salinger is not a master story-teller in a way a rushdie or a marquez is. he is shaky, nervous and... digressive. what is it, then, that puts him above the rest, arguably even against the rushdies and the marquezs. it's his honesty. 'catcher' is a tale simply told. without pretence and without ambition. without the stamp of graphomania. it could well be a diary, a memoir, a mere scribbling of an adolescent unable to find an ear to relate his multitude of troubles to. and this adoloscent trying so desperately to find an ear does not expect sympathy. he wants no remorse. he wants just that - an ear.
holden caulfied may or not be a portryal of the author himself. but we sure as hell hope he is. and we are evil to hope so and yet we are forgiven for being evil. because as flawed and imperfect as caulfield is, he is equally adorable. even as you detest the hypocrisy that he personifies, he is bound to instill in you sympathy and pathos alike. even as you call him the worst role model of our times, it is this very fact that draws him closer to our hearts. in his hypocrisy, we've found a place to hide our little secrets. in his vulnerability we've found a place to reflect on our fears.
yes, caulfield is everything that we've not wanted to be but are cursed to be. and so we love him beacuse we love ourselves. the side of us we hate to admit. we love him for being human. we love him for simply knowing him.
(the last para is gay)
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6 comments:
Need to read that book again!
the last line is phony
Holden Caulfield gives the commencement speech to a High School.
You're all a bunch of goddam phonies.
the last line is phony
the last line is phony
why are u horsing around here?
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