J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
Great books are like rivers--you can never read the same great book twice. Great books are organic, they wrap themselves around our brains like vines, differently each season, growing, creeping, adapting to changes in our ways of thinking, drawing us to different conclusions than previously.
In the two decades since last we met, Holden Caulfield has gone from anti-hero to mere human. I now see him as a victim pressing--no, not pressing, but wanting to press--against the onerous, invisible weight of social expectations. When it comes to conformity, he is almost completely lacking in self-awareness. He can spot a "phony" from a mile away, except when the phony is himself. He gripes about affectations even as he is affected.
As a teenager, I saw every phony suit and tie, every scribbled "Fuck you" as somehow on a par with every cleric, politician, warlord. I now see that some battles are not worth fighting. If you can convince the world to change its clothes, or better yet, to not see differences in clothing, then you've accomplished something. If you can obliterate organized religion, well, you've left a much more important mark.
Salinger's brilliance is in creating a character who grows from someone we relate to and admire into someone we pity but care for and want to help. Holden is at once a reflection of our teenage selves and an icon of hidden individuality. He is crushed humanity. By the end of the book, I wanted to down several highballs and caress the poor kid's troubled head. Nothing flitty about it.
In the two decades since last we met, Holden Caulfield has gone from anti-hero to mere human. I now see him as a victim pressing--no, not pressing, but wanting to press--against the onerous, invisible weight of social expectations. When it comes to conformity, he is almost completely lacking in self-awareness. He can spot a "phony" from a mile away, except when the phony is himself. He gripes about affectations even as he is affected.
As a teenager, I saw every phony suit and tie, every scribbled "Fuck you" as somehow on a par with every cleric, politician, warlord. I now see that some battles are not worth fighting. If you can convince the world to change its clothes, or better yet, to not see differences in clothing, then you've accomplished something. If you can obliterate organized religion, well, you've left a much more important mark.
Salinger's brilliance is in creating a character who grows from someone we relate to and admire into someone we pity but care for and want to help. Holden is at once a reflection of our teenage selves and an icon of hidden individuality. He is crushed humanity. By the end of the book, I wanted to down several highballs and caress the poor kid's troubled head. Nothing flitty about it.
Comments
Post a Comment