The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Genre: Classic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): The hero-narrator of The Catcher in the Rye is an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield. Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days. The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it. There are many voices in this novel: children's voices, adult voices, underground voices-but Holden's voice is the most eloquent of all. Transcending his own vernacular, yet remaining marvelously faithful to it, he issues a perfectly articulated cry of mixed pain and pleasure. However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, he keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself. The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart. It is there for the reader who can handle it to keep. 
J.D. Salinger's classic novel of teenage angst and rebellion was first published in 1951. The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923. It was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. It has been frequently challenged in the court for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality and in the 1950's and 60's it was the novel that every teenage boy wants to read.


MY OPINION: ****

Well, I'm officially the last person in my family to read this book. For some reason, I never got into it despite my younger sister telling me that it was really good (mind you, she hates to read). The thing is, I was forced to read this book for sophomore English and I'm actually happy that I read it.

This book is (at least to me) one of the most hyped up classics. The language in it is not vulgar in the slightest but I opened this book for the first time when I was around seven or eight just to see why it was always lying around our house and I think I personally scarred myself just by reading the language on the first page. Now, when I look back on that, it strikes me as hilarious judging from my new curated taste in books (HAHA).

Anyways, enough rambling.

PROS

Holden. I feel like Holden is a fairly controversial character, especially given the arguments I had with my friends over his personality while reading. I personally liked Holden. There, I said it. I will admit that I started out not liking him in the slightest, but over time, I learned that his personality is actually fairly... relatable. I mean, of course he is beyond depressed but his cynical view of the world was fairly similar to mine.. I don't really know what that says about me but um.

Holden seems to complain about every thing in sight. Technically, it's more like he's observing the world around him and just happens to only see the negative aspect of them or it, and I can truly relate to that. I have a more pessimistic outlook rather than an optimistic and while I am not clinically depressed like Holden, I understood completely everything that he was trying to say about the people or the world around him.

Holden is a sixteen-year-old boy (my age) who has been kicked out, not for the first time, from school. His best talent is in English but he flunks the rest of his classes due mainly to a poor work ethic rather than a lack of intelligence. Reading Holden's thoughts reveals his true intellect and I admired that about him.

I could go into lengthy descriptions about the symbolism of various things throughout the book, such as his red hunting hat, the ducks, or the carousel. However, in the end, I think it all sums to up to the basic idea that Holden is truly afraid of change and growing up. And, I mean, same. He doesn't want to mature and is often labelled immature and childish by several others throughout the book. Holden is still a virgin despite his peers all giving women "the time" as Holden calls it. Even when he's given the biggest opportunity to do it, he can't. There's a prostitute in his room (that he asked for, mind you), and his only line is "I felt much more depressed than sexy." This to me shows that Holden lets his depression take over even in situations that other guys would jump at.

To sum it all up, I loved Holden.

CONS

The biggest thing about this book that made me not want to rate it the five stars that many seem to think it should be is that... nothing happened. Of course, this isn't an action novel or a romance novel or a drama novel but I felt like there was no real plot line. Holden just recounts from a rehabilitation hospital or mental institution or something of the sort everything that happened to get him there. He writes candidly and realistically but his actual life was almost... boring. And I say that very lightly because I did finish this book without getting TOO bored throughout. I just would have appreciated a solid plotline or a solid motive or anything other than Holden's rants about everything in sight.

OTHER THOUGHTS

I think the final thing I have to say is that I feel like a happy, optimistic, living-their-best-life person would have a completely different experience reading this novel than a pessimistic, cynical, almost-depressed person. Of course, this is true for most (if not all) other books but in this novel especially, with Holden's depressing personality, it would be very very different and would most likely result in different levels of appreciation for the book.

Overall, I'm glad I finally read this book (even if I was forced into it). I would definitely have read it further in the future if I didn't have to read it for English class, but I'm glad I read it now. I can see myself picking it up again in like five years but who knows?

I would recommend this book to readers looking for an iconic classic full of pessimism, cynicism, and just a taste of a coming-of-age trope that results in the masterpiece that is The Catcher in the Rye.

Main Character: Holden
Sidekick(s): Phoebe, Jane, etc
Villain(s): Depression, phonies, etc
Classic Fiction Elements: This book is a classic that was all very real to life.