TITLE: The Catcher in the Rye
AUTHOR: J D Salinger
GENRE: Fiction, Bildungsroman
PUBLISHED: 1951
RATING: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
PURCHASE LINKS: Amazon , Barnes & Noble
MOBILISM LINK: N/A
DESCRIPTION: Lazy in style, full of slang and expletives, ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is the ultimate novel for estranged youth but is beloved by all ages. It is a novel whose interest and appeal comes from its observations rather than its plot intrigues. Seventeen-year-old Holden Caulfield wanders the environs of Manhattan after being expelled from Pencey Prep, a private school. He comments on the things and people around him, mocks their phoniness. It is a tale of society, love, loss, expectations and most importantly, growing up.
REVIEW: Holden Caulfield is not a typical 17-year-old. He feels alienated from the world around him, the ‘phonies’ as he calls them. His fear of the passage from childhood to adulthood echoes through the halls of most modern high schools. Holden faces an identity crisis - he does not understand the world around him. He thinks they are all ‘phony’, pretending to be something they're not. He doesn’t want to know them, he doesn’t want to be like them. The headmaster whose affability depends on the wealth of the parents, his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection are all phonies, so are his parents, the pimp he meets at a hotel and even the girl he goes on a date with.
After an expulsion from Pencey Prep, Holden checks into The Edmont Hotel and wanders through Manhattan for three days. However, as Holden's adventure progresses, he slowly begins to bridge the gap between the innocence of childhood and the onset of adulthood. Though the concept may not seem new, it is written in a way that endears the character of Holden to your hearts. It’s simplicity, the innocence of youth is striking and eye-catching, yet there are times when Holden acts and thinks as a person much older, more mature (like the carrousel incident). Salinger's style creates an effect of conversation; it is as though Holden is speaking to you personally.
An example of the confusion in his head is the incident with the prostitute. Holden meets a pimp in a hotel elevator and asks him to send a prostitute to his room. However, when the prostitute comes to him, he just wants to talk with her, not have sex. Disinterested, she leaves. He tries to talk to people, to try to figure out stuff. He talks to one of his ex-seniors, who, according to Holden, was a sensible guy. But even he can’t help, he’s just too busy and doesn’t care a whole lot.
Holden’s character is introspective and cynical, which might be the reason I liked the character. I was like that when I was a teenager as well. His cynical nature is brought out by some simple, yet impactful lines like,
.“People never believe you”
“People never notice anything”
“People never think anything is anything really. I’m getting goddamn sick of it”
He is coping with the death of his brother Allie and he has no one to talk. The only person he likes talking to is his ten-year old sister Phoebe. She is the only person who is sensible according to him. He buys a record for her but it breaks and he is very saddened. She is the only person he has an emotional connection with. When he wants to leave town, she stops him because she loves him a lot. Indeed a poignant moment!
Now coming to the title of the story, Holden literally wants to "catch" the children as they plummet into adulthood. Holden, like any other teenager, is frightened of growing up. He knows that no one is at the bottom of the metaphorical cliff with open arms to catch him as he falls, and that terrifies him more than anything. This fear of the edge of the cliff pushes Holden to walk on the line between childhood and adulthood without committing to either side, paralleling his sprints from block to block. Holden clings to one of the only thoughts that he could ever find comforting for strength - the memory of his brother, Allie. As he runs, he "make[s] believe he [is] talking to [his] brother Allie" and thanks him when he crosses the street safely. This fear of "falling" as related to the title The Catcher in the Rye is a play on a Robert Burns poem and sheds light on Holden's ideal purpose in a world full of "phonies."
Holden's walk on Fifth Avenue at the start of the chapter symbolizes his many struggles throughout the book related to his journey into adulthood. The pieces of his life are still far from reassembled; instead, Holden picks up the pieces to create a new beginning. While growing up is inevitable, coming to terms with the process remains elusive at best. Such is the struggle of Holden Caulfield, the voice of a teenager, scared of adulthood, but ready to face what’s next.
Overall, an excellent read. Especially, but not exclusively, for teenagers or people fresh out of teenage. One that shouldn't be missed.