The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

This is a coming-of-age tale, widely studied, widely revered, equally widely disliked, and occasionally censored in American schools after it was published in 1951, once for allegedly being part of a “communist plot”.

It’s a short book. The language is straightforward. The plot isn’t especially complex. How has this generated such strong reactions?

I can understand to an extent the reasons for the negative reaction at the time the book was published. It is full of disobedience towards authority figures, bad language and sexual suggestions. It is narrated by a teenage boy after all (more on this below) so these themes are perhaps to be expected privately, but openly writing about them in a novel did go against societal norms and expectations in the 1950s.

If the book were published now, however, I do not think it would be met with such misgivings. As a society we have normalised, or at least become far more comfortable, with most of its themes (I don’t follow where the communism accusation came from although I can see that that didn’t go down too well in Cold War America). So I wonder if the strong feelings that still exist for this book are largely influenced by the strong reaction to the book when it was published.

Turning to the plot itself, Holden Caulfield is expelled from his school for failing nearly all of his exams. He decides to leave a few days earlier than he is required to. He catches a train to New York and seeks ‘adult’ activities. He goes to a nightclub. He phones people he had previously dated. He invites a prostitute to his hotel room, although he just wants to talk to her.

Holden’s family history gradually becomes apparent and, without revealing too much, it is a sad tale. It is clear that his feelings of loneliness and fear influence his defensiveness to the world and the independence he so desperately seeks.

That said, I found it difficult to like Holden. Although his attitude and outlook has been shaped by the trauma he has suffered in the past, and I recognised the memory of being 15 years old and feeling misunderstood by everyone around you, I felt that he does not do himself any favours as he rejects kindness and help when it is offered. I acknowledge now that that is an outward reaction to feeling inwardly insecure but it still irritated me that he was so dismissive of everyone around him. Equally though, I wonder if my first (negative) impression of him was too strong to be overcome by the subsequent explanation of his family difficulties.

I admit I have only read The Catcher in the Rye once and I suspect it’s one of those books which changes over time or on rereading it. If I had read it as a teenager, I think I would have viscerally hated Holden. I read it in my mid-twenties and mainly found him arrogant and irritating whilst recognising that his unresolved trauma has had a bearing on his constant attention-seeking. Perhaps if I read the book again I will be more sympathetic still. It’s certainly interesting that even whilst writing this blog post I have carried out a full psychoanalysis of the layers of Holden Caulfield, so even though I didn’t necessarily enjoy the book there is still a lot to it.

Thank you to H for the photo!