The Catcher in The Rye

[RockyBalboa]

Thanks to the 2 people in this thread who actually answered my question.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

Thanks to the 2 people in this thread who actually answered my question.

You're welcome.

I had to look through the thread to make sure I was one of them and I am assuming I am.

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

Thanks to the 2 people in this thread who actually answered my question.

Rocky, to answer your question, TCITR is perhaps the best and earliest example of teen angst/coming of age in contemporary American literature.

It was a radical book at the time not only because it was anti-establishment, but because it exposed the vulnerabilities associated with things that society was not widely ready to accept....namely, that teens grappled with sexual identity, depression, mental breakdown, drugs, the Establishment, and that the then-younger generation did not necessarily venerate their elders as it was always assumed in previous generations.

You can also throw in the libreal use of profanity and you have the makings of a real pop culture phenomenon.

Many people do not relate well to the book, and one a certain level, it is a rather boring account of a kid who gets kicked out of school and spends a few days messing around before telling his parents. I am not saying that those who do not enjoy the book are somehow unintelligent...not at all. It is a Coke/Pepsi thing....either you identify with the book or you do not.

I personally related well to Holden and to this day he remains one of my favorite protagonists in all of literature. I had a very similar skeptical outlook on life as a teen and can recall that feeling that Holden describes....the day you wake up and you realize that, to a certain extent, adults really are pretentious phonies.

The Mark Chapman angle holds no interest for me, and in fact is very annoying. Even Salinger, a notorious recluse, came out at the time to condemn Chapman's hijacking of Holden to justify his wicked actions. Chapman felt that he could save everyone by killing Lennon and end his hypocritical reign as a working class hero...that Chapman could, in essence, be our Catcher in the Rye and save us from Lennon, but Chapman missed the entire point.

Being The Catcher in The Rye was never about preventing anyone from growing up (or in Lennon's case, from being a successful phony). It was more about the fact that, ultimately, there is NO catcher in the rye. The scene at the end of the book when Holden is watching Phoebe on the merry-go-round....so symbolic....go around and around, circular, no progression, everyone dangerously reaching for the gold ring, obliviously happy to their static state....Holden realizes that he cannot be Phoebe's Catcher in the Rye...everyone has to grow up and learn for themselves. Phoniness, error, mistakes, etc....to a certain extent, it is all unavoidable. I think that realization is basically what finally pushes Holden over the edge and causes his nervous breakdown.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the book and have read it more than my fair share since high school. It never gets old for me.

[Mormon Red Death]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

I just bought "The Count of Monte Cristo" and will be reading that next.

I love this book for a variety of reasons:

1. This book is about revenge it is not like the movie made 2002.
2. His girlfriend while having some empathetic characteristics ultimately got what she deserved.
3. This book helped me pull off the Mormon roommate switch (the make out with two roommates). This was a play that came to the Pioneer Valley Playhouse. A girl I had been "hooking up" with at the time had a hot roommate that wanted to see this. We went and yadda yadda yadda

[MikeWaters]

Rocky, I'm disappointed you did not go with my choice, which was A MILLION TIMES better than Catcher in the Rye.

Now you are disappointed.

Told you so.

[8ballrollin]

Originally Posted by creekster

He was more 60s foundation than 60s revelation.

That's a pretty good one-liner.

[ute4ever]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

K...so it's Summertime and as part of my annual Summertime ritual of reading the classics, I just finished reading "The Catcher in The Rye" for the first time.

I just bought "The Count of Monte Cristo" and will be reading that next.

I fly so often that I do the same thing on travel days: read a classic. Presently I am on the unabridged Les Miserables. Some parts hit a little too close to home, which is a sign of a great novel. And if you're a church junky like me, the pages are saturated with gospel principles.

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by ute4ever

I fly so often that I do the same thing on travel days: read a classic. Presently I am on the unabridged Les Miserables. Some parts hit a little too close to home, which is a sign of a great novel. And if you're a church junky like me, the pages are saturated with gospel principles.

This is my favorite book. a long read, but my favorite.

[RockyBalboa]

Originally Posted by ute4ever

I fly so often that I do the same thing on travel days: read a classic. Presently I am on the unabridged Les Miserables. Some parts hit a little too close to home, which is a sign of a great novel. And if you're a church junky like me, the pages are saturated with gospel principles.

When I started my Annual Summer Classics Reading Tradition.....Les Miserables was the 1st book I read.

I loved it.

[Levin]

Originally Posted by landpoke

I enjoy spending time in the mountains, that doesn't mean I don't want to drill the bejeezus out of them.

Landpoke -- you surprise me. Were you just trolling in our conversation on the gray wolf? That everything actually isn't reduced down to material usefulness?