Yo, fellas. Catcher in the Rye.

[Omeganitros]

Remember when I asked for a list of books to read? I've been working hard on it. And I finished reading Catcher in the Rye.


And I didn't get it. I mean, yeah, I got the stuff that was apparent and stuff, but I was sure I was missing something, because I couldn't see what was brilliant about it. So was walking through Barnes and Noble, and I saw a SparkNotes book on it. I skimmed through it, and came to this conclusion: I didn't miss anything at all. All the SparkNotes book did was state what I found to be obvious, and shed light on nothing.


Help me, guys. I hate it when I don't understand something. And I'm almost sure I'm missing something.

[Tps222]

I just read it as well.

Mainly I see it as a kid stuck in youth and innocence, and not understanding the ways of the people of the world. Everywhere he goes, he see's "phonies". People he thinks are fake, or not true. He want's everyone to be honest, but that's not human nature. The cursing really bothers him as well. He is a perfect example of a depressed youth, and I'm sure many people could relate to it. It's more of a symbolic book on human nature, then a story.

[esupin]

Holden is a kid trying to act like an adult. He pretends to be older; he smokes, drinks, swears, etc. He can be analyzed many different ways, but basically he's mentally unstable(remember his brother that died?).
By regarding everything and everyone as phony(except for Pheobe), he alienates himself from the world. He cannot see past any people's faults, so he ends up distancing himself from them(his friends at the school, Mr. Antollini, the old history teacher guy, Sally, etc).
The only people Holden does not regard as phony are children(Pheobe, the kids at the skating pond, the kids in the museum looking for the mummy exhibit, the boy singing the song). That's why he wants to protect them from falling down the proverbial cliff into adulthood and be their 'catcher in the rye.'

[Omeganitros]

Keep trying, guys.

[Brainmaster07]

Esupin summed it up perfectly. That's what the books about it, looking into it any deeper would just be over-analysing. I personally thought it was a pretty good book, I've read better but it wasn't bad.

[Tasuke]

Holden hates everyone. Remember that.
There are a few exceptions, such as his sister and... that's it.
He doesn't like how things are going so he just leaves and sees
what else is happening. Surprisingly he ends up not caring about
all that stuff. He is just an assh*le of a kid trying to discover what's
going on or something. Holden is very emo.
He's just a horrible person, and all the time while he's calling everyone
else a "phonie" he ends up becoming one as well. Like when he said his
favorite character in Romeo and Juliet was Tybalt, that's like a metaphor
or something. I don't really know. But that is a damn awesome book.

[-Fallen-]

Holden is a kid trying to act like an adult. He pretends to be older; he smokes, drinks, swears, etc. He can be analyzed many different ways, but basically he's mentally unstable(remember his brother that died?).
By regarding everything and everyone as phony(except for Pheobe), he alienates himself from the world. He cannot see past any people's faults, so he ends up distancing himself from them(his friends at the school, Mr. Antollini, the old history teacher guy, Sally, etc).
The only people Holden does not regard as phony are children(Pheobe, the kids at the skating pond, the kids in the museum looking for the mummy exhibit, the boy singing the song). That's why he wants to protect them from falling down the proverbial cliff into adulthood and be their 'catcher in the rye.'



Exactly.


I am not a fan of reading but when I was still in school this book blew me away. Unbelievable and easily the best book I've read.

[esupin]

Keep trying, guys.

Maybe you could tell us what you do know so we can help you find out what you don't know.

[JurseyRider734]

Holden's an insecure teenager. Yano how Red means Stop and Green means Go? Well, take Holden's hat. Whenever he feels uncomfortable, he puts on his hat, meaning "stop". That whore(Sally?)'s dress is the color of green and it means go and stuff. The author made sure to point out the colors of things.

esupin summed it up pretty well, but the book has a LOT of symbolism.