This past New Year's Eve I was in Victoria, B.C.
It's the capital of the province of Canada I live in.
I was going to help my Dad move some stuff out
of his place there because he finally got a job in the
Vancouver area again.
I started reading the Catcher in the Rye during
the ferry ride over to Vancouver Island. I g0t it
because it's one of those "classic" written works that
I'd not been able to read yet. When I bought my copy
I was surprised by its relative brevity of 214 pages.
I probably could of finished it within a day if left alone
without any interruptions. Nonetheless, I read it in bits
& pieces in a fairly quick span of 2-3 days.
It really made me think of the nature of human social
interactions. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, spends so
much time being disinterested in the intricacies of human
socialization yet he can't be the way he is without those
social protocols existing. In a way, his constant references
to various people as "phonys" is an excuse to not become
too invested in anything or anyone. He's intelligent but
generally unmotivated. He's always trying to look for
the "phony" in everyone. It becomes an obsession.
I think one of the reasons that this book was so interesting
to me is that Holden seemingly strives for disconnection from
people, society, and the world at large. However, he's always
remembering good and bad times that he's had in New York
City and the New England area. He also wants to dispense
with the formalities of social introductions as soon as
possible. I can appreciate that. There's nothing more awkward
than initial meetings. I can appreciate that. Finding common
ground is difficult. Arbitrariness is in everything. Holden really
takes this to heart. He wants to escape his personal version of
the mundane. He is always thinking for better or worse. He
generally sees the worst in people before the positives. He doesn't
want to admit that he needs personal attachments. This is made
even more interesting by showing his increased sensitivity to
many norms and social interactions. One of my favorite aspects
about the narrative is how Holden deviates from telling the 'present day'
storyline by recounting anecdotes of the 'past'. It really enriches the whole
novel. Another aspect I really liked is simple. Holden's narrative voice sometimes
acknowledges the reader in 'breaking the wall' fashion. The novel
is written in a manner that makes the reader feel the way that
NYC & the New England area feels to the character Holden Caulfield.
This was kind of a revelation for me while reading it. I love when
books really describe the hell out of their locations with a lot of personality.
We're left to experience those locations through Holden. Holden is also
delightfully biased. I love characters written with their biases on their sleeves.
They're more interesting that way. He's highly intelligent but he's also highly
suspect because of his inability or indifference to personally connecting with people.
The one relationship in the novel that was most interesting to me was between
Holden and his little sister. His kid sister sees right through his protective
facade of calling nearly everyone a phony yet she loves him. She calls him
out regularly on his faults yet Holden doesn't dislike her for it. In my opinion,
It's the heart of the novel. It's a bit of a shame that J.D. Salinger didn't publish
more works post-Catcher in the Rye.
Finally, If only to acknowledge it. I was reading this novel in basically the same
time of year that the novel takes place in. Christmas & New Year's in New York
City can be beautiful but the New York City of Catcher in the Rye is like a wonder
and a monstrosity of the past rolled into one package. Holden Caulfield greatly
dislikes other Upper Class people like himself yet he can't get away from them
if he tried. He's a rich kid that doesn't want anything to do with riches, wealth, status
and the means to achieve those things. He's an oddity yet I found myself identifying
with him quite a bit. Apparently, Ronald Reagan's would be assassin John Hinckley Jr.
quite identified with this book too. Should I be worried for myself? hah hah
later. Here's to reading even more good reads, old and newly published works, throughout 2011.
Yeah, I'm continuing on with the resolution I made in the middle of last year to read much more than I had in the past. It's a good practice. I've noticed that people who read less aren't necessarily dumber but their vocabularies suffer. I wouldn't want that to happen. Reading makes
you knowledgeable about things. I like being knowledgeable.
Have a great 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment