The Catcher in the Rye
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Did you hate this book in high school?
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message 151:
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Raymond
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Jul 06, 2019 03:34PM
No the book was banned my school since it was the prototype for Pennsy Prep! I met Jerry Salinger when I was incarcerated there and he told exactly who everyone in the book was and his dorm is actually called Hamilton Hall!!
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I agree, that it is a good idea to read a book and then return to it, you gain a better understanding of the content.
I loved it. Nope didn’t read it for school just curious. Lots of ppl will never be interested which is the point of the book. Ppl are mostly too into themselves to notice others around them.
I had to read this in high school as part of our Novel class, and boy, did I hate it! I couldn't understand why our teacher thought this book was good! For the record: 1. Uninteresting, bad protagonist, (Holden) 2. Gross and tedious story 3. Are you really expecting me to feel a connection to or sympathy for him? He was about the least admirable or likeable character in the book. The only good character, whom I liked was his sister, Phoebe. I could've read a full novel with just her as the protagonist - but no such luck.
I never read this book in high school which is probably why it is one of my favorite books of all time. This is not a book meant for high schoolers or college students IMO. The themes, metaphors and literary references are above the heads of the average teenager. Holden's mental breakdown is recognizable to many adult readers with the experience we bring to the text. Just like The Awakening, this is not a book that a high schooler has the contextual experience to relate to. So, in defense of J.D. Salinger's brilliant treatise on the human condition and Holden, please stop teaching/reading this book in high school. Wait until you really understand what it is like to try to grab that ring and not be able to reach it. B.S. Literature
M.S. Ed. English
We just read this recently and I absolutely hated this book. Holden never truly showed growth in the book and there was no substantial plot. Would never read this again.
Jo Ann, as an English teacher I agree with you. It was a difficult chore to try to get high school students to understand the themes and concepts of the novel. High school students mostly like a happy ending. My students were disappointed when they couldn't find a happy ending or a happy something in the book. Yet this book was required 12th grade reading at my high school.Cassandra, I'm sorry you hated the book.
As for me, I loved it. But I'm the sympathetic type.
I know everyone has read The Great Gatsby. What did the Green Light signify?
Judy wrote: "I liked the book. My heart went out to Holden as Salinger took us through his breakdown. He was having a breakdown and no one noticed. He tried as hard as he could to hold it together, but it was t..."Judy, this book was absolutely horrendous. I respect your opinion, but this books plot was terrible. There was no character growth at all. Every time a mistake was made, Holden would write it off and would rarely try to improve. And in the rare instances he did, he would go back and revert to old habits. And by the end, the story had no resolve. Holden is now in a ward because of his mental illness. The action in the book was mostly mental conflict, and was not enticing in the slightest. Overall, a very poorly written book.
Nate wrote: "Judy wrote: "I liked the book. My heart went out to Holden as Salinger took us through his breakdown. He was having a breakdown and no one noticed. He tried as hard as he could to hold it together,..." I couldn't agree with you more Nate. This book had nothing in the plot to keep the readers interest and no clear climax. Why any teacher would force students to read such an abomination to society amazes me!
Judy wrote: "Jo Ann, as an English teacher I agree with you. It was a difficult chore to try to get high school students to understand the themes and concepts of the novel. High school students mostly like a ha..." Thanks for the apology, but I happily stand by my opinion. As an English teacher you should be giving students literature that excites them and keeps them engage. Forcing them to read this rubbish makes students lose any ounce of effort they originally put into the class. Personally I would never make a student read this book because it doesn't even set a good example for them. Holden does drugs, hits on mothers and is overall selfish. He ends up in a mental institution because of his lack of character. You should not be this awful of an English teacher.
Sure I did. As a 14 year old girl with "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" parents and a backpack of trauma, I was so angry at Holden for throwing his life away. I can understand now as an adult that he was dealing with his trauma differently than I did. He was definitely an insufferable, misogynistic narrator. But I think that is a unique perspective to take, especially for the time. Trauma and mental illness can make us insufferable to be around. We can be destructive to ourselves and those we love without meaning to hurt them. Looking back, I (ironically) see similarities between Holden's explosions and mine at 14. I don't enjoy reading the book, and it is frustrating to watch him self-destruct. It is an interesting concept to chat about, but thank GOD I will never have to read it again.
my high school teacher recommended it to me because I had a 'cynical outlook of life' and could relate to the narrator, and unfortunately, I did not like this book whatsoever just too depressing for my taste
I read it my senior year of high school. I found myself to quite enjoy this book and I didn't mind unraveling the symbolism everywhere. Personally, I liked Holden from day one. He was nowhere near perfect and he could be pretty pessimistic but I guess I never let that get to me. Almost my entire class hated him, but ironically it was the most 'phony' people who showed the extreme amount of distaste. Holden was so lost and in ways I felt the same way. He was far from perfect but that is really how it goes. I guess people are so used to reading books that are unrealistic and portray these characters that are happy-go-lucky 24/7. I think that it was something we needed to hear at the time. Most of the people were too immature and flat out ignorant. They were so stuck in their own narcissism to even enjoy the book. They only started to like Holden out of pity. Yet from day one I cut him some slack and I looked past all of his jagged edges and knew that he really wasn't feeling himself at all. Deep down, I always felt like he had some good in him but didn't know where to find it.
I am one of those annoying people who always liked the assigned texts in high school. So I enjoyed Catcher in the Rye. 30 years later I still enjoy reading it. So no, I did not (and do not) hate this book.
