Catcher in the Rye

I am going to start saying that I had to reread a lot of parts in order to understand it; I am not going to lie about it. I believe I didn’t like it because I didn’t get every word, motif and symbol until I made a little research on it. I must say that the way it is written just bothered me, and the lead character was just as bothersome as it. So the only thing I wanted to do was to finish reading it (to end my agony).

As ‘we’ discussed in class the story is written from Holden Caulfield’s point of view. He doesn’t tell the story in a way that makes sense but in the way he feels it. And I have never hated a character as much as I hated Caulfield while reading. Although I could feel a kind of proximity while I was reading, and the way he expresses himself was a very relaxed one, it felt like I was sitting next to an old man complaining about things that are just normal. Also, the constant use of certain phrases “and all” just got me fed up. Or maybe I just “didn’t feel like” listening to an ordinary man’s story of life. You know? You just can do this kind of stuff if you feel like it.

HOWEVER, I must admit that this novel is not only about a cynic teenager complaining about people being as phony as him. It is deeper than that. This is about a ‘kid’ going through what we call adolescence. He knows he is growing up, and he knows he is going to be part of this horrible adult world where everybody is fake as hell. In fact, I think he already has been caught by this ‘evil adult world’, because he is always lying and pretending to be something he is certainly not. “I am the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life” he said when he lied to ‘old Spencer’ when he wanted o leave in order to avoid the lecture that was coming. He did the exact thing he hates about older people.  Then we have this part when he meets Ernest Morrow’s mother in the train. Again he lies, telling her a false name. The list of Caulfield’s lies continues, but I don’t want to talk about every single lie he told. I just want to point out the fact that he contradicts himself in so many ways. He realizes that he is a big liar, but he keeps on lying. I remember that in class we analyzed this and we came to the conclusion that the author wanted say that it is OK to be contradictory. And it is true! Human beings are always contradicting themselves. Sometimes you need to be contradictory in order to discover new truths, new ways.

He knew he was turning into a phony person. He knew he was ‘lost’ in that way, he couldn’t revert that. Here is when the catcher in the rye symbol appears. When he is talking with Phoebe, and she asks him what he likes, what he would like to be. He remembers this Robert Burns’ poem that, according to Caulfield, said “If a body catch a body comin’ through the rye”. He next explains he wants to catch all the kids that are about to fall for a cliff in the rye. He wanted to prevent children becoming adults, and losing their purity. That’s why he gets scandalized when he sees ‘Fuck you’ written near Phoebe’s school. He didn’t want his sister or any kid to be ‘perverted’. He wanted to do what he couldn’t do with himself.

"If a body catch a body comin' through the rye"

It is kind of sad that he wanted to do that. Because people need to grow up, they need to face things even if they are not good. They need to learn how to live, and the only way to do so is to be exposed to the real world. His ‘dream’ was kind of impossible, and the most vivid example was him. Even though he didn’t want to become an adult, he had already been ‘corrupted’ by the world, because it is a process (an unavoidable process).

Catcher in the rye has a lot of meaningful passages. I think I should have read it when I was younger. I didn’t really like it when I first read it, because of Caulfield constant whining.  But once I finished it I said to myself this couldn’t be about just a boy ‘crying’ over everything. And I went to YouTube and other Web sites so I could understand what I had read. To my surprise, I ended liking it a little more. I liked how it is a novel that can make you realize that time passes and you can’t control it. We all must grow and turn into phony monsters!

While I was writing this post I couldn't stop thinking about a song of one of my favorite bands. I find it really appealing to Holden Caufileld's character. I will leave the link so you can watch it and comment on it!