Life

Sunday, September 1, 2013

CatcherInTheRye

<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml"
xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">

<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=ProgId content=Word.Document>
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 9">
<meta name=Originator content="Microsoft Word 9">
<link rel=File-List href="./Catcher_In_The_Rye_files/filelist.xml">
<title>Catcher In The Rye</title>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Author>Tony</o:Author>
<o:Template>Normal</o:Template>
<o:LastAuthor>Tony</o:LastAuthor>
<o:Revision>2</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Created>2004-11-26T06:22:00Z</o:Created>
<o:LastSaved>2004-11-26T06:22:00Z</o:LastSaved>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>530</o:Words>
<o:Characters>3023</o:Characters>
<o:Company>WinMe</o:Company>
<o:Lines>25</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>6</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>3712</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>9.3821</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;}
h3
{color:black;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:#0000EE;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:#551A8B;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
p
{font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;}
pre
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Courier New";
color:black;}
tt
{mso-ascii-font-family:"Courier New";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Courier New";
mso-hansi-font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Courier New";}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1027"/>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/>
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
<meta name=Description content="Free Student Essay Reference">
<meta name=Author content="Anonymous Student">
<meta name=KeyWords content="Catcher,In,The,Rye">
</head>

<body bgcolor=white lang=EN-US link="#0000ee" vlink="#551a8b" style='tab-interval:
.5in'>

<div class=Section1>

<h3>Catcher In The Rye</h3>

<pre><![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![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 (&quot;you're</pre><pre>supposed to kill yourself if the football team loses or something&quot;) and</pre><pre>the fear of adulthood (&quot;going to get an office job and make a lot of money</pre><pre>like the rest of the phonies&quot;). </pre><pre><![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![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 &quot;hey Peter I can see your house from here&quot;). </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]>&nbsp;<![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]>&nbsp;<![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]>&nbsp;<![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">&nbsp; </span>There is the caste system in which Caulfield</pre><pre>hates and wishes to be his roommate Stradlatter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </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]>&nbsp;<![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">&nbsp; </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">&nbsp; </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>

</body>

</html>

No comments:

Post a Comment