Holden Caulfield is surely one of the most recognized names and favorite protagonists in contemporary American literature. Several generations of young readers especially have been startled to recognize so many of their own ideas and feelings in Holden's distaste for all the "phonies" that surround him. (Taken from back cover)I was pleasantly surprised by The Catcher in the Rye. I thought that I wouldn't like it, but I actually did. I had to read it for my AP English literature class, so look out for reviews on a bunch of "classics" because I have to do a lot of reading for that class. Anyway, Holden definitely has that teenage angst/moodiness thing going on. He is what some adults think every teenager is like. He's sarcastic, uses profanity, fails classes in school, the whole deal. He also thinks that everyone around him is "phony" and is putting on some kind of act. I actually thought that aspect of his personality was quite annoying. Obviously, there's psychological reasons why he thinks that way, but to believe that everyone is putting up some kind of front is ridiculous. It's also ridiculous because Holden lies all the time. Besides that, I enjoyed the book immensely. It was easy to read and was actually pretty funny at times, since it's told in first person with Holden narrating the story. It was not what I expected at all, but in a good way. I would definitely recommend this book to all readers, and especially to those who need a "classic" for their book report.
7 out of 10.
1 comment:
Haha, I had to read this book for my Prose Lit class in high school, and I remember that I kind of liked it. I never really got the title of the book, but Holden was a pretty interesting guy to read about. Nice review! :)
-Arielle
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