It has been years since I read Salinger's oft-maligned novel, the frequent target of challenges and book banning attempts. I have to say that I still love it! I think that while many of us read it as teens with a particular interest in the bad language and references to sex, it turns out that as adults we have a whole new perspective.
Holden Caulfield is a very troubled young man but driven primarily by a system of ethics that override everything else in his life and make him extremely judgmental of almost everyone and everything he encounters. He is intensely critical, unable to focus, and frustrated by the great gap between his physical and emotional maturity, yet he is also often immensely sympathetic and thoughtful. His dream is to "catch" (save) children like the ones he imagines running through a rye field towards inevitable death over a cliff. His vision is a bit twisted since it is based on a stranger's mistake in singing the song "Comin' through the Rye" as
Like Salinger, the author, Holden has attended several schools. In Holden's case, he flunks every subject but English. After being told that he will not be allowed to return to his current school after the Christmas break, he decides to board a train and return to New York City early and without his parents' knowledge, thus beginning his adventures. What strikes me most about Holden, aside from his obviously untreated mental problems and confusion over impending adulthood, is his empathy for some of the people he encounters.
Take some time to reread this short novel. You'll be pleasantly surprised by what a difference 20 or 30 years of life experience make in how you view Holden Caulfield and his story.
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