The Catcher in the Rye

Keith and Company · Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:40 am Post subject: Re: The Catcher in the Rye

I read it 25 years ago in high school. From what i remember, it spoke well to adolescents. You're not alone, you're not a freak, other people have the same concerns, wonders, fears... you're no more a mutant than that lemon sitting on your left.

I don't think i'd read it again,now. Then it was practically a story about me (except, i knew where ducks went, i was in public school, and a trip to the museum meant arrowheads behind glass, not mannequins of indians you could look down the dress of). Now, i'd probably spend toomuch time formulating responses to his problems.

Much like how i can't watch sitcoms any more where a half hour of fanciful mayhem and extreme social humiliation could have been avoided by use of a 10-second phone call or a short note.

I heartily recommend it for anyone in High School, either a student or teacher.

bohemian_girl · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:18 am Post subject:

I recently read this book. I had very high expectations which weren't completely met but I didn't dislike it either. I'm 21 years of age and I think that if I had read this book in my mid teens I would have loved it and got into the angst of Holden more than I did now.

It is amazing to think that this book was written so long ago. A lot of the things addressed are still relevant to teenagers growing up on the outer today. The whole thing about him hating 'phonies' resonated with me. But I have to admit that I kept waiting for something to happen. I don't know if that's the best way to describe it but I found a lot of it uneventful. Just his thoughts for the most part and not a lot more. I never picked up on the duck analogy but it certainly does make sense.

BabyBlues · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:16 pm Post subject: Catcher in the Classroom

I have taught Catcher for 11 years and I love it. However, I can also tell you that my students usually either are completely enamored with it or they abhor it.

I love it as a psychological debate. Is Holden really unbalanced or is he a normal teenager who has undergone severe stress (i.e. loss of younger brotherto lukemia, an older brother who could be a model and friend moving to California, the complete inattention of his parents, alienation, getting expelled from multiple schools, health issues, etc)? The diversity of the students’ responses to this debate is really amazing.

While I do enjoy the novel, I also can understand some people's reservations. The book is in essence a conversation with a teenager. Holden is telling his story to someone, presumably a therapist of some sort, and as typical of a teenager he has digressions, seemingly unnecessary details, exaggerations, sweeping generalizations and a healthy (and some argue unhealthy) dose of cynicism.

My books · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:38 pm Post subject:

I read Catcher at least 10 years ago in my early twenties and I can totally see the classic quality of the writing and the authors message, but I couldn't identify with the main character's self absorbtion and the way he hides from and deceives people.

My book discussion group in Dallas recently read Girls For Breakfast by David Yoo and they compared it to Catcher in the Rye. The self absorbed, self loathing teenager is all there in a story about the lone asian american boy in an upscale New England community. Again, I didn't like the lead character (get over yourself already!) and found myself complaining that there is no Catcher in the Rye for girls... Embarassed


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