Jade asked this question about
The Catcher in the Rye:
Am i the only person who fails to understand why this book is considered a classic, to me it was boring and tedious and the plot failed to engross me as many other books have?
Monika Geci
I've first read this book when I was 14 or 15 years old and I only remembered one quote from it because it made such an impact on me; "People always t…moreI've first read this book when I was 14 or 15 years old and I only remembered one quote from it because it made such an impact on me; "People always think something's all true. I don't give a damn, except that I get bored sometimes when people tell me to act my age. Sometimes I act a lot older than I am - I really do - but people never notice it. People never notice anything." And after almost 10 years, I decided to read it one more time, just to see. The book warmed up my heart in a way that is hard to explain but I'm gonna try.
I truly believe the whole book is about that quote; about being terribly misunderstood, society being blind when it comes to the things that truly matter, about seeing what is wrong with our world and the way we act and knowing how it can all be better but being aware that you can not change it and therefore being depressed, it is about being "young" and rebellious in a way where you just can not and don't want to adjust yourself to the rules of modern society because it doesn't align with your values. The only thing here is that the writer didn't showcase it in a sophisticated way but rather he decided to use Holden and the things that are happening to him to explain the bigger picture. Every single thing that Holden can't stand or that he hates, it's not about that specific thing (even though Salinger makes it look like it), it's about all the things in this world that make you feel like the one Holden hates. And if you ever felt like Holden, you can think of something else that made you "hate" something which makes you understand what he is talking about and therefore you don't take it literally.
Holden is a really important character in literature because of the way he is. One could easily think he's a stupid young boy who hates everything and is depressed all the time. But actually Holden is a an extremely emphatic intellectual who just figured out that it is easier to be "stupid" and a failure that it is for him to explain what is going on inside his head because, while observing the world, especially people around him, he figured that no one could actually, fully understand his thoughts. Holden is this guy that values honest human relationships above everything else and he constantly dreams about a world where that is possible to have, that's why he adores his younger brother Allie and younger sister Phoebe, they are kids and therefore honest, pure, playful and they don't understand what it means to be fake and act and pretend. When Holden was talking to Phoebe in D.B.'s room, she in a way accused him of there not existing one thing that can make him happy and it took him quite a while to think of something that did. Phoebe doing that perfectly showcased what everybody that knew him thought of him, but only Phoebe, because she is a kid, had the guts to say it to his face, and that killed Holden because it is not true. He couldn't think of something that made him happy because the things that make him happy aren't specific, concrete things but abstract ideas that in a way don't really exist because they are all based on human relationships and values. And that is when Holden thought about being the catcher in the rye. All he truly wants in life is for the kids not to die while playing, but not in a literal sense. What he wants to say with that is, that he wished people would stay honest and pure, as kids are, their whole life and not just fall off the edge while playing and becoming all the things he, and a lot of us, hate about adults. Because that's one thing he can't stand, people not paying attention and running towards the edge, falling off and ruining everything because they didn't care.
What I want to say is that, there is a lot of people who don't understand this book and why it's important and I think that is mainly because a lot of people don't understand people who are like Holden. And if you are somebody who is a lot like him, or you were in your teens, you laugh and cry while reading it and you fully understand him and the way he feels and you don't see him how he is portrayed but how he truly is and it in a way breaks your heart when you realize that the only way for a person like that to be "okay" is making peace with society never changing and in a way forever staying "quiet" even if he takes the advice from Mr Antolini and finds a place/thing/purpose that makes him feel better because that will only give him a little taste of solitude but it will never actually change the way he is because no matter where he goes, or what he does, he will always notice the little things that make people "phony" which is why he, a number of times, wanted to kill himself or run away. But he can never really do it because he actually loves life and people when he experiences something truly honest and pure, like his siblings, or the nuns, or Jane. And because he experienced it, he knows it's possible to have, but at the same time he realizes those things come and go and are actually quite rare to find, but never the less, he knows it exists and because those things are something that make him happier than words can explain, he just sticks around and desperately searches for it.
The book actually brilliantly showcases, through one character, how it is to be that kind of person. And therefore, it is a classic.
Also, the ending is brilliant because it is so true; "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." And that just confirms how much Holden actually cared about all the people he encountered even if he "hated" them, because he had a relationship with them and that is what he is all about; people.(less)
I truly believe the whole book is about that quote; about being terribly misunderstood, society being blind when it comes to the things that truly matter, about seeing what is wrong with our world and the way we act and knowing how it can all be better but being aware that you can not change it and therefore being depressed, it is about being "young" and rebellious in a way where you just can not and don't want to adjust yourself to the rules of modern society because it doesn't align with your values. The only thing here is that the writer didn't showcase it in a sophisticated way but rather he decided to use Holden and the things that are happening to him to explain the bigger picture. Every single thing that Holden can't stand or that he hates, it's not about that specific thing (even though Salinger makes it look like it), it's about all the things in this world that make you feel like the one Holden hates. And if you ever felt like Holden, you can think of something else that made you "hate" something which makes you understand what he is talking about and therefore you don't take it literally.
Holden is a really important character in literature because of the way he is. One could easily think he's a stupid young boy who hates everything and is depressed all the time. But actually Holden is a an extremely emphatic intellectual who just figured out that it is easier to be "stupid" and a failure that it is for him to explain what is going on inside his head because, while observing the world, especially people around him, he figured that no one could actually, fully understand his thoughts. Holden is this guy that values honest human relationships above everything else and he constantly dreams about a world where that is possible to have, that's why he adores his younger brother Allie and younger sister Phoebe, they are kids and therefore honest, pure, playful and they don't understand what it means to be fake and act and pretend. When Holden was talking to Phoebe in D.B.'s room, she in a way accused him of there not existing one thing that can make him happy and it took him quite a while to think of something that did. Phoebe doing that perfectly showcased what everybody that knew him thought of him, but only Phoebe, because she is a kid, had the guts to say it to his face, and that killed Holden because it is not true. He couldn't think of something that made him happy because the things that make him happy aren't specific, concrete things but abstract ideas that in a way don't really exist because they are all based on human relationships and values. And that is when Holden thought about being the catcher in the rye. All he truly wants in life is for the kids not to die while playing, but not in a literal sense. What he wants to say with that is, that he wished people would stay honest and pure, as kids are, their whole life and not just fall off the edge while playing and becoming all the things he, and a lot of us, hate about adults. Because that's one thing he can't stand, people not paying attention and running towards the edge, falling off and ruining everything because they didn't care.
What I want to say is that, there is a lot of people who don't understand this book and why it's important and I think that is mainly because a lot of people don't understand people who are like Holden. And if you are somebody who is a lot like him, or you were in your teens, you laugh and cry while reading it and you fully understand him and the way he feels and you don't see him how he is portrayed but how he truly is and it in a way breaks your heart when you realize that the only way for a person like that to be "okay" is making peace with society never changing and in a way forever staying "quiet" even if he takes the advice from Mr Antolini and finds a place/thing/purpose that makes him feel better because that will only give him a little taste of solitude but it will never actually change the way he is because no matter where he goes, or what he does, he will always notice the little things that make people "phony" which is why he, a number of times, wanted to kill himself or run away. But he can never really do it because he actually loves life and people when he experiences something truly honest and pure, like his siblings, or the nuns, or Jane. And because he experienced it, he knows it's possible to have, but at the same time he realizes those things come and go and are actually quite rare to find, but never the less, he knows it exists and because those things are something that make him happier than words can explain, he just sticks around and desperately searches for it.
The book actually brilliantly showcases, through one character, how it is to be that kind of person. And therefore, it is a classic.
Also, the ending is brilliant because it is so true; "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." And that just confirms how much Holden actually cared about all the people he encountered even if he "hated" them, because he had a relationship with them and that is what he is all about; people.(less)
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more