The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
© Kathy Kehrli
Comin' Thro' The Rye
Gin a body meet a body Comin' thro' the rye Gin a body kiss a body Need a body cry? Ilka lassie has her laddie Nane, they say, hae I Yet a' the lads they smile at me When comin' thro' the rye -Robert Burns
Catcher in the Rye is the classic coming-of-age tale of Holden Caulfield, a disturbed high school failure who eventually lands himself in mental therapy. Holden is a timeless example of adolescence and today's teenagers can relate to this novel as easily as teens in the 1950's, when the book was written. Catcher in the Rye touches on the major themes of loneliness, insecurities, and not fitting in that every young person faces in their struggle to grow up.
While flunking out of school, Holden is intelligent beyond his years. He frequently becomes obsessed with questions the average person takes for granted, like "Where do the ducks go when the lagoon freezes?' He analyzes situations and feels the pangs of immaturity on profound levels. He dangles on the edge between adulthood and childhood, yearning for the days when his little brother was still alive and wanting to be able to 'catch all the little kids before they fall over the cliff', perhaps feeling the guilt of his sibling's death.
Catcher in the Rye has become a cult classic and has played a key role in several notable crimes and movies. In 1980, Mark David Chapman killed John Lennon in an attempt to promote the book. John Hinkley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan, not only was trying to impress Jodi Foster, he was also a huge Catcher in the Rye fan. Finally, the film Conspiracy Theory, starring Mel Gibson, made the novel a running joke.
If you haven't read this novel since your high school days, I suggest you pick it up again. You'll be amazed at how well it will bring back those uneasy feelings of adolescence. While Holden was severely disturbed, I can almost guarantee you'll see a piece of your teenage self in him. After all, who didn't think everyone was a 'phony' at some point in his or her life?
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