‘The Catcher in The Rye’ Raises More Questions Than Answers
Based on my reading history on Goodreads, it took me more than three years to finally read the novel since I purchased it second-handedly from Better World Books. Three freaking years. Told ya I am more of a book hoarder than I am a reader.
The 277-page novel has been sitting silently on my bookshelf from January 2016 to November 2019. Over the years, I did not have any intention to pick up the book, which of course has yellowish pages, let alone to read it. Until one fine day, I decided that I can’t spend my entire life trying to watch all the movies and TV shows I added to my Netflix list.
I have to do something about my life. Hmm, but what to do tho?
You may have a bazillion answers to that question, but I decided to start changing my adult(less) boring life by something small: reading all the books I have collected over the years. There are not too many books, but they are not few either. And with that motivation, I picked up the book that sit on the top left of my bookshelf. You guessed it right, it was this novel.
The Catcher in The Rye is a classic novel by author J.D. Salinger. It tells the story of a young boy named Holden Caulfield, who was just kicked out of his school. The story centers around Holden’s journey from Pennsylvania to New York City over three sleepless nights in 1951.
To this day, Holden Caulfield has been (arguably) considered an icon of teenage rebellion. At least that is what was written on Wikipedia page of this novel.
While I was reading the novel, I tried my very best to like it, but I could not. I just could not. I get why people love this classic novel, but I just could not like it. Maybe because I couldn’t relate to the message of this book. Maybe I should re-read it a few times when I get older, just like every reader of the novel who has posted the review here.
I get that the novel, which was firstly published in 1951, talked about “phoniness” that can still resonate to this day. Phoniness, which nowadays translates to as being fake.
The phoniness was what made Holden feel isolated and depressed in his life. He could not relate to almost all the characters in his life; not to his friends, parents, favorite teacher, or even to some girls he liked. He called all of them “phonies”. Practically every single adult he had ever encountered in his life was considered a phony.
That kills me. In fact, I think he was a phony himself. He refused to grow up and faced the realities of his life.
I could not help but found myself rolling my eyes every time Holden took a cynical view of other characters. The world does not center around you, Holden! Try to understand other people before you call them phonies, and try to grow up! That is what I wanna say to him many times while I was reading the book.
Holden could only speak highly of his younger siblings: the deceased Allie and his sister Phoebe. These two characters were little children. As a reader, I could not help but wonder, why did Holden only relate himself to little children?
Was it because little children were (supposedly) innocent?
Was innocence what it took to fight “the phoniness” that surrounded his life?
The writer, J.D. Salinger, did not provide any answer to my lingering question. Not that he cared, I guess. He ended this so-called classic novel rather uncharmingly in my opinion.
After Salinger took us to take a peek of Holden’s three sleepless nights, the journey of this teenage boy was ended right then and there, in a blatant way, if I am being honest.
The last few paragraphs were not something to write home about, or even worth quoting. I could not help but feel disappointed.
The title, The Catcher in the Rye represents Holden’s goal in life, which roughly translates to the protector of innocence in children. I don’t know if that’s even possible, and nor did Salinger for that matter, I think. All I know, it must be exhausting living by Holden’s way of thinking.
Salinger could carry on Holden’s journey to eternity, with all the swearings and depressed scenes, but I guess he could not make Holden the protector of innocence in children. No one could.