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A review by teenage_reads
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
1.0
Plot:
Holden Caulfield likes to horse around. The second of four, Holden is the black sheep of the family. Older brother D.B lives in Hollywood, younger sister Phoebe, who is the star in their parents’ eye, and Allie, the kid brother who was special, Allie, who died of leukemia one summer. To Holden, everyone was fake (or as he called them phony) never meeting a decent guy, or girl, in his entire life. Onto his third private school, Holden was coming home for winter break, and the school kindly asks for him not to return. After failing four of his five classes, Holden knew he was the dummy of the family. With his roommate Staradlate, who went on a date with a Holden childhood friend, Holden had enough of the place and left in the middle of the night. His plan was to bum around New York City (his hometown), before showing up at his parent’s doorstep on Wednesday (the day he was supposed to come home). With spending money from grandmother, Holden had three days to live the high life in New York. From giving the ladies the ‘old eye’, prostitute, visiting old friends, girls and family, Holden has three days to kill in the city that never sleeps, a place he calls home.
Thoughts:
If you can identify with the main character Holden Caulfield, you might find this book bearable, if not, then this book is an utter wreck. With so much wrong with the story, let us start off with our main character: Holden. As a fellow pessimistic person, it was unbelievable how hard Holden was on every single person. He was so willing to point the blame out with his roommates, Phoebe, and Sally, that he did not even check his own personal traits (which were not good). This is a theme Salinger was trying to get out, of Holden (and other people in the world), are quick to judge others before themselves, but did Salinger had to make it that obvious? And with every person, Holden met? It would have been okay if it was, say his roommate, essay questions could be: Why was Holden so quick to judge Staradlate, where on his first night in New York he hired a prostitute? Instead, it was Holden who acts like a jerk to most of the people he met. Concluding to Holden not being the nicest character. The only time Holden is decent is when he talks about his sadness over dead brother Allie, but even that is only when Holden needs to idealize him.
One of the other major plot points was Holden needs to hold onto is his childhood. Holden horsing around was him not wanting to mature up, and protect the other kids from falling into adulthood, a trap he is trying to escape. From swearing all the time, being irresponsible, to drastic things like keeping his virginity, Holden only wishes he was Peter Pan and could stay a kid forever.
Now, this book is not getting a low rating just because of Holden (although the character does determine a good book), but the way J.D. Salinger wrote it, made it almost impossible to enjoy. From the child-like writing, no big words in this book, as it is supposed to reflect an older Holden (who is in the hospital with tuberculosis) writing about his mini-adventure. The worst was how Salinger made Holden repeat every idea he had, over and over again. When he talks about his hatred of phony people, Allie, Phoebe, school, he says the same things over and over again, using the same words in a different order. This novel was written similarly to a little kid getting super excited and trying to tell you a story, but they just say the same thing again and again, and laughing the entire time? That is essentially how it felt reading this novel. Still, with this writing, you understand what is going on, and find out what Holden is thinking / feeling, many times in a row. Holden is a boy who alienates himself from his peers, calling the phony where he just does not get them. Where Holden might be the biggest phony of them all, his adventure is filled with wonderment about what he is going to get into next, something he will share with you, over and over again.
Holden Caulfield likes to horse around. The second of four, Holden is the black sheep of the family. Older brother D.B lives in Hollywood, younger sister Phoebe, who is the star in their parents’ eye, and Allie, the kid brother who was special, Allie, who died of leukemia one summer. To Holden, everyone was fake (or as he called them phony) never meeting a decent guy, or girl, in his entire life. Onto his third private school, Holden was coming home for winter break, and the school kindly asks for him not to return. After failing four of his five classes, Holden knew he was the dummy of the family. With his roommate Staradlate, who went on a date with a Holden childhood friend, Holden had enough of the place and left in the middle of the night. His plan was to bum around New York City (his hometown), before showing up at his parent’s doorstep on Wednesday (the day he was supposed to come home). With spending money from grandmother, Holden had three days to live the high life in New York. From giving the ladies the ‘old eye’, prostitute, visiting old friends, girls and family, Holden has three days to kill in the city that never sleeps, a place he calls home.
Thoughts:
If you can identify with the main character Holden Caulfield, you might find this book bearable, if not, then this book is an utter wreck. With so much wrong with the story, let us start off with our main character: Holden. As a fellow pessimistic person, it was unbelievable how hard Holden was on every single person. He was so willing to point the blame out with his roommates, Phoebe, and Sally, that he did not even check his own personal traits (which were not good). This is a theme Salinger was trying to get out, of Holden (and other people in the world), are quick to judge others before themselves, but did Salinger had to make it that obvious? And with every person, Holden met? It would have been okay if it was, say his roommate, essay questions could be: Why was Holden so quick to judge Staradlate, where on his first night in New York he hired a prostitute? Instead, it was Holden who acts like a jerk to most of the people he met. Concluding to Holden not being the nicest character. The only time Holden is decent is when he talks about his sadness over dead brother Allie, but even that is only when Holden needs to idealize him.
One of the other major plot points was Holden needs to hold onto is his childhood. Holden horsing around was him not wanting to mature up, and protect the other kids from falling into adulthood, a trap he is trying to escape. From swearing all the time, being irresponsible, to drastic things like keeping his virginity, Holden only wishes he was Peter Pan and could stay a kid forever.
Now, this book is not getting a low rating just because of Holden (although the character does determine a good book), but the way J.D. Salinger wrote it, made it almost impossible to enjoy. From the child-like writing, no big words in this book, as it is supposed to reflect an older Holden (who is in the hospital with tuberculosis) writing about his mini-adventure. The worst was how Salinger made Holden repeat every idea he had, over and over again. When he talks about his hatred of phony people, Allie, Phoebe, school, he says the same things over and over again, using the same words in a different order. This novel was written similarly to a little kid getting super excited and trying to tell you a story, but they just say the same thing again and again, and laughing the entire time? That is essentially how it felt reading this novel. Still, with this writing, you understand what is going on, and find out what Holden is thinking / feeling, many times in a row. Holden is a boy who alienates himself from his peers, calling the phony where he just does not get them. Where Holden might be the biggest phony of them all, his adventure is filled with wonderment about what he is going to get into next, something he will share with you, over and over again.