May 17, 2001 12:16 AM
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Some people that have read 'The Catcher in the Rye' have had less than positive views to share about the novel as a whole. Often enough readers find that the narrator, Holden Caulfield is annoying, has no real depth and more or less just goes on saying ''Goddam''(sic) all the time and whines about the world.
I first had seen this book in my A-level English Literature when it was sitting on my desk right in front of me. My teacher said it was the book that we would be studying for our Coursework.
After reading and analysing the book I discovered that unlike some people I found this to be the greatest book I had read. The book isn't about whining about life it simply shows a cynical view of the world, one that is seldom looked at by most people.
A dominant theme in 'The Catcher in the Rye' is the Love displayed throughout the novel as well as it's opposite Hate. Love is seen from the narrator, Holden Caulfield in his image of his brother Allie and his sister Phoebe, as well as other characters. His love for his brother and sister is one that is yet again a great theme of the novel, Innocence. Throughout the novel Holden often compares people to his dead brother Allie and his young sister Phoebe whom are both innocent. If Holden believes that any of these people are not nearly as innocent as his sister and brother then he has great hatred for them and class's them as ''Phony's''(sic).
This love for innocence is what the book is based around, you see Holden Caulfield has an ambition. His ambition is to become ''the catcher in the rye'' and stop children from falling off cliffs. He says this because what he means is that he wants to prevent children from losing their innocence and falling off the rhetorical cliff into adulthood. In other words Holden wants to become a martyr for innocence, as he has been inspired to do so throughout the novel by certain characters. One of these characters named James Castle was a great martyr in Holden's eyes as he took his own life instead of giving into Bully's that he called conceited.
So 'The Catcher in the Rye' is a novel based around a young man's love for innocence right? Wrong, the novel is about a lot more than that. The book as I said earlier is a view of the world from a cynical aspect. The reason to this is because the narrator, Holden Caulfield is telling us exactly what lead up to the nervous breakdown he had. The story focuses in on the few days of Holden Caulfield's life when things were just too much for him.
The Author J.D Salinger captured the early dialect used in America in this story. This dialect is nothing to be scared of however. It is merely just a great increase in the use of the words ''Goddam''(sic) and ''and all'' etc.
The book is quite reflective of Salinger especially the fact that Salinger went to a boarding school just like Holden. Also Salinger is quite in love with innocence just as Holden is in the book. Salinger displays this love in other books like 'For Esmé with Love and Squalor and other stories' where his stories often include innocent children.
I completely loved this book and so feel only compelled to urge you to find a copy and read it. After that if you want to understand the novel a lot better it would be wise to find a copy of the 'York Notes on The Catcher in the Rye' and perhaps any biography's of J.D Salinger you can find.
A Book that is similar to 'The Catcher in the Rye' that I would recommend is simply 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess. This book also is a very cynical look at life and it uses quite an amazing dialect.
