While The Catcher in the Rye was not a mandatory component of my high school curriculum, I know plenty of people who did have to read it in their high school years, my sister included. I’m not sure why I didn’t have to read this for English class, but because it is such a well-known book, I figured it would be worth reading and decided to give it a try.
The Catcher in the Rye is a highly controversial book, and it’s a highly banned book to boot. The reasoning behind its controversy is its inclusion of heavy, blasphemous profanity (I don’t think I’ve ever read the expression ‘God Damn’ so often in my life), teenage sexuality, and rebellion against social constructs and expectations. The narrator and main character of the text, Holden, is a troubled young man, and his character is rather confusing for readers in the sense that it is assumed Holden struggles with some sort of mental illness, but no actual diagnosis or condition is ever mentioned.
The story follows Holden over a span of a few days after he is expelled from school, and he’s been expelled from numerous institutions at this point. He doesn’t want to return home to his family and parents and have to tell them the bad news, so he instead decides to roam around New York City for a few days and meets up with a random assortment of people.
I did not particularly enjoy this book, and while it is considered a literary classic, I deem it a rid and not a read. I could stomach the profanity and other controversies, but what I took tremendous issue with is how the book depicts and disrespects women in all regards. The entire story is chaotic and frustrating, the writing is redundant and repetitive, and I don’t see myself reading it again anytime soon.
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