I think that we still read The Catcher in the Rye for a number of reasons. For starters, it is actually a really good classic novel. Most older novels are very dated and boring, but this novel still can be related to our generation. Holden's voice during the novel is so raw, and real, that many kids in the present and even in the future will be able to relate to many of his experiences. This is actually a reason most high school teachers assign this book to read. Their students all find different ways to relate to Holden's experiences and his personality. Even back when my parents were in high school, back in the 1970's and the 1980's, they were supposed to read the novel. This shows how Holden's voice can transcend generations and decades.
Holden has many fears about growing up and becoming an adult that he suppresses throughout the novel and his life. The pressures that society places on teenagers today are endless, like: to graduate high school with good grades, get into a good college, get a well paying job, and support a family. With these pressures teenagers can really relate to the feelings Holden has about wanting to get away from it all, and be alone. Holden leaves his school days early, to be alone in his thoughts without anyone knowing. Most teenagers would jump at the chance today to be alone and just contemplate all of their thoughts.
Another reason we still read this novel is because it addresses so many problems teenagers face, in any time period. The novel discusses Holden's views on sex, isolation from others, and insaneness. Holden's confused view on sexuality is a topic for much discussion from readers, same goes with why he isolates himself from his loved ones. Also, readers can discuss the severity of Holden's insaneness. Holden treats it very lightly for the severity of his mental illness seems to be, "-especially this one psychoanalyst guy they have here". (Salinger 213).
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
The Catcher in the Rye #5
The Catcher in the Rye was written in the year 1945. This year falls right around the end of World War II, but the novel actually takes place several years later around 1948 or 1949. The novel does reflect the tone and feel of the era that it was written in. As the war ended, the nation was probably celebrating and having a big old party. But for some of the younger generation, around Holden's age, there could be some confusion. For having grown up during a war time period, suddenly having it coming to a end could lead the people of this generation becoming confused about what will happen as they grow up. If you were young teenager during the war, you probably assumed you were going to be fighting in war when you got older. But having the war end, might mean those kids would have to figure out something else to do with their future. This kind of confusion is exactly what Holden is feeling. He flunked out of another school, Pencey, and is now wondering around the city without any kind of plans for the rest of his life.
This novel also is very symbolic to teenagers of any time period, because of how anyone can sympathize with Holden's dilemmas. The novel is mostly about Holden's angst about growing up. Most teenagers also have this same feeling about the fear of the future, growing up, and becoming an adult. "A lot of people keep asking me if I'm going to apply myself when I go back to school in September. I mean how do you know what you're going to do until you do it? The answer is you don't. I think I am, but how do I know?" (Salinger 213). Even after all Holden has been through, he still has the same attitude about the future; whatever happens, happens. A lot of kids now a days, have adapted his same attitude.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
This novel also is very symbolic to teenagers of any time period, because of how anyone can sympathize with Holden's dilemmas. The novel is mostly about Holden's angst about growing up. Most teenagers also have this same feeling about the fear of the future, growing up, and becoming an adult. "A lot of people keep asking me if I'm going to apply myself when I go back to school in September. I mean how do you know what you're going to do until you do it? The answer is you don't. I think I am, but how do I know?" (Salinger 213). Even after all Holden has been through, he still has the same attitude about the future; whatever happens, happens. A lot of kids now a days, have adapted his same attitude.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
The Catcher in the Rye #4
The hero in the Catcher in the Rye is obviously the main character, Holden. Holden is considered the hero but he is also a very unconventional hero. Most heroes are probably not as screwed up as Holden seems to be. But Holden still shares many traits are a regular hero. In general, a hero has to go on a journey to find something out about a person, object, or themselves. Holden's journey is a mental one, about the hardships of growing up. Another trait that is common in heroes, is a traumatic event leading to a journey (Davis 3). As I said earlier, Holden goes on a journey through out most of the book, but before he does, he receives some bad news. Holden finds out that he is failing four courses at Pencey. After he hears this knowledge, with some indirect pushing from his roommate, Stradlater, Holden leaves school several days before Christmas break is supposed to start.There he starts his journey throughout the city.
Like most heroes, Holden has a strong sense of family. You can tell by the way Holden describes his younger sister Phoebe, his older brother, D.B., and his younger brother Allie. His younger brother Allie died when he was little, but you can tell that Holden still adores him by the way he talks about him. "God, he was a nice kid, though. He used to laugh so hard at something he thought of at the dinner table that he just about fell off his chair" (Salinger 38). Holden even takes an old baseball mitt that Allie had written poems on to his boarding school. Throughout the novel, when Holden seems lost, he always returns to the thought of seeing or even just talking to his sister, Phoebe. Phoebe seems that the only person that is able to keep Holden grounded in his own thoughts. Also Holden seems to idolize D.B. in the way that Holden always talks about his success from being a writer in Hollywood.
Davis, Bryan M. "The Archetypal Hero in Literature, Religion, Movies, and Popular Culture." 11 Oct 1997. Stephan F. Austin University. 31 May 2012. <http://www.tatsbox.com/hero>.
Like most heroes, Holden has a strong sense of family. You can tell by the way Holden describes his younger sister Phoebe, his older brother, D.B., and his younger brother Allie. His younger brother Allie died when he was little, but you can tell that Holden still adores him by the way he talks about him. "God, he was a nice kid, though. He used to laugh so hard at something he thought of at the dinner table that he just about fell off his chair" (Salinger 38). Holden even takes an old baseball mitt that Allie had written poems on to his boarding school. Throughout the novel, when Holden seems lost, he always returns to the thought of seeing or even just talking to his sister, Phoebe. Phoebe seems that the only person that is able to keep Holden grounded in his own thoughts. Also Holden seems to idolize D.B. in the way that Holden always talks about his success from being a writer in Hollywood.
Davis, Bryan M. "The Archetypal Hero in Literature, Religion, Movies, and Popular Culture." 11 Oct 1997. Stephan F. Austin University. 31 May 2012. <http://www.tatsbox.com/hero>.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
Friday, May 25, 2012
The Catcher in the Rye #2
The conflict of The Catcher in the Rye is an internal one. Throughout the novel Holden battles inside his head how he really feels. I would consider the main conflict in the novel to be Holden's not wanting to take responsibility for his actions and grow up. You are introduced to one of the starts of the causes of the conflict starting in the first few pages. Holden admits about his school, "I wasn't supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all" (Salinger 4). Holden has not been trying at his new school at all because he considers all of the boys and teachers, "phonys". When Holden leaves his school a few days before he is allotted to do so, he really has no where to go. Since he does not want to take responsibility for his actions, he is not able to go home to his family and his parents. He is left to wander aimlessly around his town avoiding people he knows. Another cause of this conflict could be the sadness in having his little brother Allie die. It seems to be that Holden has not come even close to accepting his brother as gone, and still sounds like he considers Allie to be here with him. Since Holden has not let the death of Allie go he can not move on in his life and grow up.
One of the gains from this conflict is the relationship Holden shares with his younger kid sister, Phoebe. Whenever Holden describes her, you can tell that he is full of love for her. After Holden leaves his school and wanders around time he is left with a lot of time to think. One thought he always goes back to is how he would want to talk to his sister. I believe that this time away from everyone he knows only strengthened his bond with one of the only people he truly cares about.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
One of the gains from this conflict is the relationship Holden shares with his younger kid sister, Phoebe. Whenever Holden describes her, you can tell that he is full of love for her. After Holden leaves his school and wanders around time he is left with a lot of time to think. One thought he always goes back to is how he would want to talk to his sister. I believe that this time away from everyone he knows only strengthened his bond with one of the only people he truly cares about.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
Catcher in the Rye #3
The Catcher in the Rye has several universal themes that almost everyone can relate too. The first theme is loneliness. Throughout the book it seems like Holden is purposely alienating himself from all the people around him except for his sister, Phoebe. Holden spends much of the novel alone, reflecting on past experiences and people he has interacted with. It is in a person's nature to enjoy being alone to have time to think and reflect, but not to Holden's extreme. Holden is very confused and at a strange part of his life in the novel, you basically believe that he is crazy. But, to cope with what he is feeling, or not feeling for that matter, Holden separates himself from those who care about him, instead of flocking to them in his time of need. You have hope for Holden when he goes to visit Mr. Antolini, one of his only adult role models. But Holden finds something that Mr. Antolini does and separates himself from the adult. "What he was doing was, he was sitting on the floor right next to the couch, in the dark and all, and he was sort of petting me or patting me on the goddam head" (Salinger 192). Holden takes this sign of affection as a sign that Mr. Antolini is a "flint", what Holden calls gay people. This just shows how little Holden knows of the workings of a normal human relationship.
Another universal theme J.D. Salinger addresses in the novel is growing up. Other novels show how difficult it is for children to grow up into adults but never in the way Holden did. On the outside, Holden is just your average angsty teenager, but as the book progresses you see how complicated his mind really is. Holden takes how hard it is to grow up to the extreme. Holden wants everything to be very easy and just come to him, and he takes it hard when he realizes that this is not how the world works. The way the novel is written gives the reader a huge to how the mind of a slightly crazy teenager works when they are growing up.
Another universal theme J.D. Salinger addresses in the novel is growing up. Other novels show how difficult it is for children to grow up into adults but never in the way Holden did. On the outside, Holden is just your average angsty teenager, but as the book progresses you see how complicated his mind really is. Holden takes how hard it is to grow up to the extreme. Holden wants everything to be very easy and just come to him, and he takes it hard when he realizes that this is not how the world works. The way the novel is written gives the reader a huge to how the mind of a slightly crazy teenager works when they are growing up.
The Catcher in the Rye #1
In The Catcher in the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger writes a very insightful first person narrative through the eyes of 16 year old Holden Caulfield. You can tell that a lot of the author's views on people and the society around them, by what Holden tells us in the novel. The best example of this is how Holden uses the phrase, "Phony". Throughout the novel, Holden uses this term to describe the falseness or just the differences of the people around him. "The worst part was, the jerk had one of those very phony, Ivy League voices, one of those very tired, snobby voices" (Salinger 128). Holden makes the assumption that someone or something is phony upon meeting them without any cause. You can tell that the author believes that some people in society are fake, or "phony" because Holden uses this term so much. Salinger also could also think that "phony" could mean just stereotypical. Holden calls the majority of the kids at Pencey "phony" because they are the typical prep school boys, athletic, popular, and smart. The author could share the same views about people that Holden shares.
The author also shows his views on how difficult it is for a teenager to find his or her own way in the world. Holden does not really know himself, and does not really have any idea about what the rest of his life is like. Possibly when Salinger was a teenager he had some trouble transitioning from the world of childhood to the world of adulthood, and used his experiences to inspire the character of Holden. The author could think that in order to transition to the world adulthood, the teenager need to go on a "journey" to find out who they are. This is exactly what Holden starts out to do. The entire book takes place over a few days, and Holden learns quite a bit about himself. At the end of the book it is reveled that Holden is just looking back on these experiences from hopefully a better place in his life.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
The author also shows his views on how difficult it is for a teenager to find his or her own way in the world. Holden does not really know himself, and does not really have any idea about what the rest of his life is like. Possibly when Salinger was a teenager he had some trouble transitioning from the world of childhood to the world of adulthood, and used his experiences to inspire the character of Holden. The author could think that in order to transition to the world adulthood, the teenager need to go on a "journey" to find out who they are. This is exactly what Holden starts out to do. The entire book takes place over a few days, and Holden learns quite a bit about himself. At the end of the book it is reveled that Holden is just looking back on these experiences from hopefully a better place in his life.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
The Catcher in the Rye: My Opinion
For the first book I read this summer, I read The Catcher in the Rye. Before I read the book, I heard lots of different opinions about it. Some of my friends really enjoyed the book when they read it, while others did not like it at all. They thought that Holden was very whiney. But personally, I really enjoyed the book. I loved how the style of writing was just like a conversation. Most classic novels, sound very dated and at least to me, sound boring. This book sounded like it could have been published at least pretty close to present day. The book is so fast paced, and Holden switches topics all over the place so you are forced to read every word, which is great. I really liked way Holden told his story; the way he switched to random topics throughout the book kept me interested the entire time I was reading. One of my favorite parts was When Holden kept asking the cab driver about the ducks. "I mean does somebody come around in a truck or something and take them away, or do they fly away by themselves- go south or something?" (Salinger 81-82). It normally takes me a while to read some of these older classic novels because they can not keep my interest, but I finished this book in about three days!
When I started reading this book, I kept getting reminded of another book I have previously read. I found that The Catcher in the Rye and It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini have a lot in common. In Vizzini's book, the main character, Craig, is also depressed. In the book Craig feels overwhelmed with his life and checks himself into a mental hospital. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is telling his story from some kind of mental hospital. There are many similarities in the style of writing from the authors, and the way the main characters think. It's Kind of a Funny Story is one of my favorite books, so there is no wonder that I also really enjoyed The Catcher in the Rye.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
When I started reading this book, I kept getting reminded of another book I have previously read. I found that The Catcher in the Rye and It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini have a lot in common. In Vizzini's book, the main character, Craig, is also depressed. In the book Craig feels overwhelmed with his life and checks himself into a mental hospital. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is telling his story from some kind of mental hospital. There are many similarities in the style of writing from the authors, and the way the main characters think. It's Kind of a Funny Story is one of my favorite books, so there is no wonder that I also really enjoyed The Catcher in the Rye.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
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