The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

First impressions

I haven’t read many books in my life but I know for sure this is one of the worst books I’ve read. I struggled to relate to the main character and not that much action was going on. These things made is hard for me to motivate myself to read the book. Another thing I hated was the fact that Holden is extremely whiny. That made it look like he is going through a phase of depression.  From the start to the end he whines about everything he can. This negativity made me ‘hate’ Holden as a person . If the book had been slightly more positive, I would have liked it more , I guess.

Insights after the discussion in class

In class we discussed the book in groups divided per book so we could discuss the books properly.

The three of us described the book as ‘vague and whiny’. We all thought the style of the book was interesting, but also made the book less fun to read.  Changing the style would lead to an even weirder story than it already is, so that’s not a possibility.

Throughout the story, Holden faces multiple problems with others, but most of all with himself. Holden’s been going from one school to another, because his parents wanted him to get good grades but he couldn’t . In the book he says school is boring and not interesting, and that he hates school. Holden cannot satisfy his parents and their expectations, which makes him run away from school and home.  The runaway is one of the feature of a ‘Negative Identity’.(Appelyard)

                                                          

Relating the Theory to the Book

In the book we can read, not only Holden’s actions, but also Holden’s thoughts. This makes us as readers spectators as well as participants. We get full access to get inside his head, in my opinion, this wasn’t necessary for the majority of the book. We can think along with the main character and as an adolescent a reader can decide whether he/she would have done the same or not.

In The Reader As Thinker, we can read that identification is an important element of the adolescent reader as a thinker. Holden is a (too) perfect example of an adolescent. He’s going through an hard time, and he thinks nobody understands him, which could be the case for other adolescents.

The story is quite realistic, but doesn’t reflect the reader’s experience that much. The struggles and problems are present in most adolescents, but the majority is not depressed, I guess.

Age suitability

This book is definitely written for adolescents. Young children wouldn’t understand any of the problems and struggles, and the book is just not interesting enough for them. I think the book is suitable for the age of 14-18. Although the book is suitable for that age, I would discourage everyone to read the book. In class there were only a few who liked the book, which I don’t understand because I think there’s nothing likable about this book.

 507 words

Sources:
Appelyard, The reader as Thinker
Salinger, J.D., (1951), The Catcher in the Rye