The Catcher in the Rye
by J. D. Salinger
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Book Reviews of The Catcher in the Rye
Book Review: J.D. Salinger Must Have Done Something Right!
Summary: 5 Stars
Without a doubt, J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in The Rye is a controversial piece of literature, from the moment the novel is open, until the book's back cover is closed. Salinger's use of profanity and coverage of mature material has been debated for years. Some claim it to be too blunt and inappropriate for its targeted audience, but regardless of these critics' opinions, Salinger's brilliance is undeniable. The novel's protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is a seventeen year old prep school teen who constantly suppresses his past which causes interference with his present life. With the plot set, the novel easily establishes a theme in which many can relate to, the inevitable loss of innocence one undergoes when growing up. This theme seems to prevail, and bring truth to the unavoidable facades adults often wear. J.D. Salinger's informal use of language, and well developed characters help capture the ingenious plot of his novel and its ability to have its audience clinging to every page.
The Catcher in the Rye ultimately portrays Holden Caulfield's fear of becoming another phony adult in society. His many teenage problems that uniquely present themselves throughout his life, create a page-turning effect that keeps the reader anticipating what the next may reveal. While Holden's attitude and personality seem to embody every reader who praises this novel, the supporting characters don't always play such a minimal role. Holden's older brother, and younger sister, Phoebe plays a large part in the development of Holden's character. Events such as the death of his little brother, in the long run also reveals much about Holden's attitude on life. His close relationship with his sister and the envious resentment he occasionally portrays for his older brother, are relationships everyone can relate to.
Salinger's simple use of language leaves no space for confusion, and his bluntness enables The Catcher in the Rye's audience to relate in such a close manner. His informal usage of words are also responsible for attracting readers who long to pick up a book without having to put on their "SAT" thinking-caps in order to acquire a new perspective on teenage life. But without a doubt, depending on the reader's level of comprehension, Salinger does provide bigger ideas and concepts for deeper analysis through his "simple use of language". The popularity of this book has remained consistent throughout the years, from being one of the top "must read" novels, to being the talk in every high school English room, The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most brilliant and life changing novels yet. For having captured so much attention and so many negative critiques and reviews, it is quit evident that as an author, J.D. Salinger must have done something right.
Book Review: Read This Book.
Summary: 5 Stars
J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, written in 1951, is about longing for the simple truths of childhood, but ultimately struggling to cope with the issues that force a soul to grow. The book is psychologically arduous, as Salinger boldly travels deep into the mind of his protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Holden's views regarding people are rather bitter and disparaging. Despite his loose-tongued narration, he recounts his many plights in New York City with a plaintive undertone. Though he dances with women, dates pretty girls, and drinks with old acquaintances, nothing eases his despair and loneliness. Likewise, nothing abolishes his thoughts that all those people are "phonies," and it almost seems that the only thing keeping him around them is morbid fascination in their shallow behavior. As the novel progresses, however, Phoebe is introduced, and the reader witnesses something very important in Holden's character. Essentially, Phoebe still retains the innocence and simple wisdom Holden subconsciously misses. They are the qualities that leave all humans in the process of growing up. His meeting with Phoebe forces him to realize how he is straying from his true self. Holden realizes that while he's been deeming society fake, he's been trying to find his place within it, and meanwhile letting a vague, superficial version of himself rise to the surface.
This novel does the meaningful job of revealing the truth behind all people. While the act of hiding one's true self can be seen as an act of self-defense against others, it is essentially harmful to the soul. What makes this book unique is that it encompasses important life revelations over a short period of time, and from point of view of a teenage boy. The language and suggestive material in the novel (such as Sunny the prostitute and Holden's drinking) deemed it provocative, to the point where the book was banned in many school curriculums. What the advocates of these book bans didn't realize was that the "offensive" elements of the story (Holden's swearing, for instance) are necessary to show the vivid personality of Holden. In a wider sense, these elements are critical components that create striking realism in the novel. This level of brutal realism could not be achieved otherwise, for in real life, certain things trouble certain people, and if the author was working to portray real life, why should Holden's universe be an exception? The Catcher in the Rye is a very thought-provoking novel when the offensive aspects can be appreciated for the relevancy they have in Holden's story. As well, this can help a reader to understand Holden, and thus make his situations, thoughts, and the timeless themes surrounding them more relatable and real. Take the time to discover Holden's truth.
Book Review: Not the End-All Be-All of Literature
Summary: 3 Stars
I didn't read "The Catcher in the Rye" until I was in my late twenties, after I had served in the military and completed a couple years of college, so I bring a different perspective to the novel than most readers, who are probably teenagers and have read it in high school. Suffice it to say that I didn't experience the spiritual revelations, nor do I share the literary reverence, that the novel seems to inspire.
Everybody knows the story: After getting booted out of prep school for bad grades, Holden Caulfield, the teenage hero of the novel, ventures into the wilds of New York City during the Christmas holiday. Apparently in search of himself and a meaning for his life, everywhere he goes he finds fakes, frauds, and phonies. He has some kind of nervous breakdown and ends up in a rest home talking to an analyst -- which is where he's been all along while telling his story. Holden is a likeable character, a well-meaning dolt with a big heart, and some of his observations are hilarious; and although the plot gets somewhat tedious after awhile, the revelation at the end of the novel -- that Holden is in a rest home -- ties everything together in a simple, plausible conclusion.
A few years later, I tried to read "The Catcher in the Rye" again -- and couldn't get past Chapter 4. Why? It wasn't the famous swearing that irritated me; the too-many instances of "goddam this" and "goddam that" are annoying enough, but they fit Holden's character as perfectly as his red hunting hat. It wasn't Holden's sarcastic remarks and observations that annoyed me; teenagers talk like that, and Holden is, after all, a teenager. The problem is, after all those years, Holden was still a teenager. Some characters seem to grow and mature with you; and when you return to them again in later years, they seem to reflect your own maturity and experiences. But Holden was still what he was before: a whiny, annoying, irritating smart-ass. I shelved the book and haven't opened it since.
Of course, what I think about a novel doesn't matter; what matters is what you think of it. You have your idea of what constitutes worthwhile literature, I have mine, and each opinion is as valid as another. That being said, I'll say this about "The Catcher in the Rye": You should definitely read it: it's worth reading. It's a poignant coming-of-age novel, and Holden Caulfield is one of the most amusing and insightful narrators in American literature. But it's not, as too many readers seem to think, the End-all Be-all of literature; indeed, there's a big literary world out there beyond the narrow adolescent confines of "The Catcher of the Rye." Read it, enjoy it -- and then move on to bigger and better things.
Book Review: School Review
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the most controversial books of all time, The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, was definitely worth the fight. Although banned from schools when it was first published because of the encouragement of profanity, prostitution, and premarital sex, it still became one of the most frequently taught novels in public high schools.
The novel's narrator, Holden Caulfield, is an epitome of Salinger at the age of sixteen. Holden tells the story of his expulsion from his private school, Pencey prep, and his escape to New York City before his parents find out. While in the city, Holden discovers more about himself than he ever would have if he had merely stayed at Pencey for the last few days before vacation.
While Holden is not a very focused character, he does eventually get his point across. He often goes off on a tangent while trying to clarify a simple point, instead of just stating a straightforward sentence. Nevertheless, Holden does make it back to his point, leaving the reader with a thorough understanding of his recent topic.
Holden does not believe that being an adult is a good thing. He feels that, once one makes his or her way to adulthood, he/she becomes a phony. This is true with his friends, Stradlater, Ackley, and Sally. These three young adults over-exaggerate more than even Holden does (which is saying quite a bit), and they are "fake" in their responses, while Holden is true. Although Holden over-exaggerates, he says what he means. Stradlater, Ackley, and Sally, on the other hand, say what they believe will impress other people.
The reason for the title of the book, The Catcher in the Rye, is revealed when Holden explains to Phoebe that he actually wants to be a "catcher in the rye." "Comin' thro' the Rye" is an actual poem by Robert Burns, which is where Salinger gets the idea for the "catcher in the rye." Holden says that he wishes there was an occupation where he could save a bunch of children who are playing in a field of rye from falling off of a cliff. His job would be to catch the children if they start to go off the cliff, and he explains that he would do this all day, and that he would be "the catcher in the rye and all." This job symbolizes what Holden does for everyone in the world. He wants to protect people's innocence, even though he has lost his own.
Although the novel has a controversial past, I do not believe that that should dissuade anyone from reading The Catcher in the Rye. This book is one of the greatest American classics, and is a witty and entertaining novel. An excellent read, I recommend The Catcher in the Rye to adolescents and adults alike who have a sense of humor and no sense of morals.
Book Review: Dear Holden: Please jump.
Summary: 2 Stars
I'll be the first to confess to a cultural Achilles' heel that runs up my back, over my skull and down to the unlovely bags under my eyes. As such, I am frequently at a loss to understand what the fuss is about. And it is perhaps for this reason that I still remain perplexed, nay flummoxed, by the cult status of this book and that of its repulsive protagonist, Holden Caulfield. When I first endured this merciless literary thumbscrew, it was in the late 1970s, at the behest of a high school English teacher who wore clogs, wooden jewelry and ambulatory tents made of faded denim. She believed with almost anguished sincerity that her students would "connect" with Holden, or find something "relevant" in the book. I quickly came to a conclusion that a recent re-reading has done nothing to dispel: Holden is a jackass. He's a spoiled prep school jerk who's so sickeningly self-involved that he has no clue that the people around him exist as anything other than background figures in the melodrama going on entirely in his own skull. He constantly refers to anything that doesn't meet with his schoolboy approval as "corny" and labors under the delusion that he's the first person who ever noticed that the transition out of childhood is awkward and uncomfortable, or that it's just no picnic facing grief and loss. Listen, you pustular little spud, we all go through it, and it's about as cosmically significant as a crumpled wad of used Kleenex. Maybe half a century ago, this hog wallow of teen angst was something fresh. But if Salinger had some larger point to make about coming of age it has all but disappeared in the fetishization of adolescence that took off not too long afterward, and has clung to our culture ever since. And the excruciating way that Holden speaks-the kid sounds like his lines were written by some Monogram Pictures hack who specialized in gangster dialogue for Bowery Boys movies. All that's missing from Holden's self-consciously brittle patois is some edgy patter about the agony of acne or the distressing appearance of pubic hair. ("One crummy day these goddam phony red spots started sprouting all over my mug. Next day it was some corny cork-screwy hairs poppin' outta my BVDs. . . .") On the plus side, this book did make me feel embarrassed to admit that I was 16, but I was one of only two people in the class who felt that way. The other one is in prison today. He strangled an impossibly precocious brat named Allie.
The book does, however offer one appealing if thinly drawn character. This is Edgar Marsalla, the hero who blew an audible fart in the chapel. I can't help feeling that he was expressing his opinion of his grating classmate, and got along much better in life than Holden ever did.