Holden Caulfield in 2008
The Catcher in the Rye is one of my favorite books of all time. I would even go so far to say that it was the most influential book in my adolescence. Therefore, I was literally infuriated by this article (which I found via Gawker). While reading “Why We Shouldn’t Still Be Learning Catcher in the Rye,” I continually
wanted to scream out loud — Honestly, what were you thinking, Anne Trubek?
Why is The Catcher in the Rye still a rite of high school English? Sure, J.D. Salinger’s novel was edgy and controversial when teachers first put it on their syllabi. But that was 50 years ago. Today, Salinger’s novel lacks the currency or shock value it once had, and has lost some of its critical cachet. But it is still ubiquitously taught even though many newer novels of adolescence are available.
The Catcher in the Rye cannot be compared to “newer novels of adolescence.” It does not “lack the currency or shock value it once had.” It has not “lost some of its critical cachet.” In fact, I believe Holden Caulfield remains one of the most powerful characters in literary history. I believe he continues to represent an ideal that any adolescent can relate to. He does not conform. He does not wish to give in to the expectations of society. Holden is looking for something outside of the norm. He encourages independence and free thinking. He encourages the act of questioning (an act that will never lose its relevance).
I believe that by not reading this novel, one is actually missing out on something significant, something powerful. What should we do? Remove this book from our high school reading lists because it has lost its appeal? Because other books have been written that surpass Salinger’s most famous piece of literature? Should this go for every book that was once banned? Every book that was once burned? Every book that used to be on reading lists? Are they all outdated?
I could not disagree more with Anne Trubek. I could not insist more that The Catcher in the Rye is still influential for young readers. This book was the first that I ever truly loved. It was the first time I remember reading something that I could not put down. It was the first time I realized that I actually enjoyed reading. Take that away, take that possibility away, and young readers will inevitably miss out on this experience. You don’t have to have grown up in the 1950s to identify with Holden. That is part of its beauty, its power. That is Salinger’s genius.
15 responses so far
Holden is a character you never forget…
and I compare alot of characters to him. You’re right, it would be a shame if other missed out on it but-
I feel the same way about people who diss Bobby Brown.
I have strong feelings about this. As a former English teacher, I DO believe that Catcher in the Rye should still be taught in schools. I gave it to one of my 11th graders to read and he enjoyed it. Holden Caulfield is legendary. I do also think, though, that you should incorporate some updated literature into the curriculum. Like she said, Speak is a great example. It’s a fantastic coming of age novel with a moral.
I know what you mean. There can only be one “Catcher in the Rye,” which is why it annoys me when critics consider nearly every Young Adult novel to be “the next Catcher.” The only book that comes close is “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”
I’m actually not a fan of this book. I never got it, and have taken much bashing from everyone because of it. I did read it twice to to make sure I wasn’t missing something.
I’ve often thought it because I lacked angst in the years I read it so could not really identify, probably the same reason I identified with so few people in high school.
Though my cynicism has grown as I get older I still can’t relate.
My brother suggested I read it every couple of years to make sure..lol
I am a bad person and haven’t read this. I wasn’t forced to in school and just haven’t gotten to this one yet in my attempt to catch up on the classics.
Please don’t judge me.
Both The Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower were very important to me when I was in high school and I still recommend them to people every once in a while. Catcher was my favorite book for many years and I can’t imagine my life without it. That sounds crazy but whenever I read it (and it has been many times now), I feel like I’ve found a friend.
The Catcher in the Rye was the only “classic” I enjoyed in high school and I’m so glad that I was forced to read it. I hope that they incorporate more recent books into the curriculum these days, but the catcher in the rye should stay!
Narm: I read Catcher in high school, but not Slaughterhouse Five. Neither were required. In fact I’ve never read any Vonnegut. We are both failures!
Perks of Being a Wallflower can sometimes be harshly judged as being TOO Catcher-ish or, as overused a descriptor as it is, emo. Both I feel were pivotal in making me feel less freakish and alone, though I feel a closer kinship with Perks. Geez I guess my high school was behind on the times, because in honors we skipped over most widely accepted classics which incidentally (ha Perks reference!) were relegated to the lower tracked classes. To this day I am jealous of the books I missed out on… partially because they were shorter
I totally agree with you here. I need to re-read that book immediately.
i dunno. I think she has a point in that it gets paid closer attention because its older when there might be more contemporary fiction that applies more to adolescence but maybe gets overlooked.
i’d never support classice being taken out of a curriculum tho.
i loved this book in high school. it’s always stuck with me. i just bought a new copy about a year ago and have been intending to read it for a while now. thanks for reminding me!
this is the only book i brought with me to Honduras. i have read it so many times that the pages are falling out.
I need to re-read this blog.
But is saddens me when people start talking about why this needs to be updated or modernized. Isn’t that the whole point of great art, that it transcends time?
I am so glad to see someone who agrees with me. This was the first book that I ever had to read for High School, and I was so amazed. Just today I commented to someone that the only book I was ever in love with from beginning to end was the Catcher in the Rye. It had a huge impact on me, that has influenced me to amazing levels.
I remember being so upset that my teacher decided not to test us on the book, because I read it 3 times that summer.
I think I’m due to read it again
…Katies latest post…Feeding the Addiction
I got kicked out of this snotty private school(That most ppl in my city tried failingly over and over to get their kids into, people parked their cars all night outside the building to get admission forms afraid the number of forms was limited like the number of seats, anyway it was a big deal and They’d tell us every morning at assembly that we were the creme of the city and the best of us got into IVY , my older sister who was there also, she was studying at Cornell at the time ) because of my grades and I was going to write a book about it. The subject I excelled in was English general , I got a 98. I’m 23 now and I haven’t written anything (except non-English exam papers) in a while , so excuse my writing.
When I was 18 , my first year of college I figured , I’d finally get to writing ‘The kickout’s diary’ and I’d just started when this guy sent me catcher and I started reading it and thought ‘He ’stole’ my idea’ and by the time I finished it , I was humbled into thinking It was better than anything “I” could ever write and I also felt molded, unoriginal and old. As though salinger had written out bits of my life long before I even lived.
He’s shaped generations on top of generations.All those movies about ppl in private schools/boarding schools are somehow linked to him. and John Lennon songs ‘it’s getting better all the time’, we are dictated by their time. And his criticizing systems of schooling , what we’re graded on ,(his essay on the Egyptians: He wrote what he would keep with him without using using any of the ‘technical jargon’ he was supposed to. It wasn’t that he lacked interest or motivation , he just didn’t see the point of memorizing just for a test something he wouldn’t carry with him. On the one hand they tell you to make it as simple as possible , put it in your ‘own’ words and on the other they want ‘facts’, ”Figures’ and ‘quotes’. The system hasn’t changed , it’s still less about learning and more about getting the grade , and there’s a formula for getting the grade and it isn’t as is oft mistaken, speaking your mind/using your head. Even in English which is supposed to be about ‘just’ expressing yourself , you get better marks for using a better vocabulary, punctuation matters , blah blah blah , what you’re learning boils down to a strict format that everyone around you drones on too and the school keeps telling you how much they detest and discourage rote-learning. anything that sounds original is ‘wrong’ irrelevant anything that ’sounds like’ the text is also wrong , unless you quote the text and make it look/sound like you and still somehow not be plagiarizing anything :O )
and phone calls
and teachers who smile beguiling, pat your head, rub your back,stare,watch out for you and make you wonder.
then there’s stuff I can’t relate to. All that stuff about being a flit(homosexual) and finding out, out of the blue. And he’s so incredibly homophobic… I get that some ppl ‘are’ but a lot of ppl aren’t…
Okay, when I was school ppl started calling me a lesbian , it was a joke I think … anyway I* wasn’t ‘afraid’ I’d turn into one, it’s not ’scary’
and there’s Freud’s theory about our sexual stages that I completely disagree with.
and adolescent prostitution, (I know it happens but the hotel thing…)
and the small bottoms’ thing (I guess you’d have to be a guy(though when I come to think of it , I would prefer a guy whose ass wasn’t falling all over the place, to each his own…I LIKE BIG BUTTS(the song))
and I was never sent to ‘military school’ (boys go thee to be reformed???)
and what about reform-schools , wouldn’t it be interesting if he wrote about the (out of line)kids at military school. The military pro’lly owned his ‘freedom of speech right’
I get the lipstick thing though , but today it’s lip gloss and sometimes it just looks horrible…
and class: owning nice things that make you look rich. (Like designer wear, handbags ,cellphones and i-pods)
and brushing your teeth for vanity
and being (a private-slob) dirty in private , or for a couple of days when you’re really low and think of yourself as grimy and ugly but he doesn’t go into that ,
nothing to reveal that he is the least bit tainted.
like he’s too pure to fit in.
It’s really narcissistic actually
and his reason not to conform, loving himself too much like a Grandiose complex.
“I’m different , I’m better”
and it’s isn’t grades or better photographs that make him better , ‘cos he’s not photogenic and he ‘did’ get the boot….It’s his parents’ money and not being able to follow his impulses when a girl says ‘Don’t please don’t', he doesn’t say he didn’t want to , so it isn’t character , he couldn’t bring himself to it , his reflexes(involuntary) fought off his intent (voluntary).
ok, then there’s that hint on incest with the father walking the house in his underwear, my dad used to do that … yeah
He doesn’t talk about taking drugs or alcohol I suppose because there was nothing sinister attached to it at the time or dance parties , though he does talk about a nightclub and jazz , jazz was ‘big’ then like ‘hard rock’ or something , they didn’t even have pop music ,not ‘even’ the Beatles I like Die Hard 4.0
but Hamlet ‘is’ nice (Oedipus complex) and Thomas Hardy , I’ve read a pair of blue eyes, mayor of casterbridge and the woodlanders and that woman wasn’t in those books, I started off with Jude the obscure but the tree-sap representing blood and how depressed Jude was, struck me as ‘lame’.
hmm
I don’t really love catcher like I ‘did’ the first time I read it
or Franny and Zooey
maybe ;cos I haven’t read either recently.
and the ‘F-word’ bothers him a lot!