Kristen Parkes
Mrs. Ebarvia
World Literature Honors
11-19-07

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” And Thus begins the novel Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger. The story takes place in mid 1950’s in New York City, where adolescent Holden Caulfield roams around searching for a place to fit in. When Holden learns that once again he has been kicked out of the prestigious private all boys school in which he is enrolled in for this month, he decides to leave the quiet school life and return home once again to New York City.
Throughout this novel, I found many interesting aspects. The dialogue that Salinger wrote for Holden is truly capturing, and as a reader I begin to feel as though I grew up next door to the Caulfield’s my entire life. There is something about the way the main character goes about things, in such ways that no other person would be likely to think of. Holden is extremely dramatic, making it comedic and enrapturing for the reader. It was also interesting the amount of low self-esteem for which J.D Salinger provided for his main character. Holden is often depressed and this is clearly expressed at many points in the novel. Holden uses sarcasm, and although once again comedic, it makes it difficult for a reader to decide whether or not he is thinking.
This point leads us into the next idea about J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, his weaknesses. As hilarious and awkward Holden Caulfield was throughout the novel, as a reader, a majority of my time in the novel I felt confused and unable to keep up with the main character. Continuously, I would find myself re-reading pages, and even chapters to attempt to understand what was going on in Holden’s life at that moment. Another weakness clearly expressed was the fact that there was hardly a plot. Yes, it may be naïve that I like a love story, and a happy ending, but this novel had neither. It did not have so much as a rise or fall of the protagonist. In fact, it was as though there was a rollercoaster of rises and falls for the protagonist, but none of them significant. This caused me to be bored with the novel, and once again have trouble getting through it without drifting off to other places in my mind.
Although it may be true that a large portion of the United States thought that this novel was excellent and recommend it to all coming of age teens, I for one did not enjoy this novel; despite the comedy and intrigue. Even though this novel was not for me, I would recommend it to anyone whom enjoys male coming of age tales, for they would perhaps find it a better read than I have.