Posted on January 21, 2019
The Catcher In The Rye
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger follows Holden Caulfield on his journey after being expelled from Pency Prep for not applying himself in his classes and doing badly academically. So far, I have followed Holden on his journey to Manhattan, and it has been very interesting to say the least. Salinger did not provide the reader with many details, and I feel that this is due to the fact that Holden is not a reliable narrator. So far, we have not received many details as to Holdens background, and only know that he has been expelled from multiple schools before and that he is going home to Manhattan. So far, the problem within the story that we have been exposed to is his expulsion and what he is going to do before going home, but there is also the underlying theme that Holden did not fit in at school and has been dealing with the issue of isolation and alienation. We can see this when he chooses not to go to the big game and chooses to stay in his room instead.
I am enjoying the book so far, as it seems to tackle issues such as alienation from a perspective that is relatable to me as Holden is a similar age as me. The topic that he chooses to tackle is also something that many people experience at this age, and thus is very relatable. I also find that his tone at the start is one that is slightly scornful, as he is still coming to terms of getting expelled from yet another school and does not want to tell people as he is embarrassed by it. He is also upset when he finds out that his roommate has a date with a girl that he clearly has some feelings towards. Holden then changes his tone to one that has accepted his plight, and has chosen to make the most of it and really enjoy his newfound freedom before heading home by going to Manhattan and checking into a hotel for a few days before he is expected home. I also enjoy how Holden is an unreliable narrator ( as strange as that sounds). This train of thought is constantly disrupted, and this is extremely true for someone of his age. He would get easily distracted while telling the readers something, and will be sidetracked before returning to the topic. He is also brutally honest, especially when he tells us about Ackley or when Stradlater borrows his houndstooth jacket. This is truly a good representative of someone who is 16, as his thoughts are going to be raw and uncensored. There are also flashes of his past, but not enough for us to learn much about Holden. The most significant flashback is when he writes about his brothers baseball glove when helping Stradlater do his homework, and I found that this really made us feel sympathy for him, and made Holden appear as more genuine, as he was hiding memories that are painful to him.
Hello Boseph! I also read and posted about The Catcher in the Rye! I agree with your statement of Salinger not sharing Holden’s life and background. In my post, I wrote about that being one of the things I disliked about the book. Holden is just such an interesting and complex character and I really want to more about his home and school life. I also found it easy to relate to Holden since he is around our age and in high school. Some of his day to day problems, such as phonies, can be applied to almost all highschoolers. I never realized the dramatic tone switch when Stradlater when one a date with Jane until I read your post. I think that tone switch is very typical of Holden’s personality since, like you said, he’s an unreliable narrator and always changes his thoughts/moods very quickly throughout the book. I also wrote about Allie’s flashback. I loved how you mentioned it gives us a little peak into Holden’s past. I think Holden doesn’t disclose his past experiences because he doesn’t want to get hurt over and over again with continuous memories of him and Allie. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your post on The Catcher In The Rye because of your questioning as to why Holden doesn’t talk about his background or Allie, since both are topics in my post as well. I also enjoyed your analysis on the tone differences because that’s something I didn’t catch when reading the book. I can’t wait to read along with you and discover the mysteries and adventures of Holden!