Curious

[Anonymous No.1728816]

Good Evening,

I have a question for you, /lit/. What is the defining aspect of Catcher and the Rye that allowed it to be enjoyed by so many. First, tell me the reasons why you all enjoyed the novel, then tell me why you think society enjoyed it. Well, there is the obvious Lennon assassination that gave the book added fame, but we can all agree that there is more to its success than that tiny aspect.

So, what's your opinion on the matter at hand?

[Anonymous No.1728841]

do your slimy paper on your own you arse

[Anonymous No.1728849]

incessant bitching with no action.

people love that.

[Anonymous No.1728858]

>>1728841
I'm not even in an English course, sir. I'm just asking you why you liked or maybe disliked the novel. I was just curious and decided to gather some opinions. I'm sorry that you decided to read this thread.

>>1728849
I thought about that for a second or two, and if people don't put up with that in real life, then why the hell put up with it in a book that is voluntarily read?
Surely, the readers could not be having a private self indulgent session of having their complaints recycled from the page to their minds to the page again.

[Anonymous No.1728860]

>>1728849
You are just mad because you are 18-21 and you use to be like him and you can't laugh at that fact yet.

[Anonymous No.1728876]

I remember reading that novel back in high school and liking it. I read it again when I was 27 and I just wanted to punch Holden in the face and tell him to get his shit together.

I'm sure there's something of value to learn about that, but it's too late at night to be deep.

[Anonymous No.1728907]

>>1728860
Could that really be it? People laughing about how gloomy they once were? I am highly suspicious about your claim.

[Anonymous No.1728933]

when i first read it in high school i liked it because although i could see how holden wasn't a hero or "just like me" or anything, i could relate to how he felt and thought he made an interesting narrator (especially compared to a lot of the narrators i'd encountered at that point in my life). i read it again in college, or possibly a little after, and was surprised by how cliche and teenage holden was. i no longer found him all that relatable and was sort of embarrassed i had in the first place. thinking about it now, to answer your question, i think there's something about holden that appeals to the misfit teenager or outsider in a lot of us, regardless of where we're at in life.

[Anonymous No.1728978]

Part of me thinks that Salinger wanted the reader to sympathize with Holden throughout the novel and make him think, "Wow...it must suck for this to happen to Holden. He's so special." But once you get to the conversation with Mr. Antolini you get the impression that Holden's behavior is not something innately unique to him(his calling people is an implicit attempt to place himself on a higher pedestal) but is something that all teenagers go through at one point in their and is something that must be overcome. You can't lose hope just because things are sucking at first, because, well, they're supposed to.

[Anonymous No.1728980]

Probably because it's a pitch-perfect account of what it's like to be a particular kind of teenager. This particular kind of teenager tends to be a reader as well, so there's a good chance that if you read it as a kid, it will "click" with you. It nails down specific feelings that are otherwise fleeting or ethereal, and that is one of the best things a good book can do.

I think it tends to go like this: You read it in middle or high school, and empathize. You read it in college, and are embarrassed that you once liked it. You read it as an adult, and recognize its value as literature.

[Anonymous No.1729067]

>>1728849
well it worked for the middle 3 acts of Hamlet, didn't it?

[Anonymous No.1729071]

>>1729067
damn girl, you got jokes

[Anonymous No.1729073]

>>1729067
High five