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J.D. Salinger鈥檚 鈥楥atcher in the Rye鈥� was published on July 16, 1951. It was his first novel. It became very popular among young adolescents yet not so popular with older generations. I personally thoroughly enjoyed every part of this book. I felt very close to Holden Caulfield, the main character in the story, as I read it.
Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year old boy from New York, was quite unlike kids his age. He had no interest in being popular or social. From the very beginning he lets us into part of his personal life. His parents are very touchy and his mother is especially protective. It becomes clear very quickly where Holden鈥檚 interests lie and where they start to veer off. He tends to lean away from the fake in the world and is a teller of what is real.
Holden is not a fan of the movies at all. He saw his brother, D.B., throw away his natural writing talent all for a large Hollywood check. Any other boy Holden鈥檚 age would have been absolutely ecstatic to have a sibling working amongst the stats in Hollywood, but not Holden. It was all far too 鈥減hony鈥� for him; and phony is his worst enemy.
Salinger鈥檚 use of sarcasm and irony is beautiful and hilarious. As I read through each chapter I found myself highlighting funny, sarcastic things Holden would say or think (and trust me, there are DOZENS of time where this occurs.) One specific time in Chapter 8 he is talking to a cab driver who is acting like a real fool. Holden says to the readers, 鈥淗e certainly was good company. Terrific personality.鈥�
Salinger鈥檚 character Holden is actually a lot like Salinger in his real life. Like Holden, Salinger was known for his reclusive nature. Uninterested with the fakeness of the world, Holden keeps his distance from phony people. After Salinger鈥檚 success of 鈥楾he Catcher in the Rye鈥�, he slowed down his publishing and slowly but surely drifted out of the public eye. To this day Salinger refuses any offers to have 鈥楾he Catcher鈥� put on the big Hollywood screen. Salinger鈥檚 ex lover, Joyce Maynard, even once said that, 鈥淭he only person who might ever have played Holden Caulfield would have been J.D. Salinger.鈥� It seems to me that it is no coincidence that Holden is no fan of Hollywood and that Salinger in real life and doesn鈥檛 want anything to do with turning his popular novel into a movie. Holden says, 鈥淚f there鈥檚 one thing I hate, it鈥檚 the movies, Don鈥檛 even mention them to me.鈥�
Since I have learned more about Salinger鈥檚 personal life, I recognize a lot of Salinger鈥檚 personality in Holden. In the story, Holden has overbearing parents much like Salinger鈥檚 parents. Salinger said his mother was over protective. Salinger has one sibling, a sister, which is ironic because it is Holden鈥檚 sister Phoebe who has a profound influence on Holden. He often talks about her with very high regards.
Holden is not a character who tried to sugarcoat the way he sees the fakeness around him. Holden, making fun of the people around him, often says things like 鈥測ou would鈥檝e puked鈥� and 鈥渋t was very phony鈥�. I think that is another one of the reasons I like his character so much. For example, he is quite upset with the fact that his brother D.B. is selling his work to Hollywood instead of using his talents for his own pleasure. Holden even says that his brother is his favorite author. Salinger himself is a man who wrote for his own pleasure and likeness.
I made a similar connection to a girl named Sally that Holden likes in the book, to a real life lover of Salinger鈥檚 named Oona. Oona O鈥橬eil was self-absorbed and stuck up, according to Salinger, yet he still phoned and wrote her letters quite often. Holden鈥檚 鈥淥ona鈥� in the story was a girl named Sally Hayes. Though he found her extremely irritating he thought she was very attractive as well. After spending a day with her, he pointed out about a dozen instances where he thought she was being 鈥減hone as hell鈥�. By the end of their only meeting in the book, Holden says to Sally, 鈥淵ou give me a royal pain in the ass if you want to know the truth.鈥� The real life Oona O鈥橬eil ended up breaking it off with Salinger and married the famous actor, Charlie Chaplin.
Despite Holden being a sixteen year old teenage boy he acts much older than his age. One time in the story he has the chance to be with a prostitute but instead of acting like a pig, he starts to feel sorry for her and instead tried to have a conversation with her. He even offers to pay her for good conversation instead of for sex. He also stays alone in hotels randomly, drinks at bars and clubs often, and even tells people he鈥檚 older than he really is. But the reason I find his character mature and intellectual is for other reasons.
Holden does not hold money or material things to be really important. He is more excited to hang out with his kid sister than he is any other time in the entire book. He is content with something that would probably be boring to other guys his age.
Like many teenagers, Holden is often depressed. The way he deals with it most times actually breaks my heart in a way. He likes to talk to his deceased kid brother, Allie. He will take a real event that he can remember where he was talking with him and pretend he is talking to him again. He says, 鈥淚 started talking out loud to Allie. I do that sometimes when I get very depressed.鈥� It is really very heart wrenching to hear Holden talk about his brother. One of my favorite moments in the book is when Holden and Phoebe are talking in Phoebe鈥檚 room and she points out that Holden doesn鈥檛 like anything. Holden responds quickly by saying, 鈥淚 like Allie. And I like doing what I鈥檓 doing right now. Sitting here with you and talking and thinking about stuff鈥︹€� Phoebe says to Holden, 鈥淎llie鈥檚 dead-you always say that! If somebody鈥檚 dead and everything, and in heaven then it isn鈥檛 really--鈥�. Holden interrupts her with his final comeback, 鈥淚 know he鈥檚 dead! Don鈥檛 you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can鈥檛 I? just because somebody鈥檚 dead, you don鈥檛 just stop liking them, for God鈥檚 sake- especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that鈥檙e alive and all.鈥�
One of the most beautiful things about 鈥楾he Catcher in the Rye鈥� is the way Salinger uses symbolism. From Holden鈥檚 red hunting hat, to Jane Gallagher鈥檚 checker playing technique, Salinger wrapped up more than meets the eye into things you never would have dreamed. The main thing that drew me into this story is the realness of Holden鈥檚 character. He is a teenage boy with a teenage boy鈥檚 mind but seems to have far more common sense than anyone else around him. He is not a jock. He is not a math whiz or a science whiz. He is not really interested in sports. He sort of makes up his own category; a category that I call 鈥榯he genuine鈥�. He is on his own a lot and loves it at first, but happiness and love are meant to be shared with others. It has a much less meaning when by itself and he realizes it by the end of the novel. He is growing intellectually little by little throughout the whole book. He realizes what really makes him happy. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone who would like to read a story that could possibly change the way they view the world. I have honestly laughed outloud to myself as I read this story. Yes, there is talk about drinking, sex, and lots of cussing, but if you are going to avoid reading this story because of that then your missing out on a beautiful masterpiece.