The Catcher in the Rye: Criticism

Holden Caulfield is one if those people who seems like he can never be wrong. Or, he believes that he can never be wrong. This, and the view he takes of the world is why he is so extremely critical if it and everyone in it. He criticizes it, but the thing is, Holden criticizes himself too. He seems to be completely honest with what he perceives of the world, though it is always critical and demanding. For example, Holden goes to see a show and his reaction is, "After the Christmas thing was over, the goddamn picture started. It was so putrid I couldn't take my eyes off it." This is a show that someone somewhere probably worked very hard on, but Holden holds no appreciation for it. Everyone else around him seems to be really enjoying themselves except Holden. This is something that irritates me about Holden's character. No matter how honest he seems or intellectual, he is critical to a fault. What gives Holden the right to see the wrong in very person and every aspect of life and society?  However, Holden can see it, and when he explains the reasoning behind his omnipresent cynicism, it usually makes some concrete sense. It seems that J.D. Salinger is speaking out toward society and conformity through Holden.

The Carhcher in the Rye: Voice

One particular reason why the character of Holden seems so fascinating is because he seems so real. His thoughts are deep and thought provoking and real. He sees things about real life situations and then convey them in a new light. One way he seems more real to me is the voice that J.D. Salinger gives him. Phrases like, "Cor Chrissake" and "it really killed me" are so common that I developed a familiarity with Holden's voice. He uses "goddamn" so often as an adjective that I almost start saying it automatically in my head before words. Then there is his favorite adjective to describe people he knows. Holden always says "old so-and-so". For example, " 'Now listen,' old Sally said..." or, " 'Shut up,' old Maurice said, and fave me a shove." Holden talks like a real person and he thinks like a real person, a very different and intellectual person. He uses this intellect to pose questions to everyday life and common societal flaws. At the same time, he is very bizarre, which frankly makes the internal dialogue of his thoughts all the more interesting.

The Catcher in the Rye: Alienated

At first, I thought that this book would be about the character of Hokden and his growth an development form a troubled youth to a more mature being. He was clearly a rebel in the beginning of the novel, breaking all sort of rules and getting kicked out of school. However, Holden surprises me and becomes even more if a rebel as the novel continues. He goes to Nee York and blows all his money, he drinks and smokes, he bickers with everyone, and more and more speaks out instead of keeping his criticisms all inside his thoughts. I think this novel is more of a call for social reform rather than just a story about a rebellious youth named Holden. Holden sets a prime example of truly observing society and seeing it's man faults, rather than simply conforming to the norm. Holden asks questions of things I normally take for granted. Take, for example, his argument with Sally when he proposed running away and she tells him he can't, he replies, "Why not? Why the hell not?" I can't decide whether Holden's outlooks is more complicated or less than the average person. It is more complicated because he asked questions about everything. However, it is less complicated because the questions he asks are regarding why the ridiculous complicated lives that we live are even necessary.

The Catcher in the Rye: Phonies

A huge theme of J.D. Salinger's A Catcher in the Rye u Holden's point of view and criticisms if various societal trends. One such trend that Holden finds particularly irritating is when people are "too good" at something. As I discussed in an earlier blog, Holden is extremely perceptive of his environment. Because of this, he is annoyed byte flaws that he sees in society that others don't seem to realize. For example, these people who seem to be "too good" Holden refers to as "phonies", like Ernie the piano player or the ivy league boy from the theatre. He thinks they are fake, and I am beginning to realize what he means by this. People who no longer derive the simple pleasure from their skill, but seek gratitude in the praise from others is fake pleasure in that act.

The Catcher in the Rye: Lonely

Holden mentions frequently that he is either lonely or depressed, "I wasn't sleepy not anything, but I was feeling sort of lousy. Depressed and all. I almost wished I was dead." First of all, the fact that wishing he was dead was only considers "sort of lousy" to Holden is concerning. But the point is that Holden doesn't seem to really have anyone to always count on as a companion. He had the boys at school, but didn't show any particular attachment to any of them. He also has his family, especially his sister whine he references a lot, but he is away at school all the time and hardly sees them. Apparently he hardly speaks to them either because they don't know that he was kicked out of school. He talks about his older brother, but he lives in Holleywood, on the opposite end of the country. Then there is his younger brother Allie who died of leukemia. Holden speaks of Jane Gallager all the time as well, but clearly hasn't spoken to this old friend in a while due to the fact that he was so shy thy he refused to say hi to her when she came for her and Stradlater's date. All in all, Holden is a very lonely person which explains a lot in regards to his apparent strides for attention, like flunking out of school and breaking all the rules like lying about his age, smoking in the rooms, and drinking underage. Holden says he wishes he was dead sometimes, and I really hope that this book leads to some development in morale for Holden.

The Catcher in the Rye: Conscience

Being the narrator of the story, Holden's conscience is revealed through his thoughts and the situations that he experiences throughout the novel. He ha a very strange conscience because he doesn't necessarily feel bad about failing out of school multiple times, or judgin people, or cursing all the time, but he is very conflicted when I comes to his thoughts about sexuality, and his actions with girls. He obviously has a strange conscience if he was willing to pay to have a whore come to his room, but then conflicted enough to pay her to simply sit and talk with him. He says, "Sex is something I really don't understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away." Holden's style seems to be quite impulsive. He makes decisions and takes actions and then analyzes those thoughts an actions later. Possibly, that might just be the way this book seems because Holden is writings retrospectively about himself. Though sex and girls aren't the only things that Holden had as struggle with, he thinks about them quite a lot. I think this is because he also thinks of Jane Gallagher often, and he is attracted to her, so the two are obviously connected.

The Catcher in the Rye: Detail

Holden pays great attention to detail, as seen in the way he describes both things and people. He notices and talks about the most trivial things, often connecting them back to a past memory or some other anecdote. This is the reason for the somewhat random stream of thoughts that make up this novel. Holden's thoughts jump from one topic to another once he has perceived a detail that sparks another thought, sometimes returning to the original train of thought and sometimes not. For example, while thinking about Jane Gallagher, Holden begins, "I remember this one afternoon..." and leaps into a story of he and Jane. Holden's attention to detail is very helpful, coming from the standpoint of the reader, because his thoughts and perceptions are the narration of the novel. Therefore, whatever Holden notices about a person is the information the reader knows about that character. For example, apparently, "She was a funny girl, old Jane. I wouldn't exactly describe her as strictly beautiful. She knocked me out though. She was sort of muckle-mouthed..." This also reveals something of Holden's character as well, as an honest and attentive person.