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The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger


KAY

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Ah, but he also says

...I have no wind, if you want to know the truth. I'm quite a heavy smoker, for one thing--that is, I used to be. They made me cut it out. Another thing, I grew six and a half inches last year. That's also how I practically got t.b. and came out here for all these checkups and stuff. I'm pretty healthy though.

"checkups and stuff" leads me to believe that it's a physical aliment he is out in California, near his brother D.B. the writer.

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... Holden is so busy railing at the hypocrites he's been surrounded by at the previous schools he's been kicked out of, but the first few lines of Chapter 3 kind of put him in a similar light.....

Ah Pontalba,

Is Holden just like the people he complains about?

That's something to try to wrap the old gray cells around -- as Holden might call them :)

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Ah, but he also says

"checkups and stuff" leads me to believe that it's a physical aliment he is out in California, near his brother D.B. the writer.

Excellent point! Could be.

In addition to still being a slightly nutty unfocused cynical young man? :)

"Sleep tight, ya morons!" as he leaves school for the last time. Priceless!

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Ah Pontalba,

Is Holden just like the people he complains about?

That's something to try to wrap the old gray cells around -- as Holden might call them :roll:

I have seen a few signs that he is not, however the timing of his aforementioned bellyaching about hypocrites and admiting to automatic lying was certainly....interesting.:)

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Excellent point! Could be.

In addition to still being a slightly nutty unfocused cynical young man? :roll:

"Sleep tight, ya morons!" as he leaves school for the last time. Priceless!

Haven't quite gotten there yet.

I'll agree with that view.......for the moment. :)

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I found a film called chasing Holden which is about a boy who loves "catcher in the rye" so much he sets out in search of J.D.Salinger( if i remember rightly) My friend also got me the book called Dream catcher which is written by Margaret Salinger his daughter about her recluse father. Haven't read it yet but will soon.

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I found a film called chasing Holden which is about a boy who loves "catcher in the rye" so much he sets out in search of J.D.Salinger( if i remember rightly) My friend also got me the book called Dream catcher which is written by Margaret Salinger his daughter about her recluse father. Haven't read it yet but will soon.

Kay,

That's really feeding the fire!

They both sound irresistible. :)

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Hello There...

 

I also read 'Catcher in The Rye' at school and I found Holden Caulifield just plain annoying...

 

:roll:

 

Following on from my rather blunt reply before (apologies to all).

 

I just found Holden a bit empty to be honest, granted he was surly teenager with various different issues. 'Catcher in the rye' is and always will be a classic but Holden was nothing special and lets face it he did not claim to be.:)

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always will be a classic but Holden was nothing special :)

Gyre,

No complaints whatever about your blunt remarks, or your assessment of Holden.

But "always a classic" about "nothing special" still leaves me intrigued.

I guess I just like off-beat topics, to figure out why. :roll:

Part of trying to figure out why I liked it when so many dislike it.

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Paul,

 

It is a classic to so many people because Holden as a character will always be rememberable, the way he thought and felt about life were very singular and something to be behold...but I still that Holden was nothing special, as much as he wanted to make his mark on the world, he just did not do it, but at least he tried. I very much believe if you going to do it, just do it...

 

I think I am going to read 'Catcher in the rye' again Paul...

:)

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Following on from my rather blunt reply before (apologies to all).

 

I just found Holden a bit empty to be honest, granted he was surly teenager with various different issues. 'Catcher in the rye' is and always will be a classic but Holden was nothing special and lets face it he did not claim to be.:)

:roll: He is annoying. But I am only on p.73, and am beginning to be roped into the story. The kid has good reason to be angry and hurt, he feels abandoned IMO, and from what I've seen so far, he was abandoned somewhat, which is making him put up an even stronger defense mechanism.

 

All of which does not make me like him. Yet.

 

BTW, blunt is a good thing. :lol:

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Paul,

 

It is a classic to so many people because Holden as a character will always be rememberable, the way he thought and felt about life were very singular and something to be behold...but I still that Holden was nothing special, as much as he wanted to make his mark on the world, he just did not do it, but at least he tried. I very much believe if you going to do it, just do it...

 

I think I am going to read 'Catcher in the rye' again Paul...

 

:)

Gyre,

Many thanks for the further thoughts. They'll help me find my way through the story with things to keep my eyes open for. Already it is clear that Holden has severe dislikes of his roommates for no really good reasons. The one of them is quite withdrawn and "always squeezing his pimples." The other one has an outward going life, spends a lot of time in front of the mirror to look good, and is always borrowing Holden's stuff. Well so? That is hardly reason for Holden to pick physical fights with the one of them or treat the other as a pariah. They rub him the wrong way, but life has all kinds. So I would say that not only is Holden nothing special, he is actually dysfunctional in some of his social ways. (But I'm only up to p52) So I guess the puzzle gets to be whether anything, or what, develops that might be good to say about him in the rest of the story.

I'll be very interested to hear your reactions the second time around.

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I just finished Catcher in the Rye, and I must say it took me three quarters of the book to start really appreciating Holden, but it happened, almost against my will.

 

More when it's soaked in a bit more. :)

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The only thing for now that I'd like to add is that I ended up enjoying the book, and the end is worth the wait. Even though if at some points I doubted it. :)

 

Salinger made some excellent, very basic statements with this book.

More later.

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I have finally finished re-reading the book. In its early stages I began to doubt my sanity for reading it again but finally, by the last page. I was back in love with it. In love? Well, at least in like. And I found additional deeply moving human interest episodes that I had glossed over the first time and forgotten about. One definitely has to read the entire book to the end, to the very last page, to appreciate it. :)

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Well, at least in like. And I found additional deeply moving human interest episodes that I had glossed over the first time and forgotten about. One definitely has to read the entire book to the end, to the very last page, to appreciate it. :roll:

:)

For sure! Then it has to set a spell before it starts soaking in and you realize what it was all about. I under rated Holden and Salinger to begin with, but the more I think about it, the more I see and understand.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I read Catcher in the Rye as a senior in high school way back in 1973. As a teenager I loved the book. It was also the first book I had ever read that had swear words in it. I remember thinking that Holden was "really cool". I re-read the book at the age of 50 and was no longer amused. I wish I had not read the book a second time as I used to have fond memories of Catcher in the Rye. Some things are just best left alone.

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I read Catcher in the Rye as a senior in high school way back in 1973. As a teenager I loved the book. It was also the first book I had ever read that had swear words in it. I remember thinking that Holden was "really cool". I re-read the book at the age of 50 and was no longer amused. I wish I had not read the book a second time as I used to have fond memories of Catcher in the Rye. Some things are just best left alone.

Hi Susan,

It may well depend on the age when it catches you, as you say. I have been finding more people than I seem to remember who liked the book in high school.

There are a couple people here still reading or rereading and it will be interesting to hear some more views. With such a range, it might lead to an interesting discussion. An unlikable character in a book worth reading?

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I read Catcher in the Rye as a senior in high school way back in 1973. As a teenager I loved the book. It was also the first book I had ever read that had swear words in it. I remember thinking that Holden was "really cool". I re-read the book at the age of 50 and was no longer amused. I wish I had not read the book a second time as I used to have fond memories of Catcher in the Rye. Some things are just best left alone.

Hi Susan Margaret!

This was my first time reading Catcher, and all the way through most of the book, I could hardly stand Holden, then all of a sudden it clicked where he was coming from, and I immediately started sympathizing totally!

I don't want to say much about the end because some are still reading it as far as I know.....but it wasn't what I thought at all.

 

Anybody else finished yet?

She said hopefully. :smile2:

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Sorry to be so late in getting started. I am only at page 18, but I want to find out more about Holden. Will post more when I get a bit further on.

 

Oh that's great! No time schedule here. :smile2:

I do look forward to discussing this too! I had to read till the very end to appreciate it though. :lol:

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