Catcher in the Rye: Part I

So i've read chapters 1 and 2 so far. I had forgotten how Salinger's style completely sucks you into the story. One of the most important things to remember when reading or re-reading this novel in particular is this: HOLDEN CAULFIELD IS NOT A CHARACTER TO BE LIKED. It is also important to remember that there are TWO Holden Caulfield's in this novel: The one telling the story and the one he's telling the story about. Yes, it is physically the "same" person but the narration is coming from the Caulfield one year after the events in the novel have taken place. If there is anything I remember distinctly from my lit classes, it's that fact. Trust me, it'll stay in your head forever.

I decided as I was reading that I wasn't going to summarize the novel here but rather discuss different aspects of it and how, even though this novel is often referred to by the present generation as outdated and irrelevant, it is extremely relevant and applicable to the status-quo of the youth today.

Holden (the one in the story) has been kicked out of his prep school for flunking 90% of his classes; he doesn't want to talk about his family; he hates his school; feels bad for the history professor who flunked him because he is extremely sick; wears a red hunting cap; resents his older brother, D.B., for selling out to Hollywood.

With everything going on in the world today, there is a group of individuals that seem to reflect the very same views and emotions embodied by Holden Caulfield. The resentment towards their educational institutions for either failing them literally or for failing them in their purposes; the dissonance between youth and family; the empathy towards those ailing and frail; the rebellion towards conglomerate corporate america; the safety blanket.

All of these things are prevalent in TV shows, music or modern literature. Holden Caulfield is not a character to be admired or envied; Holden Caulfield is a character created to contain and represent the inner disappointments in us all.