Fucking English Class Man

[Anonymous No.4278430]

Okay, so, fuck me, I think I've finally figured out why I hate English (class) books so much. For the longest time I thought it was the shitty pacing, or the incredibly contrived plots, but then I looked at other books that did those same things and were still damn good in their own right. I think I've got it now, though. It's because they don't end.
Catcher in the Rye, for example. It's the first half of a coming-of-age novel, where the protagonist is a horrible, childish little shit who needs to get his teeth kicked in. Then it ends.
No plot, or character development, or attempt to tie up loose ends, or anything. Just fucking ends right there so fourteen-year-olds can feel justified in their worldview because Holden is never challenged on anything.
I just-
Why do people enjoy this?

[Anonymous No.4278447]

First of all sage for retardedness

Second of all a kind referral to >>>reddit

Third, Catcher in the Rye is a postmodern reconfiguration of the traditional Bildungsroman novel, hence the non-ending and hence the opening line about David Copperfield. Just because you're looking for some vicarious little experience on a sunday afternoon that will make you feel good before your cookies and milk doesn't mean you're right, kid.

[Anonymous No.4278490]

>>4278447
>make you feel good before your cookies and milk
See, the issue here is that Holden is a gigantic faggot, a self-insert for privileged little white boys who don't want to face facts and realize they probably don't know any more then their teachers do. An actual coming-of-age novel like the Outsiders is a good bit more depressing because the characters have their viewpoints challenged, they experience loss, they learn that the world is more complicated than their simplistic, black-and-white worldview.
I'm not fucking asking for it to be happy, I'm asking for some fucking plot. Look at Mice and Men, for example. Sure, the ending is contrived and depressing, but I still think it's a good book because it has a satisfying conclusion that effectively ties up all the loose ends.
Stop confusing laziness with genius. An unfinished book is unfinished.

[Anonymous No.4278507]

OP, just delete this thread. Read for more than a dumb grade. Stop being a whiney bitch. Don't post this shit. Also, I'm calling underage b&. If you're not under 18, then you need to feel immediate life-changing shame.

[Anonymous No.4278508]

>>4278490
Whether you "like" or "relate" to Holden is irrelevant. It's only plebs like yourself who think that a character must be relatable etc.

Second, if you don't think Holden has his views challenged you simply didn't read the book. He has his views challenged by Stradlater, Mr Anolini, the guy he meets at the bar, and most importantly his sister.

The "phony" thing is meant to be annoying. If you had any analytical abilities at all you'd realize Holden is an unreliable narrator. For example, he rubs off the word "fuck" from the wall yet is constantly swearing around people who don't like hearing it either.

>I'm asking for some fucking plot
Maximum pleb, not worth replying.

You're the lazy one. You're an idiot and I suggest you study harder in school

[Anonymous No.4278529]

>>4278507
18, actually
>>4278508
All right
You know what? I'm just going to leave before you start telling me that Their Eyes Were Watching God and Atlas Shrugged are great works of literature.

[Anonymous No.4278547]

Salinger thought it would be easy. He thought America was 'good,' and he would just go and defeat the bad guys. Nothing prepared him for the limbs that would rip from his platoon, the thick red blood of his friends that would stick to his eyeballs and blind him, the nights spent shaking and crying after sticking his finger into someone's bullet hole to prevent the bleeding only to have the guy die while his fingers were still inside his chest.

Salinger didn't just get PTSD when he returned, he had depression and a misanthropic outlook. He was traumatised by how such seemingly innocent children could turn into such adult monsters that were capable of burning women and children alive. He said 'the sound of a burning child's screams will never leave my ears.' He had to integrate back into society, but couldn't do it. He couldn't sit back and worry about celebrity culture, the charade of politics, or other distractions that seemed forever trivial to him. So he started writing.

His first piece was about a suicide. This, he said, was expressing his own desire to kill himself, but writing it down was a way of coping. He never managed to tackle his disenfranchisement and growing resentment towards society, so create the ultimate character to express himself; Holden Caulfield.

Holden was the child of innocence, free from the burden of seeing war atrocities, yet possessed the adult view that Salinger had. To the average, popular media-consuming, modern child, Holden's going to appear 'edgy' at a surface glance. But he really shouldn't to someone who understands that he's not supposed to be a normal child; he's one who carries the emotional baggage of someone who has seen too much horror and pain, yet has the child-like innocence to not understand where his outlook comes from. He's supposed to encapsulate two extremes, and does so perfectly.

[Anonymous No.4278555]

>>4278430
You didn't get it.

The point in Holden is that he wants to be an adult but doesn't know how. He admires and respects adults and loathes people his own age. Holden is an actor, endlessly acting how he thinks he should. He's no different than a twelve year old who goes around picking fights because he thinks that's how you act.

Holden is constantly challenged in his worldview, you're just too fucking stupid to see it. He even questions it himself, for chrissakes.

I would like to see you try and do better, but we both know that that will never happen. Kindly fuck off.