I know I've read it many, many times but growing up I was able to relate to so, so much in this book. It really is a beautiful story and is a asset for any young person as they find their way.

Agreed.. I think it's frequently misunderstood. I don't think there's anything 'psychopathic' about Holden, it's just a mixture of introversion and teenage angst.

I agree completely. Holden is not misanthropic or psychopathic. The events throughout the book show his need to be around people: he goes to the bar and chats with the three girls, he invites the prostitute to his room... Even though he's trying very hard to come off as misanthropic, he's really not. He also cares very deeply about people: his sister and dead brother, Jane, the prostitute... I think he's reacting to the constant pressure from the authority and the establishment around him. It's something we all go through as teens.

i realize that a lot of people absolutely love this book. i just had a hard time reading it as anything other than a selfish jerk being a selfish jerk. i haven't read it for a class, but probably will in my lit for adolescents, and i'll probably gain a better understanding as to why it is considered a classic, but for now, i'm at a loss.

Holden is certainly not psychopathic, i hope. holdens character is explainable under certain conditions. people just hear that he's crazy and assume it is true.

Its drivel.

Boy doesnt like school. Blimey, what a shocker.

The fact that this is viewed as an all time classic worries me.

I read this book when I was an angst-ridden teenager myself. I'm (much) older now and I would like to reread it to see if I'll enjoy it as much second time round.

In addition to what you've mentioned seeing in the book, I thought the ending was quite compelling in that he decides to withdraw from society by living out west on a farm and yet is ultimately persuaded to stay due to the genuine love he and his sister share. What I saw was a young man who is disgusted by the negative aspects of humanity, yet in the end discovers what makes life worth living.

One of the individuals who posted in this thread mentioned that she is wondering why this book is culturally relevant. The simple answer is that the struggle that Holden faces, between wanting to withdraw from the world due to its ugliness or stay because of its beauty, is a struggle every person faces as an adolescent as their childish conceptions about the world clash violently with the reality they face as they transition into adulthood.

I wrote a paper on this one in college. My take is that Salinger uses Holden's perspective to divide American society into three groups: those that blindly followed social norms, those who wanted to express their individuality but ultimately gave into society's dictates and those that flaunted their individuality without regard to others' opinions.

My mom gave me this book when I was kicked out of grade 10 with the inscription "because growing up isn't easy". There were definitely elements of Holden that I could identify with and I was grateful that she gave it to me.

Of course, the way I view this book is largely coloured by my experience and the parallels I have made... I see it as being about a loss of innocence. Not as in corruption, but as in a realization that the world is not quite as nice as it seems when you are a child. He is having trouble reconciling what he has discovered with his adult eyes with what he has come to know through a child's awareness. He longs to go back to the time when his perception didn't include the ugly, seedy and phony realities. Hence his desire to rescue children -- he wants to save them from the inevitable sadness they will feel about losing their innocence.

The reason that this is a classic? Because it is about the universal experience of transition from childhood to adulthood. Most people can relate to this on some level. If you are having trouble with it, maybe try reflecting on the moment in your life that you realized the world isn't such a hot place.

~Rosy