(note: any post made on a novel is intended for those who are reading along at the same pace or for a comparison of opinions after reading. If you are sensitive to plot spoilers please do not read)
Finished Catcher in the Rye a few days ago. What is different about this novel from what I have been reading recently is the development of the plot. As I had said in my last post I was not sure exactly where the story line was going and I felt that Holden's personality was what drove the novel the most. After finishing this is still my viewpoint. The conclusion of the book did not tie any loose ends as far as plot conflicts are concerned, but I feel that this was a fitting parallel to Holden's character. I'll return to this conclusion later.
What I enjoyed about Catcher in the Rye's protagonist is although he had the physical drives of an adult, mentally he respondes in an honest childlike way (even though his language was heavily laden with curses his viewpoints were still simple and childishly unbiased). He smokes excessively and frequently attempts to drink (he's underage). At one point he even hires a prostitute, but even in this situation he does not react as an adult would, but more as a child attempting to portray an adult. He actually feels bad for the prostitute and is more depressed about the scenario than lustfully responsive. In the end he has no urge to sleep with her and just wants to talk. Holden often interjects into his narrative with role playing and escapism from his imagination. It's like he's barely balancing on the edge of the innocent play of a child's world and the scummy realism of the adult world.
Even when Holden is describing something rather gory he manages to insert some sort of simple logic that adds an innocence and humor to the narrative. Here's an example at the end of ch. 14:
"I stayed in the bathroom for about an hour, taking a bath and all. Then I get back in bed. It took me quite a while to get to sleep - I wasn't even tired - but finally I did. What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out of the window. I probably would've done it, too, if I'd been sure somebody'd cover me up as soon as I landed. I didn't want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks looking at me when I was all gory."
What I mean by innocence in this quote is how Holden does not romanticize the act of suicide (as maybe a more adult character speaking out of a delusional perspective of reality), but blatantly admits, yea, he'd do that.....if it just wasn't such a darn mess.
Another aspect of Salinger that makes me enjoy him as an author (although this is the only work I have read by him) is his ability to put into words thoughts that may unconsciously lie within us but never quite make it to the forefront of conscious awareness (atleast, so poetically and well structured). This capability in an author always makes me more responsive and appreciative. For example:
"What I did do, I gave old Sally Hayes a buzz. She went to Mary A. Woodruff, and I knew she was home because I'd had this letter from her a couple weeks ago. I wasn't too crazy about her, but I'd known her for years. I used to think she was quite intelligent, in my stupidity. The reason I did was because she knew quite a lot about the theater and plays and literature and all that stuff. If somebody knows quite a lot about those things, it takes you quite a while to find out whether they're really stupid or not. It took me years to find out, in old Sally's case. I think I'd have found it out a lot sooner if we hadn't necked so damn much. My big trouble is, I always sort of think whoever I'm necking is a pretty intelligent person. It hasn't got a damn* thing to do with it, but I keep thinking it anyway."
I feel that at some point in most of our lives we find ourselves blindly attracted to a person, supporting this attraction by our own lusts and misconceptions rather than any good qualities the other person may have. We may never know that we ourselves are responsible for the misconstrued reality until we step back and ask ourselves if that is the true nature of the other person, or the nature we choose to impose upon them. Holden Caulfield manages to put words to this phenomenon that I had never managed to arrange cognitively myself.
Another aspect of Salinger's protagonist that makes him literarily attractive is his repetitive calling out of people's "phoniness". I think this also adds to his "child-like" characteristics. In my opinion a child approaches life much more openly and has not developed the social masks that adults wear. As adults I think most of us are aware we dress our personalities this way in our daily interactions, but for the sake of society continue on in costumes. Holden is extremely uncomfortable dressing for society and often lets his real nature be revealed (at least to the reader).
In Chapter 17 in a conversation with "old Sally", Holden finally communicates his frustration with the trap we've built for ourselves. He speaks against New York, taxis, Madison Avenue buses, phony guys, people's obsession with their cars, etc. What I mean about the trap we have built for ourselves is, its quite understandable to be frustrated at the way we live in society but in a sense there is not much choice (to a certain extent) in the matter. One can be annoyed at the commercial way we live, and the silly faces we show to the world but we all live like that anyway (again, i repeat, to a certain extent). At this point in the novel I reflected that Holden seemed to hold a very Buddhist perspective on life and was pleased after reading about Salinger that he was in fact someone that studied Buddhism.
Throughout the novel the feeling of living in a society "trap" was mostly realized when Holden is talking with his little sister in ch. 22. She asks a hard question of him, "You don't like anything that's happening". Holden has extreme difficulty responding. It's true, his character does not like much of anything at all. I think some people in the world can live without questioning the structure and reasons behind things and be quite happy doing that. I believe others get frustrated at all the "phoniness". At some point the latter group must accept the way the world is and find a happy medium existing in it, or continue pushing against a wall that cannot be moved by one individual. This is where I get back to my opinion on the ending of the novel. Even though the ending did not give closure to the plot itself it did give closure to Holden's pushing against the wall. Sort of. It is my belief that he comes to an acceptance of one's inability to change things, and that he can only respond to them as they come. I will admit this statement may be completely biased, but in the words of Holden, "D.B. asked me what I thought about all this stuff I just finished telling you about. I didn't know what the hell to say. If you want to know the truth, I don't know what I think about it." It's that final statement that sums up how I feel about Holden's worldview.
After reading a novel for the first time I like to go back and read any commentaries and author biographies. Its enjoyable to try and figure out what aspects of an author's life sneak into a narrative. I also enjoy reading other studies and commentaries written by others to gain insights (and to see how completely i misconstrued the meaning behind the novel in my own head ;) ) . If I do read something along these lines I will only do so afterwards, so that I don't ruin the narrative with others thoughts. If I find anything of interest I will post that as well.
*this censorship was my own due to personal beliefs and not the authors.
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