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<h3>Catcher In The Rye</h3>
<pre><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></pre><pre>Holden Caulfield is teen angst bull-crap with a pickax. He's sarcastic,</pre><pre>nasty, and completely unlikeable. He also doesn't give a crap. He is every</pre><pre>teenager caught between the crapy little games of high school ("you're</pre><pre>supposed to kill yourself if the football team loses or something") and</pre><pre>the fear of adulthood ("going to get an office job and make a lot of money</pre><pre>like the rest of the phonies"). </pre><pre><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></pre><pre>The greatness in Holden Caulfield is that what he has to say is better</pre><pre>than a million Celestine Prophecies or anything said by Jonathan</pre><pre>Livingston Seagull (save for the squawks after you shoot him) or Jesus</pre><pre>(save for the apocryphal "hey Peter I can see your house from here"). </pre><pre>Holden Caulfield says that life sucks, everyone is a phony, and you'll be</pre><pre>inevitably disappointed by everyone that you hold in awe. If you think</pre><pre>that this sounds awful, ask yourself one question. When was the last time</pre><pre>you found any joy in watching Barney or the Care Bears? </pre><pre><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></pre><pre>It isn't just what he says but the way he says it. He goes through life</pre><pre>making dead-on observations that completely shoot the kneecaps out from</pre><pre>under the terminally self-righteous. When a successful mortician tells the</pre><pre>school to follow his example and pray when things go bad, it is Holden</pre><pre>Caulfield who points out that the guy is praying for more people to die.</pre><pre>He's depressed by nuns and annoyed by shallow girlfriends, while in love</pre><pre>with his platonic friend. </pre><pre><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></pre><pre>Even more interesting is the fact that Caulfield's general pissed off</pre><pre>attitude and his hormones are inextricably linked. He practically wants to</pre><pre>kill his roommate, Stradlatter, because Stradlatter might have screwed a</pre><pre>girl he desires. He guiltily admits to making out with phonies, and in a</pre><pre>major confession he confesses to being a virgin. He gets the crap beat out</pre><pre>of him by a disgruntled pimp after deciding that he doesn't want a to have</pre><pre>sex with a prostitute for the silliest of reasons.(he just found it</pre><pre>disconcerting to see her take her clothes off without fanfare.)The fact</pre><pre>that his little brother has just died and that he's being kicked out of</pre><pre>yet another school takes second place to the whole sex question. In other</pre><pre>words, Holden Caulfield is a guy; stereotype away. </pre><pre><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></pre><pre>What is also interesting is how closely Caulfield captures the attitude</pre><pre>and culture of adolescence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There is the caste system in which Caulfield</pre><pre>hates and wishes to be his roommate Stradlatter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Meanwhile zit-encrusted</pre><pre>Ackley, whom he maybe should feel sympathy for, is an annoying guy that</pre><pre>Holden can't wait to get out of his room. He's sympathetic to the</pre><pre>principle's daughter, saying that it's not her fault what kind of a</pre><pre>bastard her old man is, and without missing a beat remarks on the fact</pre><pre>that she pads her bra. Cruelty and frustration are mixed, but the comedy</pre><pre>level allows you to laugh at your own painful memories. </pre><pre><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></pre><pre>Granted, like many of his fans, Holden Caulfield turns out to be nuts or</pre><pre>at least residing in an insane asylum. (Sorry, if you think that those</pre><pre>stupid surprise endings are the best reason to read Salinger.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Yet, in</pre><pre>Caulfield's insanity, there is a transcendent theme. By being the pissed</pre><pre>off, nasty, cynical insane bastard; Holden Caulfield suggests that it is</pre><pre>ok to be a crap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Your criticisms of the world are not invalid and nothing</pre><pre>you say or think is so bad that you need to repress it. Ironically, this</pre><pre>is not only something that is essential to survival (especially if you are</pre><pre>a teenager and desperately trying to maintain your lily-white self image)</pre><pre>but is also the key to ultimately becoming a decent caring human being.</pre><pre>Keep your prophets, preachers and shamans. I'll take Holden Caulfield over them any day. </pre></div>
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Sometime with rudeness 'n' Sometime with love..... Sometime with perception 'n' Sometime with surprise... Sometime with worry 'n' Sometime with Hope... Life goes on.........
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