Did anybody find meaning in Catcher in the Rye

piggy backing off of squid and sprite

you could say hypocracy(sp) was a theme. I think Holden even brags about how he is such a good liar he is when he was to be. Holden is a big fat "phony" too.

If you like the way salinger writes and you want to see what holden might be like at older ages check out his stories about the Glass Family: Banana Fish (not the full title), Franny, and Zooey. The Glass Family children are all older (and better in school) but to me they all offer little glimpses of the types of issues a person like Holden would deal with as he gets older and evolves into an adult.

The first time the reader sees the phrase “catcher in the rye” in the novel is in chapter 16, when Holden passes a boy on the street who is singing “If a body catch a body coming through the rye.” At this point in the novel, it is not clear what this symbol means yet, however, it does come into focus in chapter 22. Phoebe asks him what he’d like to do when he grows up, and all that comes to mind is the song that he had heard earlier that day “if a body catch a body coming through the rye.” His response to Phoebe’s question is as follows:

"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around—nobody big, I mean—except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy."

Just from personal experience, I'm convinced that the vast majority of people who adore this book really have no idea why they like it. They usually just relate to him calling everyone a phony. "It's so true what he's saying!" type thing. Then usually they graduate grade 8 and move on.

sprite wrote:

The entire book was an interpretation of our materialistic and fake society. Holden wasnt just some recluse teen having trouble with "puberty" or "sex"... these are just external excuses for a "theme"... the theme was that most people in society make themselves feel safe by staying withing the status quo of society... we do this everyday by having pointless, yet safe, conversations. we consume our lives with the materialistic illusions like buying polos, uggs, and wallabees. we go to church and school and never question any of it... Holden was struggling to find fearless and uncompromising relationships... Holden was not safe... Holden was not obscure....Holden was however a lonely soul searching for someone untainted by society

Quagmire goes off Brian, mentions Holden and Catcher in the Rye:

reeeeeeeaaaaad wrote:

I recently read it, and don't get a lot of the symbolism. There seems to be no plot but to find happiness. Also, I did not find a theme. This is not for a project. I just want to know why anybody liked it and how much stuff was over my head.

A lot of great books have to be understood from the perspective of the time, place and mindset of the writer. I really did not get Picasso until I understood what was going on during his time and learnt a little about him. Btw, I didn't fully understand all of the symbolism either when I first read CR, but the book made more sense when I read it decades later. I still don't fully get Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, even after re reading it many years later.

asdfsdafasdf wrote:

Just from personal experience, I'm convinced that the vast majority of people who adore this book really have no idea why they like it. They usually just relate to him calling everyone a phony. "It's so true what he's saying!" type thing. Then usually they graduate grade 8 and move on.

You are correct, but it is not their fault. It's much worse if somebody spouts off about how damned meaningful it is, when it really just isn't. There isn't much more complexity about the novel than the original short story "Slight Rebellion off Madison". It isn't teenage angst, it's just a spoiled rich boy who isn't sure he wants to march along the path expected of him. The biggest "phony" is poor little Holden who would benefit immensely from abject poverty to give him some much needed perspective on his suffering from the disillusionment of everything being so easy.

Ironically, I like the book. I just hate the people who talk about it. And sometimes I'll order a scotch and soda just because.

It's a terrible book about some gloomy proto-emo kid who took shit way too seriously. It means nothing.

I thought it was the dumbest book ever! Of course I read it well into the "quiet desperation" phase of life. I've been told it's a critique of our materialist society. It just never seemed like a good enough story to care about it's symbolism. It just seemed, kind of phony; it really did. Like just the boring ramblings of a screwed up kid. Geez, I've been a screwed up kid; why would anyone want to read about that?

The problem with many that do not understand literature is they are always looking for a meaning ; symbolism , a critique of present day existentialism , religious allegory ,etc. ....

Accept it for it .

it's a great piece .

I think the theme is something of an interpretation. Part of it is not to grow up too fast, while part of it seems to say you can't stop others from growing up. I think ultimately what I got out of it most was that having thoughts and confusion about the world is perfectly normal. People think they're the only ones who don't know what life has in store for them, but this can't be further from the truth. Honestly, no one knows anything more than you in a way. No one knows your thoughts just like you don't know theirs. The important thing is to not give up and keep trying. That doesn't mean try hard in school or something, it just means life is hard and the only way to figure it out is to live it. This could also be completely off base though. But that's what I have grown to appreciate about this book more than anything, everyone gets something different out of it. Teachers will try to tell you there's only one way to look at it, but that's bull, if you think something about it you're not wrong. That's the point of the book, no one really knows the answers, you have to find them yourself, and they can be different for everyone.

I think I had to read the book, and remembered nothing about it.

So I appreciate the posts, because I liked the movie Finding Forrester, but didn't understand the parallels to Catcher in the Rye.

I never read The Great Gatsby.

For symbolism, I did like the movie Field of Dreams, as my grandfather got polio so he could only pitch semi-pro. The games were in fields with corn all around, and dayworkers would often play. It was the 1920s. At least one guy got a shot at the majors.

Bad Wigins wrote:

It's a terrible book about some gloomy proto-emo kid who took sh!t way too seriously. It means nothing.

Hey look, it's a geek from the Glenn Beck board, trying out some cheap cynicism here.

Very good synopsis sir!

I applaud you.

Been a long time but great read and love this style of writing. I took it as a young man trying to sift through all the adam henrys and posers in life. Add some tough times with family and a few other ups and downs and this brilliant writer (JD Sallinger?) made it a masterpiece.

Yeah. Holden was trudging through a wasteland of phony people, phony social organizations, artificial morals and manners, afloat like an orange peel on a sea of sewerage. He was looking for identity and a "handle" to cling to, to haul himself out of it.

His was the journey of the modern young hero. A moving away from established mendacity and machinations toward a discovery and reinvention of himself, a new voice and viewpoint.

It's an American novel in the tradition of Huckleberry Finn. Except the setting is upper middle class northeast.

Adults are the enemy. Not adulthood. Adults. Especially child molesters.

The Graduate is a Cather in the Rye adaptation. Mrs. Robinson is a molestor. Elaine is Phoebe.

Read it as required reading as a senior. Found it boring and pretentious. Just like Salinger.

Lol! A *high school* senior, no doubt.

Mondo Hondo wrote:

Bad Wigins wrote:

It's a terrible book about some gloomy proto-emo kid who took sh!t way too seriously. It means nothing.

Hey look, it's a geek from the Glenn Beck board, trying out some cheap cynicism here.

Hey look, a loser with a snappy response to a post from 7 years ago. That's some quick wit there.