The Catcher in the Rye

It isn't very often when I find a book I don't like. It confuses me further when I dislike a book that so many have found inspiring or even life-changing. After being on my must-read list for at least a year, The Catcher in the Rye became one of these novels. I started it with high expectations, hoping to love what many have called a masterpiece, and I almost feel guilty for not enjoying it. Despite all of that, I would still recommend the novel to anyone who enjoys reading. I feel as though it is a book that needs to be read, and it is simple to pick a side about your feelings towards it once you digest and understand its content. The main thing is to approach the book with a grain of salt and a mature, open mind.

Holden, both the narrator and protagonist of the novel, is unable to escape the intensity of his emotions throughout the majority of the novel. His attitude is pretty much summed up in one quote. "So I took a cab. I didn't want to, but I did." It is this kind of line that confuses me, and dissuades me from reading the novel. We can all sympathise with kids who don't fit in with people in high school, but although Holden is a lost soul, almost a tragic figure, he also happens to be a hypocritical, self-deprecating and most of all self-loathing. Holden discusses his spite for society and reveals the disgust he holds for all phonies and hypocrites around him. In the end, he is just as much, if not more, of a hypocrite as everyone he hates so virulently. His idea of a phony was someone who lied to and deceived others and themselves, however throughout the novel he lied to himself and to others constantly.

The Catcher in the Rye has been both revered and reviled, and has repeatedly found itself on lists of banned and challenged books. It is the first novel I have read that explores the truths of a teenager's world instead of brushing them under the carpet. J.D. Salinger provides the reader with no answers or earth-shattering revelations, which is what bored me. The whole book is simply an exploration of new territory. I continuously found myself re-reading pages and even chapters, which is something that I have never had to do before. I simply couldn't keep up with Holden's life. In my opinion, a major weakness in the novel was that it didn't have a plot. I had trouble reading more than 4 pages without my mind drifting off. If there ever was a climax to the book I must have missed it. The only lesson that I took from The Catcher in the Rye is the fact that we as a society need to challenge what we read in Holden's struggle, meaning the rigid, hardening and ultimately repressive cultural expectations that surround us.