the catcher in the rye

The Catcher in the Rye was a very interesting book to me. I thought the way that Salinger wrote the novel was very natural and flowing. I really liked the way that he made Holden have a line or a saying that he repeats multiple times such as, "and all," and "i really did." This gave the effect that i was reading a book from the point of a teenager.

For the most part, i really enjoyed the book, up until the end. I thought that the way Holden was portrayed made him a much more interesting character to follow. I saw Holden as a boy who has much potential, but the way his childhood turned out, made him lose all motivation to unleash his potential. To add on to his non motivational ways, he lost his younger brother Allie, and is separated from his other siblings. His older brother whom he looks up to is in a dead end job that is getting him no where, and his younger sister reminds him of his younger brother who passed away. I think that when he leaves and runs to New York draws back to his personality, and of how he runs away from his fears instead of facing them. He fears his parents finding out about his expulsion, so he ran away, he was afraid of getting shot down, so he never told Jane about his true feelings, not having sex with the prostitute, etc. When he finally decides to come home, he sees his sister in bed. Awoken by her excitement of seeing her older brother, the two talk. After their parents arrive home, Holden hides in the closet, and then flees when he gets the chance. The next day, he meets his sister at the museum, and he plans to leave and never come back. In a way, he was going to run away from his fears, permanently. Recall that he says that he wishes to become a catcher in the rye, to catch those who are running off the cliff. Him leaving forever is sort of like him already being a victim of the gaping hole that follows the edge of the cliff. For him, there is no new beginning except helping others before they end up in this dark abyss that exceeds this inevitable cliff.

To summarize, while reading the book, it may seem very simple, and vulgar. The vocabulary is not too difficult, and the plot is unnecessary. But after reading it, you start to see the big picture. In a way, Salinger's writing is like a Monet painting. Up close, you will never see any resemblance to anything found on the planet, but once you take a few steps back, and fully analyze the painting, you see a gorgeous work of art.