I SEE IT THIS WAY
The voice of more than one generation, which, in an earnest attempt to shout out to the world, grew up as it wanted, broke down and suffered, went crazy and grabbed pistols, because they were not trusted to stand over the abyss in the rye with a noble mission - this is what one of the most famous novels of the XX century "The Catcher in the Rye" by Jerome Salinger. The world through the eyes of a teenager, depicted with incredible power and stunning truth, became the property of high literature for the first time.
The psychological history of Holden Caulfield, an ordinary teenager, is typical: he doesn’t get along with girls, he doesn’t find a common language with his friends, he fails to become a great athlete or the first student, he constantly finds himself in ridiculous situations, he is very lonely and restless. All his feelings with which he opens up to the world turn out to be inappropriate or ridiculous: pity for a young prostitute turns into a disgusting scene of a fight with a cynical girl and her pimp, a trip to the school teacher - fear of an elderly pedophile, a trip to a nightclub - disappointment, running home - running away from home.
It’s not that teenagers weren’t talked about so truthfully before—they weren’t talked about at all before. Problems of difficult age did not exist for literature: they are too difficult, too intimate, the search for oneself, one’s sexuality, one’s place in life, one’s desires and one’s capabilities is too immoral and ugly. Many of us would like to forget these dramatic years - and literature forgot them with pleasure, moved by the pictures of childhood and busily delving into the problems of adult life. Where people were “from twelve to eighteen” remained a sealed secret.
And Salinger took it and told it.
For a long time, the novel was banned in all educational institutions in America: because of swear words, profanity, sex scenes and explicit dialogue. But this could not stop the immediate and planetary popularity of the novel: it was translated into all world languages and released in millions of copies. And they continue to reprint it today: Salinger’s book sells 250,000 copies annually. Perhaps, this is still one of the few books in which a teenager can actually recognize himself and understand himself.
The significance of this book cannot be overestimated. The teenager was noticed and given the right to see the world as hostile, absurd, interesting, frightening, unknown, but necessary for knowledge.
Scandalous detail: in the pocket of Mark Chapman, the fanatical killer of John Lennon, immediately after his arrest this book was found with the inscription on the first page: “To Holden Caulfield from Holden Caulfield. This is my testimony." This is what a wonderful guy Holden can become if you continue to pretend that he doesn’t exist.
We were all lucky that Jerome Salinger saved thousands of teenagers in the rye above the cliff from falling into the abyss.
Searched here:
- essay by Jerome Salinger The Catcher in the Rye
We don’t have philosophy, but everyone philosophizes, even small fry...
Chekhov.
It was like I was reading about the little bushy Henry Chinaski (i.e. Bukowski). True, this freethinker did not suffer from teenage acne and did not sniffle while hugging a bottle of whiskey under a bench in the park. And as for the mania for women’s lips, that’s also off the table. Nevertheless, the whole time I was haunted by the thought that I had already seen this in books that were twenty to thirty years younger than this one. The neighborhood was noticeable not only because of the style of writing, in which swearing lives, but also in the honesty of 17-year-old Holden towards himself. It also smells of the rest of Bukowski's perfume - romance, meaninglessness, self-searching and... dissatisfaction. After all, everyone has their weaknesses, mine are Bukowski’s books. Holden is frantic. If he were a girl, he would make a pretty good bitch, Holly, who would love to grumble at guys. But all we have is Holden, a pants-wearing teenager going through puberty. And in his everyday life, everything is somehow wrong, something doesn’t work out. He is annoyed by schools, stupid teachers, pimply faces of classmates and even the walls in his room. Yes, everything is just infuriating. And why? Who the hell knows.
This is how the story goes: Holden is expelled from school for poor performance. Moreover, this is already the third (or whatever?) school with which he is being nominated. This is the whole plot. There will be no other, fortunately. Otherwise, all this would have dragged on for another 200 pimply sheets. But I liked reading the book. At first. I thought then, well, here is a young rebel who is going to go against the system. Likes to read books, hates films, argues with teachers. Loves girls. But the search ended with something incomprehensible.
Now, looking back at the finale, I see an educational note here. Salinger skillfully shuffles the deck. The character does not walk around in negative tones. He honestly admits that he constantly lies, that he is afraid, that he sheds tears. At the same time, the author does not make him a bastard in the eyes of the reader. Holden speaks respectfully to women (aesthetics, respect), is interested in ducks (questions about nature), loves his sister and thinks about his mother (family values), reads books (passive craving for knowledge), etc. The exclusivity of thinking is drawn - the peculiarity of the view. Lazy smart guy. Holden on the page doesn't want to be special - he is special. All his shortcomings are forgivable. But he could have been more...real? Urinating on graves, making fun of Jesus and... loving to masturbate.
For me, this whole book is one complete HYPOCRISY. So far I have met only one writer without self-censorship - Selina.
Yes, perhaps for 1951 this book was some kind of breakthrough. After all, no one threw it at me, even the teacher. But it was a boring read. The scene with the prostitute put an end to the evaluation of the book. She is nothing, both a stage and a prostitute.
True, I still liked one paragraph...
Holden talks about going to the movies with Jane.
What could be better than going to the movies with the girl you're in love with? Take her hand and don't let go until the credits roll. Feel her pulse...
A book whose title is different from the original.
Composition
I became acquainted with the work of the outstanding American writer Jerome David Salinger, a master of subtle analysis of the human spiritual world.
The novel "The Catcher in the Rye" is the central work of Salinger's prose. The author chooses the form of a confessional novel, which helps us better understand the mental state of the protagonist.
Seventeen-year-old Holden Caulfield tells us about the turning points in his life. Firstly, the boy has already been expelled from his third school, and he faces an unhappy meeting with his parents. Secondly, Holden also disgraced himself as the captain of the school fencing team: he absent-mindedly forgot all the sports equipment on the subway and thereby disgraced the entire school. Thirdly, the main character cannot get along and get along with his comrades. His behavior is sometimes terrible: he is rude, touchy, and in Holden’s relationships with people there is a sense of mockery of those around him.
Parents, teachers, and his friends notice this. However, it does not occur to any of them to find out why Holden behaves this way, to look into his soul. While reading the novel, I saw in front of me a lonely, completely left to myself teenager, in whose soul there is a struggle. Of course, Holden has parents, and they love him, but they cannot understand their son. In their opinion, children should be well-fed, well dressed and receive a decent education, and this is what they dedicated their lives to. But, in my opinion, this is not enough.
Holden was one of the first to see the depravity of American society in the fifties; he is oppressed by the spirit of deception and mistrust between people, so the boy is indignant at the “window dressing” and “falseness” that surrounds him. Holden has a hard time in his lonely struggle against lies, he suffers because all his hopes of living according to the laws of justice are doomed to failure. He doesn't want to study so that later he can be a "slick" and "work in some office, earn a lot of money and go to work in a car or on buses on Madison Avenue, and read newspapers, and play bridge all evenings, and walk in the movies...” - this is how Holden sees the life of wealthy Americans, meaningless and meaningless, and therefore he does not accept it.
When Holden was asked what he would like to become, he replied: “You see, I imagined little kids playing in the evening in a huge field, in the rye. Thousands of kids and around - not a soul, not a single adult except me. And I’m standing on the very edge of a cliff, over an abyss, you know? And my job is to catch the kids so they don’t fall into the abyss.”
In my opinion, Holden dreams of saving the pure, innocent souls of children from falling into the abyss of immorality and lack of spirituality.
More than anything else, Holden is afraid of becoming like all adults, of adapting to the lies around him, which is why he rebels against “window dressing.”
The few days the boy spent in New York after escaping from Pencey played a huge role in shaping Holden’s character. Firstly, he encountered violence, prostitution, pimping and discovered the most terrible and vile side of life. And secondly, Holden got to know a lot of kind and sensitive people, this made him more tolerant and reasonable. And if earlier the boy just wanted to run away from people, now he understands that only the weak run away from difficulties, and he must stay and continue the fight against the vices of American society.
Unfortunately, no one is able to understand Holden, and adults find the easiest way to get rid of him: send him for treatment to a sanatorium for nervous patients. But, in my opinion, if anyone needs to be treated, it is those people who surround Holden, the society that is mired in deception and hypocrisy.
Salinger in his novel “The Catcher in the Rye” makes a sad conclusion: the young generation of the United States is on the edge of a cliff, on one side of which there is life according to the laws of justice and goodness, and on the other, an abyss of hypocrisy and evil. Holden, in my opinion, is one of those few people who prevent an entire generation of Americans from falling into this abyss of immorality.
Salinger's novel made a huge impression on me, and I fully support Holden's ideas: you cannot live in an atmosphere of hypocrisy, complacency, immorality, you cannot be indifferent.
The American writer J. Salinger showed himself unusually brightly in his works dedicated to youth and the spiritual world of a young man. And although this writer’s work dates back to the middle of the 20th century, his thoughts and feelings are close and understandable to the modern generation of young people.
Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye was published in 1951 and a few months later took first place on the American bestseller list. The main character of the novel is Holden Caulfield. This is a young man trying to find his place in life. More than anything else, Holden is afraid of becoming like all the adults. He had already been expelled from three colleges for poor academic performance. Holden hates the idea of “working in some office, making a lot of money and riding to work in a car or on buses along Madison Avenue, and reading the newspapers, and playing bridge all evenings, and going to the movies. .."
The lives of most wealthy Americans irritate Holden. He clearly sees that this life is unreal and illusory. The teenager reads a lot, trying to find answers to his questions in books. “In general, I’m very uneducated, but I read a lot,” Holden says. But one way or another, a collision with real life cannot be avoided, and Holden conflicts with teachers, parents, and classmates.
The main character has a shy, touchy character. He is unkind, often simply rude and mocking. The reason for this is mental loneliness: after all, his life values do not coincide with the criteria of adults. Holden is outraged by the “window dressing” and the lack of the most basic humanity in life. There is deception and hypocrisy all around. Teachers at a privileged school lie, claiming that they are raising good people. Here Holden remembers the director of one of the private schools where he studied. The director smiled lusciously at everyone, but in fact he knew very well the difference between the rich and poor parents of his charges.
Holden moves away from the lies into his own world. Returning home to New York, Holden is surprised to notice that pimping, prostitution, violence and deception coexist with mercy and kindness. Here are two nuns that Holden met on the train, not only teaching children, but also collecting alms for the poor. The hero thinks a lot about this, gradually realizing how important a meaningful life with a purpose is. “Those two nuns couldn’t get out of my head. I kept remembering this old straw basket with which they went to collect mites when they had no lessons.” Such thoughts now occupy Salinger's hero.
Holden decides that it is necessary to save children from the abyss of adulthood, where hypocrisy, lies, violence, and mistrust reign. “My job is to catch the kids so they don’t fall into the abyss. You see, they are playing and don’t see where they are running, and then I run up and catch them so that they don’t fall off. That's all my work. “Guard the guys over the Catcher in the Rye,” this is Holden Caulfield’s cherished desire.
Holden is by no means a well-behaved young man. He can be lazy, unnecessarily deceitful, inconsistent and selfish. However, the hero's genuine sincerity in stories about himself compensates for many of the shortcomings of his unstable character. In the last chapters of the novel, he looks much more tolerant and reasonable. Holden begins to notice and appreciate such positive qualities as friendliness, cordiality and good manners, so common among his fellow citizens in everyday interactions.
Holden's youthful rebellion is brought to its logical conclusion by his younger sister Phoebe, who is ready to move towards a new life. Brother and sister Caulfield remain in New York.
The spontaneous protest of the literary youth of the 50s against the world they inherited did not always take such demonstrative forms as in the work of the beatniks, and sometimes this gave more significant artistic results. Thus, in the stories of Truman Capote (1924-1984) “The Forest Harp” (1951) and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1958) and especially in the works Jerome David Salinger(born in 1919), written in line with what the greatest English Americanist M. Bradbury called “anxious realism”, the fear of the nuclear threat, the loss of historical optimism, personal alienation, the feeling of “wrongness”, “falsity” of American life of that time are conveyed with amazing clarity and power.
Salinger's only novel is the most striking in this regard. "Catcher in the rye"(1951), the “bible” of post-war youths. Very interesting, although not so complete, are Salinger's short stories and stories of the so-called "Glass cycle", also created in the 50s.
J.D. Salinger is one of the most intriguing figures in American literature of the 20th century. Very little is known about his life; The writer, on principle, does not give interviews and hides from journalists. He was born in New York City, into a wealthy family, graduated from the Pennsylvania Military School, briefly attended New York and Columbia Universities, was drafted into the active army in 1942 and participated in the Second World War as part of the infantry troops, until in 1945 he was hospitalized with a nervous breakdown. Salinger began publishing in 1940, but the productive period of his work was between 1950 and 1965. Despite his great success as a writer (and perhaps because of it), in 1965 he left New York and literature and settled in the provincial town of Cornish, New Hampshire, where he still lives. His long silence and complete reclusion do not interfere with the enormous popularity that J.D. Salinger uses it in the USA. [Note ed.: J.D. Salinger died January 27, 2010]
The novel "The Catcher in the Rye" is written in the first person. The hero-narrator, a sixteen-year-old New York teenager from a respectable family, Holden Caulfield, gropingly, through constant tossing and failure, seeks his place in the world, which he talks about in his own, like Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, in the living and figurative language of youth slang. This is a lyrical novel, very small in volume, with a weakened plot beginning, with the external plot replaced by an internal one. All events are one-dimensional, concentrated around the hero and directed towards him. This is the centripetal narrative so characteristic of 20th-century American prose. As we see, the form, introduced into literature in the 1920s, has again entered into artistic use; it turned out to be in tune with the sentiments of a different, but also crisis era for the human personality.
Salinger's novel is based on the principle of "compressed time." The story begins at the moment when Holden is expelled from yet another prestigious school, where his loving parents assigned him. Childishly delaying the meeting with them and “adult-like” striving to live independently, “as he wants,” Holden is in no hurry to return home and wanders for three days around cold New York, full of pre-Christmas bustle.
The immediate action of the novel fits into this short time period, but at the expense of the hero’s memories and reflections (about the death of his fourteen-year-old brother Alli, about their older brother, who was an “amazing writer” until he “sold out to Hollywood”, about former classmates and awkward relationships with girls, etc.) the entire short life of Holden is reproduced here and the atmosphere of America in the mid-20th century is perfectly recreated.
The experience of “independence” turns out to be chaotic and not very pleasant for the hero. He feels unable to find his place in the world and sees no prospects for finding it. Holden is not satisfied with what his usual environment can offer him; he is not attracted by the career of a lawyer, university teacher, or doctor, possible for a young man of his circle. It is painfully difficult for him to find a common language with his peers - “normal” young Americans who are standardly striving for success in life, that is, for comfort, financial well-being, and social status.
Holden is an unconventional teenager, overly vulnerable, excitable and conflicted, he clearly does not fit into society. This cannot but traumatize the hero, even if he himself sought independence from him and the value system adopted in him, which Holden defines as “linden” (that is, falsehood, window dressing). He doesn’t have any clear plans for the future, he would only like to catch children over the precipice in the rye: “You see, thousands of kids play in the evening in a huge field<...>. And I'm standing on the very edge of a cliff,<...>and my job is to catch the kids so they don’t fall into the abyss.<...>They play and don't see where they are running<...>, and I catch them. I know this is nonsense, but the only thing I really want,” Holden says to his closest friend, his ten-year-old sister Phoebe.
Nature and children's consciousness, their purity, integrity and truth - this is what Holden Caulfield, an elemental romantic and maximalist, opposes to the standards of material success. It is no coincidence that he is concerned with the question of where the ducks go in Central Park, an oasis of huge stone New York, when their pond freezes over; It is no coincidence that he does not like cars - he would “better get himself a horse. At least there is at least something human in a horse.”
His utopian life plans—to be a “catcher in the rye”—and his ability to have normal contact only with children are no coincidence. Holden himself is still very much a child himself, despite his tall stature, gray locks and “adult” smoking habit. True, there is no longer childish integrity and clarity in him, and the hero experiences their loss painfully; he subconsciously does not want to grow up, and this is also a kind of protest against the surrounding reality, which imposes certain patterns of behavior on him, stuffs him with surrogates and frightens him with the prospect of a new world war. No wonder Holden bursts out: “In general, I’m glad that the hydrogen bomb was invented. If a war ever breaks out, I’ll sit right on this bomb. I’ll sit down voluntarily, my word of honor.”
The prosperous life of post-war America, filtered through the disturbing perception of the teenage hero, reveals the instability, vulnerability and dependence of man's position in the modern world.
In Salinger's novel, as we see, a number of important traditions of US literature of the 19th and 20th centuries are developed and given an exceptionally relevant sound: the romantic tradition of idealizing nature and children's consciousness, Twain's - showing reality through the eyes of a teenage hero, the tradition of lyrical centripetal prose of the "lost generation" and other.
Salinger, to a greater extent than even the beatniks and his other peers in literature, influenced the worldview of his compatriots, taught them to think and feel non-stereotypically, non-standardly, and largely shaped the socially active position of the youth of the next decade. The conflict with modern reality of the heroes of the works of “children” of US literature of the 50s remains fundamentally unresolvable. So Kerouac’s restless young people will wander along the roads of America - alone, like Dharma monks, one of the Zen Buddhist sects, until they die in a random brawl or from an excessive dose of drugs.
Salinger's Glasses - seven children of vaudeville eccentric actors with a "speaking" surname (English: "glass" - "glass") will never be able to find a common language with other Americans. They will remain dangerous eccentrics for those around them, although in fact they are simply eccentric and Andersonian “grotesque.” These are pure and vulnerable people with a living soul, subtle intellect and fragile psyche. Despite all efforts to overcome isolation, they will remain closed in the glass walls of their inner world and will physically suffer when confronted with the vulgarity that surrounds them, and the best and most vulnerable of them - the poet Seymour Glass - will voluntarily die. And, finally, Holden Caulfield will forever remain a rebellious teenager in literature, even if his real prototype - a young American of the 50s - settled down long ago, got married, had children and grandchildren and became a loyal member of society.
Read also other articles in the section "Literature of the 20th century. Traditions and experiment":
Realism. Modernism. Postmodernism
- America 1920-30s: Sigmund Freud, Harlem Renaissance, "The Great Collapse"
The human world after the First World War. Modernism
The title of this work is inextricably linked in the consciousness of modern society with the theme of growing up, becoming an individual, finding oneself. Analysis of “The Catcher in the Rye” means returning to adolescence for the sake of understanding the main character, his psychology, the subtleties and versatility of his maturing, just emerging nature.
During his creative career, although not as long as one would like, Salinger managed to establish himself not only as a very mysterious, wayward and freedom-loving person. The fact that the author of “The Catcher in the Rye” (an analysis of the work will be presented in this article) was a real psychologist, sensitive to every facet of the human soul, does not require any additional explanation.
What does the novel mean to the world?
The twentieth century, so rich in literary masterpieces in general, managed to give the world this stunning novel about growing up in the world of American reality. The analysis of “The Catcher in the Rye” should perhaps begin by determining its significance for world culture.
Having just appeared on the shelves of bookstores, the novel managed to cause a real sensation among readers of all ages due to its deep psychology, relevance and complete correspondence with the spirit of the times. The work has been translated into almost all languages of the world and even now does not lose its popularity, remaining a bestseller in various parts of the globe. Analysis of The Catcher in the Rye as one of the greatest works of American literature of the twentieth century is included in the compulsory curriculum of schools and higher educational institutions.
Through the prism of an accomplished personality
The narrative in this work is told from the perspective of a seventeen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, before whom the world opens into a new future, adult life. The reader sees the surrounding reality through the prism of his developing, maturing personality, which is just embarking on the road to the future, saying goodbye to childhood. The world embodied in this book is unstable, multifaceted and kaleidoscopic, like Holden’s consciousness itself, constantly falling from one extreme to another. This is a story told from the perspective of a person who does not accept lies in any of its manifestations, but at the same time tries it on himself, like the mask of an adult that a young man sometimes wants to appear to be.
Analysis of “The Catcher in the Rye” is, in essence, a reader’s journey into the most hidden, deepest human experiences, shown through the eyes of no longer a child, but not yet an adult.
Maximalism in the novel
Since the main character is only seventeen years old, the book is narrated accordingly. It either slows down, representing an unprotected contemplation, then speeds up - one picture gives way to another, emotions displace each other, absorbing not only Holden Caulfield, but also the reader along with him. In general, the novel is characterized by an amazing unity between the hero and the person who picked up the book.
Like any young man of his age, Holden tends to exaggerate reality - the Pansy school, from which he is expelled for poor academic performance, seems to him to be the real embodiment of injustice, pompousness and lies, and the desire of adults to seem like someone they are not is a real crime against honor, deserving only disgust.
Who is Holden Caulfield
In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” the analysis of the main character requires a particularly careful and painstaking approach, because it is through his eyes that the reader sees the world. Holden can hardly be called an example of morality - he is quick-tempered and sometimes lazy, fickle and somewhat rude - he brings his friend Sally to tears, which he later regrets, and his other actions very often cause the reader's disapproval. This is due to his borderline state - the young man is already leaving childhood, but is not yet ready for the transition to adult, independent life.
Having accidentally heard an excerpt from a popular song, he finds, as it seems to him, his destiny, deciding to become a catcher in the rye.
Meaning of the name
The original title of the novel is "Catcher in the rye". Bursting into the text of the novel in the words of a popular song, this image repeatedly emerges in the mind of young Holden Caulfield, who identifies himself with the catcher. According to the hero, his purpose in life is to protect children from the adult, cruel world, full of lies and pretense. Holden himself does not strive to grow up and does not want to allow this process to happen for anyone.
What did Salinger want to say to the reader with this title? “The Catcher in the Rye,” the analysis of which requires a complex, broad approach, is a novel full of amazing symbolism and secret meanings. The image of a rye field over an abyss embodies the very process of a person growing up, the final, most decisive step towards a new future. Perhaps this particular image was chosen by the author because, as a rule, young American boys and girls went to the fields for secret dates.
Another image-symbol
Ducks, who don’t know where they go in winter, are another equally important component of “The Catcher in the Rye.” An analysis of the novel without considering it will simply be incomplete. In fact, such a naive, even slightly stupid question that torments the hero throughout the entire story is another symbol of his belonging to childhood, because not a single adult asks this question and cannot answer it. This is another powerful symbol of loss, the irrevocable change that awaits the protagonist.
Resolving internal conflict
Despite Holden's very obvious attraction to some escapism, at the end of the novel he has to make a choice in favor of moving into adulthood, full of responsibility, determination and readiness for a variety of situations. The reason for this is his younger sister Phoebe, who is ready to take such a decisive step for her brother, becoming an adult before the time comes. Admiring the wise girl beyond her years on the carousel, Holden realizes how important the choice he faces is and how great the need to accept a new world, a completely different reality.
This is exactly what Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, the analysis of the work and its artistic originality tell the reader. This is a lifelong journey of becoming, placed in three days experienced by the main character. This is a boundless love for literature, purity and sincerity, faced with such a multifaceted, diverse and complex world around us. This is a novel about all of humanity and about each person individually. A work that is destined to become a reflection of the soul of many more generations.
