Critique

The beginning of The Catcher in the Rye drew me into the story and it made me feel like the main character, Holden, was sharing a very personal story with me. Holden discussed his likes and dislikes of the school he was expelled from, Pencey Prep. I enjoyed reading the detail Salinger used to describe such a very personal experience. I mostly liked being able to see everything from a very judgemental kid's point of veiw. In the beginning of the story, Holden leaves Pencey Prep and wanders on his own. It would've been more to relate to in my case if Salinger showed how hard it is to be out on your own at a young age by making getting away more of a challenge for Holden. I think J.D. Salinger does a wonderful job portraying a clueless teenager. Holden is very phony though he accuses everyone else of being phony. Holden has an idea that he can run away and get a cabin in the West. This idea shows the fear and immaturity teenagers possess as they gain more responsibilities and experience further adulthood. Holden is young and doesn't realize that change is so inevitable. I felt the relation between Holden and I when he admitted to not understanding more complex ideas and changes. Holden's example in the story was not understanding why people are intimate with one another. I can relate in other ways including not understanding why people are so careless about their surroundings and people around them. Everyone in New York veiws Holden as a foolish child who doesn't understand how anything works. Those people are sort of right. Holden criticizes almost everyone he sees by calling them or their actions phony. This makes Holden seem very decieving and cold to people and relationships throughout the story. Holden even admits to wanting to marry a deaf-blind girl and that reveals how he's scared of losing his isolation from the world. If I were to change anything in this story I would change how little Jane and Phoebe were mentioned. They're both very important main characters and play critical roles in the story but, Salinger mentions a little about each one of them. All that's mentioned about Jane is her tactics in checkers and that Holden sort of had a crush on her. Phoebe is mentioned more than Jane in the book since she plays a crucial role in the ending. I would've mentioned more about Phobe in the middle of the story instead of having her show up and resolve the entire climax of Holden's break down. Salinger wrote this book as a realistic novel and he included the slang and foul language used in real life. I really admired how Holden continuely said "Chrissake" I think it gave Holden a more realistic personality just as if he were a real person. I also very much admired the foreshadowing used in the very end. Salinger didn't wrote as if Holden didn't really say what happened after the resolution. The resolution was brilliant, in my opinion. Phoebe rode a carousel in the very end and the sight of innocence and joy on a kids face was enough to make Holden tear up. The ending of the story was left open for either a negative or positive interpretation. Positive because Holden mentions trying harder in school the following semester even though he's living in a rest home. It could've also been veiwed as negative because he's not completely better and is still battling the same issues he was in the book including being unsettle about adulthood changes and he is still feeling insecure about living in a harmful world. I personally loved reading this novel and was inspired to search for any other pieces of writing by J.D. Salinger.