The Catcher in the Rye

[leonwingstein]

What got me through reading this book was realizing that it is not meant to teach a moral or anything. It's just a story. I know that most people would disagree, but its a messed-up kid in a mental facility recounting his story of what happened to him... it's just his story. It's just what happened.

[Johnny]

With regard to Holden being annoying, he's supposed to be that way.

I first read Catcher in the Rye when I was 12 years old, my dad insisted I read it. I loved it, I thought Holden was the coolest guy ever, he really knew what was going on.

Which is hilarious, and part of what I feel is the genius of the book. When I read it again as an adult, I realized that he managed to capture the essence of adolescent alienation. It's a book about coming of age, looking at the world through the eyes of youth, who are bound to be disenchanted by the world the more they find out about it.

There is an anxiety about it, about having to join a world that seems totally wrong, and that you didn't sign up for, but that will consume you no matter what you do. I think that's why he loves his little sister so much. He wants to go back to a world free of pressure and social expectation, it's the sadly unattainable goal of life.

It's been some time since I last read it, but I appreciate the book. I think it's essential to realize that although Holden is, at least ostensibly, the "hero", that you aren't supposed to like him, so much as recognize why he feels the way he does.

[sophi]

May 30, 2011 23:12:08 GMT -5 onlyaworkingtitle said:

My best friend's mother has summarized this book in a way which I have often loved to repeat:

It would have been better if Holden had just committed suicide in the first chapter and saved us all the trouble.

Not to promote suicide or anything, but a whole book of listening to a hypocrite whine about "phonies"? Trim it down to a short story, please, or not at all.

It actually did start off as two short stories - "I'm Crazy" and "Slight Rebellion Off Madison".

JD Salinger actually is my favorite writer, so all the hate in this thread is making me kind of sad. I like Catcher in the Rye, but it's absolutely not my favorite of his, and I think it's a shame that so many people write him off because of it. I don't usually highlight in my books, but I made an exception for Salinger, because there are passages in Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction and Franny and Zooey that were so beautiful and moving that I actually had to put the book down just so I could fully absorb them and recover before I moved on. I know that sounds dramatic, but I think he just has the most amazing way with words, and it gets overlooked because people can't get past how unlikeable the characters sometimes are.

Almost everything he's written is collected at this website, if anyone's interested in giving him a second look. Start with "The Heart of a Broken Story", "The Inverted Forest", "Last Day of the Last Furlough", "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", "For Esmé - with Love and Squalor", or "De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period" and see if it doesn't change your mind.

[callmeishmael]

I actually had to put the book down just so I could fully absorb them and recover before I moved on.

I had to first do this with Moby Dick. (I swear I read other books, it just had a profound effect on me) Mostly because I had never before encountered such dense writing, but I have to agree that I like the feeling of having to physically pause to fully comprehend the words. Once you fully comprehend or understand the beauty, it's such a feeling of satisfaction and success.

Or, at least it is for me.

And thanks for the link! I loved Catcher but never pursued reading anything else from what he has to offer. I'll definitely browse through it this summer.

[Lizarellie]

Hooray! I feel like I've been alone in my distaste for Holden Caulfield all my life.

First of all, the character is a whiny, self-centered, egotistical brat - surprise, surprise - much like J.D. Salinger himself. Spoiled, prep-school brat who thought he was somehow better and smarter than everyone else.

Seriously, the character just rubs me the wrong way.

I have enjoyed Salinger's other work though.

[Katherine]

Jun 1, 2011 1:16:16 GMT -5 sophi said:

May 30, 2011 23:12:08 GMT -5 onlyaworkingtitle said:

My best friend's mother has summarized this book in a way which I have often loved to repeat:

It would have been better if Holden had just committed suicide in the first chapter and saved us all the trouble.

Not to promote suicide or anything, but a whole book of listening to a hypocrite whine about "phonies"? Trim it down to a short story, please, or not at all.

It actually did start off as two short stories - "I'm Crazy" and "Slight Rebellion Off Madison".

JD Salinger actually is my favorite writer, so all the hate in this thread is making me kind of sad. I like Catcher in the Rye, but it's absolutely not my favorite of his, and I think it's a shame that so many people write him off because of it. I don't usually highlight in my books, but I made an exception for Salinger, because there are passages in Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction and Franny and Zooey that were so beautiful and moving that I actually had to put the book down just so I could fully absorb them and recover before I moved on. I know that sounds dramatic, but I think he just has the most amazing way with words, and it gets overlooked because people can't get past how unlikeable the characters sometimes are.

Almost everything he's written is collected at this website, if anyone's interested in giving him a second look. Start with "The Heart of a Broken Story", "The Inverted Forest", "Last Day of the Last Furlough", "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", "For Esmé - with Love and Squalor", or "De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period" and see if it doesn't change your mind.

Thanks for the recommendations by the way, I knew JD wrote other things but I never knew where to start!

[nerdphd]

I actually like literary criticism of Catcher better than the actual novel. I love what Salinger was trying to say through the book (or at least what most critics have decided he was trying to say with the book, I guess), but I have to agree with the many people here who say Holden's more whiny and annoying than relatable. I tried to re-read the book upon discovering it's one of Nerdfighter John Green's favorite books, but just couldn't do it. I just wanted to tell Holden "life's not fair" and stop whining. I *want* to like it (or at least appreciate it), but I just can't.

[nickusp]

I had to read it for English my Junior year of high school and I enjoyed it. It's not the best book, but I've read worse. The only thing that annoys me about it now is I have a copy of it with the carousel horse on the cover and I KNOW Salinger hated cover art for books more than anything. I can only imagine what Holden would have to say about that, haha.

[Boss Wolfbender]

When I was in tenth grade, our English class had to pick a book from a list that the teacher had made, and write a very long essay on the novel of our choice (if I remember correctly, my friend's essay was about fourteen pages in length). I chose Catcher in the Rye, because I had heard it mentioned in passing somewhere before.

I think the essay certainly helped me think about the novel in a way I wouldn't have had otherwise, because I was forced to examine the characters, motifs, themes, etc. more deeply than I would have if it had just been casual reading. I didn't particularly like or dislike Holden. It was more like I was just very interested in his character, because his personality was very different from my own. Once I was further along in the book, I began to pity Holden because it was his very own self-centered personality and pessimistic outlook on the world that kept him from being truly happy.

Overall, I thought the book had some interesting messages about innocence and acceptance, despite the fact that it wasn't full of the grand adventures I was accustomed to reading. It's not my favorite book, but I certainly didn't dislike it.

[andy]

I read it with my boyfriend in 8th grade. We thought we were very hipster for reading it.
Now I don't really care about it that much? It's not as irritating as some of Salinger's other books and I would recommend it to young teenagers, but I wouldn't read it again.

[callmeishmael]

Jun 6, 2011 5:02:27 GMT -5 andy said:

I would recommend it to young teenagers, but I wouldn't read it again.

I actually started to reread it again yesterday because this thread sparked an interest in seeing if I still like it as much as I first did.

By the way, I still love it. While Holden may complain a lot, the way Salinger wrote is so true to teenage angst and views on the world, that I still regard it as absolutely wonderful.

I may even appreciate it more this time through.

[Fuck Yeah Dion]

May 31, 2011 14:30:39 GMT -5 callmeishmael said:

I absolutely love the book, having first read it for fun my freshman year of high school. When I had to read it for a class, I despised how it was taught, and how the teacher portrayed Holden.

I feel like a lot of the distaste for the character stems from the anti-Holden vibes that teachers give out when the teach the class. Reading it when you are experiencing a tiny bit of that same confusion on your own allows for a connection with the character, and a positive view of the book. Reading it while you have a 45 year old woman telling you that Holden is a cry baby and spends the book complaining about the character can easily ruin the experience.

I disagree. I read it in tenth grade at the insistence of my friends. I've never been taught the novel. Still, I reached the conclusions that Caufield if just a little brat. He's so judgmental and self-righteous as well. I think students who are outsiders (or like to pretend they're outsiders) connect with Holden because he is like them. The older I got, the more I disliked the character, and it's OK to dislike a character a bit, but when you hate one so much that you can't stomach the book, that's a failure on the author's part.

[devilishlybookish]

Jun 7, 2011 17:43:53 GMT -5 Fuck Yeah Dion said:

May 31, 2011 14:30:39 GMT -5 callmeishmael said:

I absolutely love the book, having first read it for fun my freshman year of high school. When I had to read it for a class, I despised how it was taught, and how the teacher portrayed Holden.

I feel like a lot of the distaste for the character stems from the anti-Holden vibes that teachers give out when the teach the class. Reading it when you are experiencing a tiny bit of that same confusion on your own allows for a connection with the character, and a positive view of the book. Reading it while you have a 45 year old woman telling you that Holden is a cry baby and spends the book complaining about the character can easily ruin the experience.

I disagree. I read it in tenth grade at the insistence of my friends. I've never been taught the novel. Still, I reached the conclusions that Caufield if just a little brat. He's so judgmental and self-righteous as well. I think students who are outsiders (or like to pretend they're outsiders) connect with Holden because he is like them. The older I got, the more I disliked the character, and it's OK to dislike a character a bit, but when you hate one so much that you can't stomach the book, that's a failure on the author's part.

I thought that was the whole point. My 11th grade teacher never once told us how we should feel about Holden, but most of the class pointed out that he was just as phony as the people he claimed to hate. But that isn't a bad thing: just because a character is untrustworthy or unlikable doesn't mean that we still can't like them. I'd call Holden a whiny little brat until I was blue in the face; it doesn't mean I love him any less.

[Fuck Yeah Dion]

Jun 7, 2011 17:58:52 GMT -5 devilishlybookish said:

Jun 7, 2011 17:43:53 GMT -5 Fuck Yeah Dion said:

I disagree. I read it in tenth grade at the insistence of my friends. I've never been taught the novel. Still, I reached the conclusions that Caufield if just a little brat. He's so judgmental and self-righteous as well. I think students who are outsiders (or like to pretend they're outsiders) connect with Holden because he is like them. The older I got, the more I disliked the character, and it's OK to dislike a character a bit, but when you hate one so much that you can't stomach the book, that's a failure on the author's part.

I thought that was the whole point. My 11th grade teacher never once told us how we should feel about Holden, but most of the class pointed out that he was just as phony as the people he claimed to hate. But that isn't a bad thing: just because a character is untrustworthy or unlikable doesn't mean that we still can't like them. I'd call Holden a whiny little brat until I was blue in the face; it doesn't mean I love him any less.

I'd agree with that for a lot of characters, but my dislike of Holden is almost venomous. It's like a film; you want a villain to be hated enough that you're rooting against him, but not dispicable to the point that your audience wants to leave the movie. When I tried to re-read Catcher in the Rye, I couldn't. Holden almost disgusts me.

You guys, I can't even.

[Katherine]

I agree, that Holden is as phony as the people he hates... but I think that's what adds to the book. It would be a whole lot more boring if Holden wasn't like he was.