The Catcher in the Field of Rye is one of the most read and well-known works of 20th-century American literature. JD Salinger, the author, managed to capture the essence of adolescence in this novel, although critics did not welcome it. The work initially admired her and eventually became the literary work that best reflected adolescence. Its direct and popular language is a beautiful image of reality, although it also caused some controversy at the time of its publication in 1951. .
Despite the changes experienced by society, despite technological advances and obvious differences between teenagers yesterday and today, The Catcher in the Field of Rye is a novel that has aged very well and continues to reflect the high percentage of teenagers who cannot adapt. or integrate into the system, those who live this stage between childhood and adulthood as a period of survival, rebellion and internal conflict.
- The plot? It’s pretty simple: a young teenager named Holden Caulfield recounts his first-person experiences.
- Holden is a terrible student and has been expelled from several schools.
- Your situation does not seem to improve.
- As you have just been informed that you will be expelled from your current school.
- Holden decides not to tell his parents the truth and doesn’t even want to meet them.
- So he escapes in the middle of the night and returns to his hometown of New York.
- There.
- He stays in a very low-level hotel and begins his adventure.
The catcher in the rye shows us Holden’s journey, that of every disenchanted (and proud) teenager in the world, who seems to hate everything and everyone. A novel that has been marked in history as a favorite book of psychopaths, marginals, people. suffering from mental and also teenage (and not-so-teen) problems What is their success?Why is The Catcher in the Rye such a controversial novel?
“All you have to do is say something that no one understands and they will do almost anything you want. “The receiver in the rye?
Salinger’s work has made many of us look reflected in Holden Caulfield’s character. This does not happen when we read the work in adulthood, but in adolescence. What’s the key? The secret is to draw an easily related character, a character very close to reality, a rebellious young man who flirts with misanthropy.
For many, adolescence will be nothing more than a period of transition to adulthood, another stage of life that takes place without pain or glory; a moment to focus on your studies, start thinking about the future and take on new challenges and responsibilities.
However, for others, it is a much more complex and dark step. New pressures and responsibilities, both personal and academic, can be a major obstacle; Starting to understand the world and face the consequences of our actions hinders this stage of life. Alcohol, drugs, experimentation, early sex, discovering the world. . . all of this can be very present in adolescence.
As a teenager, do we focus on music, film, media?, we try to find our reflection, to feel that deep down we belong to a place, we have a reason in this life, Holden hates everything that lives, hates everyone, hates school, hates the system, society, the world?The only people you care about are your brothers and sisters, not even your parents seem important.
One of the most striking aspects of this work is the way it is counted, in the first person, using a vocabulary that we immediately associate with young people. Holden uses banal and rude words from his time.
This expressiveness and this naturalness that we see in his language are precisely the culprits of the identification of which we spoke before. Even the physical descriptions are very close to reality, do we see signs of bitten nails? or acne, very typical characteristics of adolescence.
Another of the most interesting points of the novel is the lack of action; it is true that Holden escapes and has disagreements, but nothing really extraordinary happens. The action is static, as is adolescence. Holden simply tells his thoughts and criticizes everything he can, reflects on his role, what he does not like and the discomfort caused to him by the world, assumes the mythification of adolescence, a swing of childish innocence with an insignificant panorama that is life after the end of this stage.
Holden himself defines himself as a guardian in the field of rye, that is what he wants to be, he wants to be responsible for helping children who run alone in the abyss, he wants to be the one who protects them from the fall, from this hard blow that implies the end of childhood and the recovery of the consciousness of reality.
“Enchanting is a word I can’t stand. This seems so bad that I feel like throwing up every time I hear it. “The receiver in the rye?
How can a book that reflects adolescence become a favorite of many criminals?Perhaps that sense of non-belonging and holden’s touches of misanthropy are some of the causes that have caused some killers to see inside?The Guardian in the rye, some kind of bible.
It is common for us to see Holden as a kind of reflection of ourselves in Holden, a mirror in which we can look and feel understood or less alone.
The list of crimes committed in the shadow of this work is relatively long, although most have been dismissed as misdemeanors or committed against anonymous persons. Without a doubt, the case everyone remembers most is the murder of John Lennon.
John Lennon was killed by Mark David Chapman, an admirer who saw Lennon as one of those children Holden described as running into the abyss. Chapman believed that by murdering him, he would save him from the world’s problems and that his innocence would save him. survive this way. After committing the murder, Chapman read The Catcher in the Rye until the police arrived; in the book he wrote?my confession and signed as Holden Caulfield.
Robert John Bardo and John Hinkley are other names that resonate when we talk about the play. The first young actress murdered Rebecca Schaeffer while carrying a copy of the book; Meanwhile, Hinkley tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan by carrying another copy of the book.
The popularity of the work, as well as the mystery that surrounds it, has made The Catcher in the Rye’s legacy immense. Urban legends and music echoed this “cursed” book. The hunter in the rye is a must, who speaks without taboos and can be very interesting in adolescence.
“Life is a game and you have to live by the rules of the game. -The Guardian in the rye-