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Summary: School project: Review of Catcher in the Rye
Review: Holden Caulfield is the most ordinary person you will ever meet, but he is also the most genuine and endearing. At the crossroads of his adolescent life, he finds himself kicked out of yet another private school. On a cold winter night, before winter break is to let out we follow Holden on a journey of self discovery and acceptance as he makes his way home for Christmas. Holden is an intelligent guy who simply cannot find any meaningful relationships with the people he meets because he is depressed and bored with life. As we follow Holden, he narrates his past through his thoughts and reflections on his life up until this point. There is tragedy in the loss of his brother, but more love than he even realizes when speaking of his family and past friendships. Holden meets many interesting people on his way home, and you live through these experiences with him by Salinger's brilliant narration. Holden is a character that we will all relate to because he sees life through the eyes of the confused and jaded teenager that we all were at some point. He believes that he is grown up and ready to move on from all the B.S that high school has to offer but you still see him clinging onto childhood and the little boy he once was. This is a compelling novel about growing up, letting go of the past and getting on with life even after it cheats you a dozen times. It's about not knowing what to do with the rest of your life when you're too young to realize that you don't need to know all the answers right now. You have only to gain by reading this book.
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Summary: Ehhhh, it was alright
Review: The Catcher and the Rye The book The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a very interesting novel. In his unique writing style, Salinger jumps from subject to subject to subject before returning to the original topic at hand. This book basically portrays a chunk of a young man's life as he gets kicked out of a private high school called Pencey. He slowly leaves campus for home without trying to be too depressed. Holden Caulfield, as the character is named, is set in his way of thinking and its very abstract at that. The book takes you on these small adventures and you can tell that they are exaggerated. He thinks about things too much, and his mind is especially stuck on women. He doesn't like his parents much but has three siblings that he gets along with. He's always reminiscing things he's done or people he used to know, again particularly the females. He doesn't consider himself smart but he sure talks like he does. I know he's not preaching, he's just talking to people who care to listen. I liked the book to start, but it got old pretty fast.
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Summary: A J.D. Salinger Masterpiece
Review: Although Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is a popular classic literature novel, it is still enjoyed today by people of all ages. Holden Caulfield demonstrates perfect adolescent behavior through his angry tones, bitter actions, and negative attitudes.
The story begins when Holden is 'given the axe' at his prep school in New York, which leads him to a few days of freedom out on the streets in NYC. Personally, the idea is genius. A sixteen-year old boy struggling with adulthood and responsibilities needs nothing more that time alone to clear his head. This is where J.D. Salinger throws much adventure and excitement into his novel. I wouldn't exactly call it suspense, but I always had to keep reading on into the next chapter because I just had to know what Holden would do next.
Possibly another reason I think so highly of Salinger's novel is because I closely relate myself to Holden. I am a sixteen-year-old kid who is facing adolescence, and I share some of the same characteristics as Holden. When I decided to read a classic, I thought it would bore me to death, but I realized that fifty years ago teens talked and acted much like they do today.
Through Salinger's brilliant ideas, relating characterization, and humor, I was drawn into the fact that Catcher in the Rye is one of the best novels I have read. Even though it was written fifty years ago and is considered a classic, I don't think its popularity will ever fade.
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Summary: Dan's review
Review: Holden Caufield, in The Catcher in the Rye, is a very upsetting person as an individual. He sees the world as many "phonies". He is not disciplined at all and is not well educated. He has been to several private schools, although he manages to be kicked out of all of them. So he has had the chance to be well educated he never applies himself though. He has no drive in him that I see. He has a poor outlook on everything wrong and write in the world. If this type of person is the type the author tried to portray in the novel, he did a very nice job. It would be interesting to read some of his other novels to compare them. I hope not all the main characters in his novels are that negative. Do not get me wrong the book was good as a whole. The mood and negativity of Holden added to the quality of the book. That is more than likely what the author was trying to create in his writing. It educated the reader a little about life in school and for a young adult. How it might be a little rough at times and there are decisions that must be made on the way. I hope that some young adults can learn that school is important and a necessity of life. I took that one thing away from this book plus a few others. Parents might learn something as well. They can learn to be a little more understanding of their children at times. Overall, I would recommend this novel to other people, old and young, not too young.
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Summary: I can relate
Review: I sincerely believe that every teenager should read this book. The Catcher in the Rye is definitely the best book I've ever read. I am sixteen (like the main character) and I mean to read it again after all my friends read it. This review isn't revealing anything about the story. I don't like it when reviews give stuff away about the plot so I'm not going to. Just read it. It really doesn't matter what age you are- you won't be able to put it down.
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Summary: This is the best novel ever written in America!
Review: After reading a few other reviews, I've decided to comment on this book. First, I would like to start by saying I am a high school English teacher. I have a MA degree in English. I've read more books than most people think they have!
One problem with this book, judging by negative reviews, is people tend to read it incorrectly. If you claim, "this is an easy read," you've missed the boat. There is such a great depth to this book that it is impossible to claim it as an easy read. If you read only the surface and see a snotty-nosed rich kid wondering around bitching about everything, then yes, it is an easy read.
But what about the true cause of his feelings towards people? Would you not have the same attitude towards people if you were in Holden's life situation? I mean, his brother has died. His one true friend is now dead. THIS is the cause of his breakdown. Realize that he is telling this story after his breakdown. It is obvious he would have a bitter opinion looking back.
How many people did he reach out for help from that let him down? EVERY character in the book was one potential helper in saving Holden. This would include such characters as Sunny and Maurice.
If you think this is an "easy read" or not a good book, look me up. I teach it every fall. I'd love to have you sit in for my lectures as we go through the book.
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Summary: A book I should have read 40 years ago...
Review: A book I should have read 40 years ago. A brilliant portrayal of cynical adolescence and the transition to adulthood. Brought to life in the journey made by Holden Caulfield through New York City in a weekend. Holden seeks to find his way out of confusing darkness following his expulsion from school. Captures the growing pains out of childhood and the doubts and fears of moving forward into adulthood in a most stunning way. The image of the catcher in the rye saving children from falling into the abyss of adulthood, as seen by Holden, is memorable. Rightly acclaimed as one of the great literary works of the 20th century.
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Summary: The first book I've ever hated.
Review: This, as many people know, is one extremely controversial book. Many people dislike simply for that, but I, on the other hand, have reason for it. Sure, I was required to read this for my freshman language arts class, so, like most books one is forced to read, it's expected that the student will dislike it. Once again, not my reason. Unlike so many people around my age, I happen to like reading, and over this past year, this is the first book I have hated out of the sixty or so I read. I'm sure the die-hard fans of this book are going to go completely insane after just simply reading the title of my review, but this is just one person's opinion. I suggest that you read plenty more, because if you don't hate this book, you'll love it. Perhaps the worst part of the book would be the main character Holden. Holden is a very angry, bitter, and mentally unstable sixteen-year-old who can find something annoying or depressing in the most simple of things. It seemed to go on forever, his constant whining about the "phonies," or more elaborately put, show-offs and exhibitionists who act like completely different people than they really are. He labels pretty much everyone phony for some reason, and he makes it clear from the first page of his hate of them. The story is told from first person view, hence the complaining. Holden seemed to have an image set in his mind of how other people should be, and should act. In this I'm sure many people can identify with him in some way or another, as so many people have a disrespect for certain types of people. I consider that perfectly acceptable, but the way that Holden constantly went on and on about the phonies and fools who he just couldn't stand just inevitably got on my nerves by the middle of the book. As I said, The Catcher in the Rye is told in first person view. To make the complaining worse, you add on Holden talking all the time. He seems to like to explain things a bit too thoroughly, and, while he gets the point across, he also manages to get off subject so much it's just unbelievable. I read one paragraph which was, I think, over three pages long, and I know that Holden must have changed subject at least five times over the course of it. This is no exaggeration. I know that the most constant complaint in my class was his rambling. It's as if Holden couldn't keep his mind on one thing for more than a few seconds. That certainly wasn't helped when Holden would start talking about phonies. I'm sure that certainly hurt the book quite a bit. Really, I can't think of anything about the book which I enjoyed, other than the first few chapters when I was not yet annoyed be Holden's view of almost all other people. In my opinion, Holden ruined the book completely. I'm not saying that this is not well written literature, but it's just a book I hate. It certainly is realistically written, and the characters are well thought out and realistic, but as I said, you either love it or hate it. I happen to hate it. Many happen to like it. Read some other reviews, otherwise you will just hear the view of one person, when perhaps The Catcher in the Rye may deserve more praise. A bit of feedback please! Helpful or not?
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Summary: If you are a cynic...
Review: Then you'll love this book! Holden Caufield is a cynic who thinks everyone and everything is a phony. The entire book is based only on three days that Holden spents wandering around New York City, after being kicked out of a fancy prep school. He is trying to avoid telling his parents he's been kicked out, and therefore won't go home yet.
So we follow Holden as he wanders around New York City, meets different people along the way, and laugh at how he calls them all phonies in his head. Because, you know, EVERYONE is a phony!
It's quite humorous at times, I certainly laughed out loud a few times.
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Summary: An Extremely Overrated "Classic"
Review: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is considered to be a modern classic, a piece of literature that's value won't fade with time. It is set in the late forties or early fifties and is about a seventeen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield and the 48 or so hours of his life after he is kicked out of yet another high school for flunking most of his classes. The theme of the book is seeing the world through a very original, angsty character's eyes and understanding what the world means to someone whose life is slowly falling apart. The sad reality is that The Catcher in the Rye is probably one of the most overrated books of all time. The story aside, the style and form of the writing itself is so simplistic and vulgar that it is downright offensive to read. The narrative is the first-person journal of the main character who happens to be a pretty bad writer, which makes the reading of the book far from enjoyable. The vast majority of the sentences are short and choppy; the sentence structure never varies, creating a horribly boring read. If one pulled out the unnecessary cuss words from the narrative, the book could quite possibly be 20 pages shorter. The protagonist tends to repeat himself several times and continually tries to convince the reader that what he's saying is true. Salinger would probably defend his work by saying that the narrative was keeping Holden in character. I retort that if keeping the narrator in character means insulting the readers' intelligence, then perhaps making the character a better writer is in order. (On a side note, Holden's best subject in school is English. Go figure.) The description in the story is also very lacking. Description in the first-person is a harder task than in third-person writing, but it's not impossible. Salinger has our character walking through high schools and 50's New York streets, in apartments and bars galore, but the reader is never immersed into the environment. Instead of facing the challenge of description in the first person, it's as though Salinger chooses to ignore it entirely. And when there is description, it is blunt and to the point; there is no embellishment that might bring the world to life. Aside from the writing itself, the plot is the worst aspect of this book. The problem is that there is none. We are thrown into an arbitrary spot in this boy's life and we follow him aimlessly around New York for two days. Nothing actually happens. There is no flow of events, there is no building climax, and there is no resolution. We simply follow Holden Caulfield around for a while and then we stop. If readers of this book are expecting a story, they will be sorely disappointed. The only good aspect of this story is the characterization. Holden Caulfield is the original angsty teenager. That is nothing original in this day and age, but Catcher has been credited as the first story to really bring that aspect of adolescence to light. And, despite his now stereotypical personality, he still manages to be a very original character. Many teens may be angry at the world, but Holden manages to be a very sympathetic person at the same time. Sadly, that is as deep as the character gets. He either hates, pities, or both pities and hates everyone he encounters, excepting his little sister alone. What's worse is that there is little to no character development. The Holden Caulfield of the first chapter is the exact same Holden Caulfield of the last chapter except that he has decided to write the journal that comprises the book. Holden's little sister, Phoebe, is just about the one and only delight of this story. Her character is the deepest of the secondary characters, and she's one of those personalities that makes simply reading about her a joy. Without her, there would be no redeeming factor to this book at all. So, if Catcher is such a bad read, what made it a modern classic? The answer can be found on page 189 of the Little, Brown Books paperback edition. The speaker is one of Holden's old teachers from an earlier school who is trying to help him decide to straighten his life up. "Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them--if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangment. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry." The trouble with this book is that far too many people seem to think that this book, by its own confession, is history and poetry. They're reading far more into a very shallow story than was ever put into it. The Catcher in the Rye is still being hailed as a classic of modern literature, but a classic is a story that endures and has meaning long after the time it was written has passed. I'm hoping that in a hundred years gone by, this book will be dubbed what it was from the start: garbage.
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