Catcher in the Rye

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“Catcher in the Rye”, written by J.D Salinger, is a coming-of-age novel. Narrated by the main character, Holden Caulfield, he recounts the days following his expulsion from his school. This novel feels like the unedited thoughts and feelings of a teenage boy, as Holden narrates as if he is talking directly to readers like me. I disliked “Catcher in the Rye”. There seems to be no actual, concrete plot to this novel. The novel is essentially a really long flashback of the three days Holden spent in New York. Nothing memorable happens in the novel; I think that the novel is basically an endless repetition of Holden complaining and whining about everyone else. I personally could not bring myself to sympathize with Holden, much less empathize with him. I feel like the novel is just a long rant by an immature teenage boy who thinks he knows everything about humanity and their ‘phoniness’. At first, I found the novel’s style of writing quite unique and even enjoyable, as Holden seems to be talking honestly and openly to me. However, as I read the book, I found his sarcastic, cynical voice to become quite annoying. Holden is a complex central character. He is judgmental, criticizing everybody, often labelling people as “phony”. He is pessimistic, and sees nothing in a positive light. Holden does not care much about anything, and he seems to hate everyone except for himself and his sister, Phoebe. This is seen when he says “One of my troubles is, I never care too much when I lose something... Some guys spend days looking for something they lost. I never seem to have anything that if I lost it I'd care too much.” and “I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. That way I wouldn't have to have any goddam stupid use... ... middle of paper ... ...one of us faces the struggles of growing up. We can either complain and rant and blame everyone else, or we can stay positive and try our best to rise above the challenges. Holden showed me how we can keep grumbling and keep whining, but that is not going to make the situation better. We should not let our hardships and challenges defeat us, but rather we should conquer our challenges. It is so much better if we stay positive in facing our challenges than if we just complain and whine about our hardships. Holden, despite his bitterness, is a character that has surprisingly inspired me to be more positive in facing my life’s challenges. After reading this novel, I really hope that the ‘Holdens’ of today will realize that being pessimistic and isolated is not cool; I hope they will be able to grow up someday and face their challenges in a more hopeful, positive way;

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