I received a lot
of responses when my family and friends heard I was reading Catcher in the Rye.
My Grandma and father in particular seemed to have mixed feelings about it.
From their conversations about it, and from the pre-reading we did on this
book, I found it completely different than what I expected from it. It seemed a
lot more laid back and real than I
expected. I thought it was about a kid living on the streets, stealing from
people to make a living. But here we have a kid who’s just surviving, and it
seemed a lot more like a real life scenario as I read it than what I expected
from it before-hand. Also, the ‘adult’ content wasn’t as ‘adult’ as what I
expected. There is a lot of ‘adult’ content, for sure. But I didn’t read
anything new, I’ve heard those words used before and I knew what was going on.
I don’t know why that surprised me, but from listening to my Grandma and Dad
talk, it seemed like I was about to read something that would ‘open my eyes’ to
the real world. Well, it didn’t ‘open my eyes’ as much as I expected, or even a
little.
There was one situation in June where we were in Seattle, Washington. We were taking a city bus to downtown. There was a woman in the back of the bus who was evidently a little bit hypocritical. She laughed at nothing, she randomly scowled, and she would allow nothing to come within five feet of her. I think of this situation when I read about Holden’s situation for some reason, it reminds me of his idea of phoniness. Although I know for sure Holden would have described this lady as a big phony and moron, I probably would use neither of those words.
Holden I think is a bit verifiably insane. He’s a youth that’s out of control. He doesn’t know how to apply himself in anything, all he knows is how to barely survive in the modern world. And even that I think he just believes he knows. He may or may not actually know. The hints from the text are the many times where he is doing this he doesn’t mean to do. Like accidentally calling his date a royal pain in the rear end. Or saying he’s going to go out to Vermont. Or hitchhike out west. After each section, he says something like, I know I would have never done it, but I meant it when I said it. “I swear to God I’m a madman.” Those are hints that he’s insane. Not only that, but at the end of the book you find out he’s writing from a rehabilitation place. So I believe he’s a tad bit insane.
I think the prostitute section could be symbolized as something much bigger – the difference between right and wrong and what really matters in life. The prostitute comes in, takes off most her clothes, then Holden says he’s changed his mind. He’s feeling too depressed for that. Now, wrong almost always feels good – it’s human nature. When you steal some food, MMMM, that food tastes good. When you perhaps lie to someone so you can get something in return, whatever that return item is sure is something you’ve always wanted to do. Even bigger wrongs; smoking, drugs, sex, alcohol. Yeah they feel good, or no one would be doing them. But all of them tend to ruin your life if you’re addicted and using them in the wrong way. Even so, they still feel good. Like in the song Counting Stars from One Republic, the singer says, “And I, feel something so right, from doing the wrong thing…” Wrong things in this life almost always feels good. But here’s the catch, which I think is emphasized in the prostitute section in this book; wrong can always be an afterthought. Wrong can be overcome by wanting something bigger. What I mean is, Holden is depressed and lonely, and so depressed and so lonely he doesn’t even want to do this thing that a lot of other guys his age in his position would do. This poses a question, depression and loneliness are fixed by what? Depression is fixed by having a dream and a future to reach for, and loneliness is fixed by having good friends. Holden, whether he realizes it or not, wants both of these things; enough to look at the face of wrong and say no. This is what I believe what symbolism lies in this section, right and wrong and what really matters in life.
There was one situation in June where we were in Seattle, Washington. We were taking a city bus to downtown. There was a woman in the back of the bus who was evidently a little bit hypocritical. She laughed at nothing, she randomly scowled, and she would allow nothing to come within five feet of her. I think of this situation when I read about Holden’s situation for some reason, it reminds me of his idea of phoniness. Although I know for sure Holden would have described this lady as a big phony and moron, I probably would use neither of those words.
Holden I think is a bit verifiably insane. He’s a youth that’s out of control. He doesn’t know how to apply himself in anything, all he knows is how to barely survive in the modern world. And even that I think he just believes he knows. He may or may not actually know. The hints from the text are the many times where he is doing this he doesn’t mean to do. Like accidentally calling his date a royal pain in the rear end. Or saying he’s going to go out to Vermont. Or hitchhike out west. After each section, he says something like, I know I would have never done it, but I meant it when I said it. “I swear to God I’m a madman.” Those are hints that he’s insane. Not only that, but at the end of the book you find out he’s writing from a rehabilitation place. So I believe he’s a tad bit insane.
I think the prostitute section could be symbolized as something much bigger – the difference between right and wrong and what really matters in life. The prostitute comes in, takes off most her clothes, then Holden says he’s changed his mind. He’s feeling too depressed for that. Now, wrong almost always feels good – it’s human nature. When you steal some food, MMMM, that food tastes good. When you perhaps lie to someone so you can get something in return, whatever that return item is sure is something you’ve always wanted to do. Even bigger wrongs; smoking, drugs, sex, alcohol. Yeah they feel good, or no one would be doing them. But all of them tend to ruin your life if you’re addicted and using them in the wrong way. Even so, they still feel good. Like in the song Counting Stars from One Republic, the singer says, “And I, feel something so right, from doing the wrong thing…” Wrong things in this life almost always feels good. But here’s the catch, which I think is emphasized in the prostitute section in this book; wrong can always be an afterthought. Wrong can be overcome by wanting something bigger. What I mean is, Holden is depressed and lonely, and so depressed and so lonely he doesn’t even want to do this thing that a lot of other guys his age in his position would do. This poses a question, depression and loneliness are fixed by what? Depression is fixed by having a dream and a future to reach for, and loneliness is fixed by having good friends. Holden, whether he realizes it or not, wants both of these things; enough to look at the face of wrong and say no. This is what I believe what symbolism lies in this section, right and wrong and what really matters in life.
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