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Story of Holden Caufield with his idiosyncrasies, penetrating insight, confusion, sensitivity and negativism. Holden, knowing he is to be expelled from school, decides to leave early. He spends three days in New York City and tells the story of what he did and suffered there.
UrliMancati: It has been said that Barney is Holden at the end of his life. While the twos do not have so much in common, the reader will definitively love both characters.
This book was repetitive to the EXTREME. Words like, and all, goddamit, horse around, crumby etc get driven into the ground and just make you mad. The character is completely annoying in his repetitiveness, selfishness, un-founded misery etc. Just a horrible person to have to listen to for the entire book.
I don't even know what the point of this book is. All of his opinions just got on my nerves - in the words of the Schwarzenegger - STOP WHINING! ( )
J.D Salinger cuts the bone and whets the knife-blade. His tactful biting conversational dialogue of intrigue captures the epitome of callous childhood and adolescence. To be passing back and worth between quips and frills like so many region-less mind matter. Our character is the regret of living not like our urge. The urges to ‘kill people’ but with the silver tongue of infancy. Tough exterior but a rage of light- come sit and observe the delinquency of heart peoples. ( )
This was assigned in my English class many decades ago, so I was surprised to learn that English teachers are still assigning it all these many years later. My high schooler got through it, barely, and said it was stupid and depressing, and that the story didn't represent young people at all.
Come on, teachers. There's been thousands of good books published since then. Find something a little more uplifting, hopeful, encouraging. My kids already get a steady diet of teenage angst and suicide from their YA books from the library. They know what "reality" is. But they need to see some positive reality too, once in a while. ( )
I am grateful that this was not required reading for me in high school. Interpreting Holden’s angst and fear of the dull/phony adult world was satisfying in a reflective state, but would’ve bored me as a youth who couldn’t fully relate.
When I was Holden’s age, I dreaded becoming a full fledged adult, but never postured myself in the adult way he does in this novel. Now that I’m older, I pine for the innocence of childhood often, feel like I’m faking it as a mature adult who has their life figured out, and can fully relate/appreciate this book.
I have zero desire to assassinate a president or member of the Beatles though. That’s lost on me. ( )
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want the truth."
Quotations
I'm quite illiterate but I read a lot.
You don’t have to think too hard when you talk to teachers.
I do not even like ... cars... I’d rather have a goddamn horse. A horse is at least human, for God’s sake.”
I always pick a gorgeous time to fall over a suitcase or something.
The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move.... Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you.
What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.
What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff — I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy.
"Hey, listen," I said. "You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?" I realized it was only one chance in a million.
Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them—if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry.
Certain things they should stay as they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.
Something else an academic education will do for you. If you go along with it any considerable distance, it'll begin to give you an idea what size mind you have. What it'll fit and, maybe, what it won't. After a while, you'll have an idea what kind of thoughts your particular size mind should be wearing. For one thing, it may save you an extraordinary amount of time trying on ideas that don't suit you, that aren't becoming to you. You'll begin to understand your measurements and dress your mind accordingly.
Story of Holden Caufield with his idiosyncrasies, penetrating insight, confusion, sensitivity and negativism. Holden, knowing he is to be expelled from school, decides to leave early. He spends three days in New York City and tells the story of what he did and suffered there.
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Haiku summary
Boy in funny hat Wanders around N.Y.C. Phonies everywhere. (Christopher451)
Bottle up your grief. Men do not have emotions. Lie until you die. (alsocass)
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