Posts Tagged ‘interurban’
Review: The Catcher in the Rye
I can understand why “The Catcher in the Rye” has been challenged in some schools and banned in some libraries. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, uses a lot of profanity and rough language, and gets himself into some situations, such has having a prostitute in his hotel room, that many parents would find objectionable.
But many of us know someone like Holden Caulfield, or maybe we are even a bit like him ourselves, or perhaps we used to be; someone who is like a porcupine that wonders why people don’t get close to him.
I’m not sure why I waited so long to get around to reading this book that some of my friends have called one of their favorites. It was only after reading Salinger’s “Franny and Zooey” recently that several urged me to read “Catcher.” All I can say is that I’m glad I did.
I read this book on two sittings, something that is very rare for me. I couldn’t put it down. I wanted to find out what situation Holden was going to get himself into next, all within the two-day period after getting kicked out of yet another boarding school.
Holden Caufield is a pathetic mess at 16 years old. Not only does he swear a lot, he insults the people he wants to be with, he smokes excessively, drinks excessively when he can, pretends to be something he’s not (but calls everyone else “phonies”), all while he is grieving the death of his younger brother and at the same time missing his older brother who has gone to be a screenwriter in Hollywood.
His little sister, Phoebe, describes the situation accurately when she tells him, “You don’t like anything that is happening.”
Yes, I think we all know someone like that. Which is why this book is so appealing after all these years.
While there is no conclusive resolution to Holden’s situation, there is enough wisdom near the end of the book from his little sister, as well as from a former teacher, to make the book redemptive on many levels.
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