to invent some in order to massage the egos of reviewers and readers who just KNEW that it was rife with multiple layers of symbolism. Wait a minute...maybe Sallinger did have a valid point, after all, with his treatment of society's phoniness. The bottom line for me: this book receives a ton of positive press, and I would love to have liked it, but the honest truth is I hated it.

i must have forgotten to read some part of this book -- what makes it a classic? it's a first hand account of a high school drop out who has too much money in his pocket and too much time on his hands. with all its sex and foul language, teenage boys will certainly find this book fascinating. but if you want a "coming of age" book, read anne frank's diary (or mad magazine) instead.

I've read the Glass family saga by Salinger and, while I don't LIKE them, I find them infinitely more mature, more satisfying, and less juvenile.

I don't find that Holden ever LEARNS anything in this book. In a novel about the coming of age of the narrator, something should happen that makes him or her learn that their former point of view was wrong and immature. Nothing happens in this book that does that.

Instead, we are "treated" to a young man who is tall and has gray hair. Indeed, he considers himself wise beyond his years. But he isn't. Really, he is an angry young man. Perhaps he is surrounded by phonies. Perhaps he justifiably loathes those around him, and perhaps he is vindicated in his displeasure for nearly everything except for his sainted young brother.

I don't particularly care if thousands of people can relate to Holden Caulfield, frankly. I can't. This is true both for stylistic reasons (which I will get to in a moment) and for characterization reasons. Holden is, honestly, an obnoxious little jerk. He hates nearly everything around him, and he makes no apologies for it (which is refreshing, or would be, if he didn't hate nearly everything). The problem is that he shows no sign of intelligence, in the ENTIRE novel, but he perceives himself as suave, charming, and worldly. He is not. He is small-minded and has no greater perception of the world than a child born in Kansas in the same time would have. There is no reason to consider young Holden anything other than a stuck-up, pretentious brat.

Stylistically, the novel is like a trip to a sadistic dentist who forgets your anesthesia. The language is, typically, annoying. J.D. Salinger seems incapable of properly using emphatic italics, and this is never brought into greater light than in this novel where they are used both properly (to highlight the vapidity of one of his older brother's former girlfriends, to correct the spelling and pronunciation of particular words) and improperly (to emphasize useless portions of words, much as appears in later Glass family stories). Further yet, he uses the same language over and over throughout the novel. Our obnoxious protagonist will say something that kills him or knocks him out or annoys him, and will follow it, nearly 100% of the time with, "I'm not kidding," and then an exact repetition of the same phrase. This is particularly grating when they are, by a trick of the typeset, EXACTLY above and below each other on the page. I'm not kidding, it is really annoying. Really.

All that said, I understand why so many people adore this novel. If you read this when your mind is small and you are frustrated with those around you, it could feel like a life line. The problem is that it is such a nihilistic life line, because Holden never finds out just how stupid and vapid he is. This perhaps leads to my greatest frustration with this novel. It is not a coming of age story. It is merely the story of one young man's few days in New York City after being expelled from his school.

Holden is what makes so many adults think that teenagers are simply small-minded. Teenagers will read this book and they will think that they are like Holden. They will reach the end, where Holden learns nothing, and they will feel vindicated in their point of view. And their point of view is WRONG. This is the problem. Because they feel vindicated, they will not seek to expand, to grow, and adults will assume that all teenagers are as foolish and small-minded as Holden Caulfield. Which is a disservice, because I have known so many teenagers so much more worldly and so much smarter, and so many adults who weren't.

How much damage has Mr. Salinger done with this novel? No one can tell. The only good thing about it is that it, sadly, gives a voice to so much teenage angst and loneliness that may have no other destination for camaraderie. This validates its existence, but doesn't make it a classic.

If you are seventeen and angsty (or fourteen and angsty, or forty and angsty, or...) read it and see if it fits. If you enjoy it, well, more power to you. Try to grow past it though. It is so small, and there are so many wonderful things in the world...

D

Harkius