The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

It was considered groundbreaking for many reasons. It's a young person speaking in first person. When the book was written this was unheard of. Young adult fiction, if it existed, was written by adults in a condescending moralistic way. This book in comparison captured the spirit of the times. I think it was written later than 1945, probably in the 1960s when self expression in young people first came into vogue. Don't forget, when this book was written, young people still were in generation wars with their parents, who had all the power. We have come such a long way since the book was written and we have come to expect creative expression in novels. But this book led the way for many other authors to come.

Published in...

1951, the book was still highly controversial when I was old enough to read it a few years later.

It was roundly and soundly condemned by the established authorities (Church, State and Public Opinion in respectable newspapers!) as an incitement to self indulgent, egotistical behaviour where an individual was encouraged to put hirself and hir needs before duty to parents and nation. The lack of discipline and self restraint shown by Holden was genuinely shocking to a majority of people, especially after WW11 where so many had given up so much.

Critical acclaim goes something like: the novel is about the human condition. Or the psychological battles of Holden Caulfield, his self-destruction during the novel make the reader think about society's attitude to the human condition. It's also held to be: a critical look at the problems facing American youth during the 1950's.

I flicked through it again a few years ago. Incredibly depressing. I mean poor old Holden has a nervous breakdown and does nothing but get more depressed. And yes, I don't find the plot interesting although the character is.

Maybe some people are more interested in characters than plot. I know I am. Maybe it's a female thing although I hate to make gender distinctions. I can only speak for myself. If the character gets my sympathy and attention then I am hooked. If it does not, then it doesn't matter what happens in the book, I am not satisfied with it.

This book is the perfect example of how I would like to write. I am not a fan of plot. I know that sounds ludicrous, but oh well. I'm sure this book has one...but I don't look to define a plot. I go where the day takes me. And I love this book. It's not my favourite Salinger...in fact, if pressed I would say it's my least favourite Salinger title. My favourite is the Glass family stories...especially FRANNY & ZOOEY and Raise High the roof beam, carpenters.

I read it when I was 13 and was unimpressed. I didn't like Holden; I thought he was a whiny, spoiled kid. If I read it now, I don't know if I'd come to a different conclusion.

The Catcher In The Rye - JD Salinger

If you re-read it, notice how protective Holden is of his younger sister Phoebe, and how upset he becomes near the story's end when he hears curses or finds a certain four letter word written on or scratched into a flat surface. He may be self-destructive, but there's good within him.

pdr said:

where an individual was encouraged to put hirself and hir needs before duty to parents and nation.

Click to expand...

P, is this a new spelling trend to correct gender bias in writing, or have I just been lost at sea too long and should've noticed it earlier?

This may very well be my favorite book. Its must read for young adults, or anyone who feels lost in the currents of life.

C.bronco said:

I read it when I was 13 and was unimpressed. I didn't like Holden; I thought he was a whiny, spoiled kid. If I read it now, I don't know if I'd come to a different conclusion.

Click to expand...

I felt exactly the same way. Poor little rich kid. I recently wondered if I'd react differently now, but it's not high on my list of priorities.

CBeasy - what is it that you like so much about it?

I didn't like it, either. I didn't get it. It made me feel stupid. I disliked Holden, didn't see a plot, didn't see a resolution. I had to read this in secondary school and I thought it was drivel. It's one of the few books I never finished.

SylviaDiamandez said:

If you re-read it, notice how protective Holden is of his younger sister Phoebe, and how upset he becomes near the story's end when he hears curses or finds a certain four letter word written on or scratched into a flat surface. He may be self-destructive, but there's good within him.

Click to expand...

Oh my God...he is brimming over with goodness. That's what I got out of it anyway. But that is a perfect example. His sister is INNOCENCE. There is something about Holden that makes him the saddest character in all of fictiondom. His realization that everything is a gimmick...that everybody is out for themselves and greed rules the world. He is a boy on the cusp of entering the world of adulthood...a world he loathes because he sees how fake everybody becomes. I think I probably felt the same way as him the first time I read it. I'm guessing I was about 12 or 13? I knew I was heading for the same ugly 'grown-up' world that Holden was entering. I read the goodness in him throughout the entire book. It bristled me.

kev. you're biased. that salinger tattoo gives you away.

I know, Unique. I'm guilty of camping out at the end of his driveway. I had my middle name changed to Zachary Martin Glass.

Catcher in the Rye is actually one of my all time favorite books. Holden is scared, and Salinger does a perfect job of getting that across. It's been a while since I've read it. I need to get my copy out and reread it, but I doubt my opinion of it will change.

I think it's a young person's book. I read it at about 18 or 19, and found it effective and engaging. I've looked at it a couple of times in later years, and it seems much less interesting. I don't think it wears well into a second reading, or being read at a later age.

caw

I agree, blacbird; when I first read it in high school, I was blown away. Reading it a few years ago, I can't think of why. Raise High the Roof Beams, Carpenters, though, still does. And Nine Stories.

Some books, especially those that address cultural renaissance, have to be read at a particular point in one's life. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein rocked my then-17-year-old world.

The Catcher In The Rye

He's not exactly brimming over with goodness. Through most of the book, he's a jerk. When you're sixteen, peer pressure means you have to go along -- with the other jerks -- to get along. But little things poke through, like giving the two nuns ten dollars at breakfast, and being upset by the two men cursing at the Christmas tree. JDS shows us just enough of this side of Holden to suggest there's more under the surface.

I think he's brimming with goodness, which is the reason he's so disheveled in his head. There's a huge conflict between, "I don't give a rat'sass" and, "I care too much about everything."

You're probably right about reading it at the right time. I read it in my y outh as well and have not reread it. Some novels are enjoyed most if you just read them once.

I am holding this book in my hands as I write this. It hasn't been more than 20 feet from me in about a month.

I am writing a 8 page paper on Catcher (again) in about a week. I have read this book more than 20 times and that is not hyperbole. Read it for fun as a kid, three times in high school, five for college courses, and numerous times in between. I can talk like old Caulfield if I wanted too. Boy that Caulfield, what a card. I always hated that word card, so goddamn phony. People who use that word are all a bunch of phony jerks, I swear. Honestly, you would never catch me saying that someone is a card.

Hold is:
Scared of Confrontation
Inable to take responsibility for his actions
Inherently hypocritical
Inherently generous and altruistic
A little misguided.

Catcher in the Rye. . "When a body catch a body coming through the rye. . ." Holden wants to be the catcher that saves children from falling over the cliff after they emerge from the rye field. He wants to preserve the innocence of children and at the same time is struggling to hold onto his own innocence. He is deeply affected by the death of his little brother Allie. . . almost to the point of complete neurosis. At the end, when it is raining and he is sitting on the bench watching his little sister on the Carousel he is crying because he is witnessing one of her last true moments of childhood innocence. He shows a classic case of an perpetual type of male syndrome post-ejaculatory depression. . . guys, you know what I am talking about. After the orgasm when you just want to leave, get away, a little satisfaction mixed with a little self loathing. Think about it next time you. . .

Not sure where the whole serial killer rep came from, I think that serial killers probably share a lot of anger and neurosis that Holden has in this book.

Oh well.

I loved this book, in fact it's one of my all time favorites. I read it in high school and have read it several times as an adult. It blew me away then and while it doesn't necessarily blow me away now, I am so drawn into the story and the character, I still can't put it down once I start it.

Yes, I agree it seems to be plotless, just this kid wandering around the city but his internal conflict is so compelling, it makes up for the plotlessness (is that a word?). Maybe I can just relate. I remember when I first read it, I thought, "wow, someone does get what's going on inside my head." Now I just think, "wow, I've come so far but I remember what it felt like then."

Definitely a must read!

Seems I found the other Biggest Fan of this book?

The Catcher In the Rye

I always thought Allie was the second oldest Caulfield kid, after DB, but before Holden and Phoebe. Holden tells us he died on July 18, 1946. He remembers the exact date. If he was sixteen in 1949/50 (if the publishing date is 1951, that's a reasonable guess re the time frame of the story), he would have been thirteen when Allie died, and even younger in the remembering-Allie-playing-golf flashback.