Everyone has had that phase of teenage angst, whether it be shouting at your parents, growing irritated with the lack of variety in your life or wishing you had done something differently. However, when we want to blow off steam I think I can speak for most when I say that the first thing that springs to mind, when expelled from school, is not to run away and casually waste all of your money in your home town, staying in a seedy hotel and going through the phone book desperately trying to find someone who can be bothered to meet you for a drink.
Holden Caulfield, of
The Catcher in the Rye, does just this. On notice of expulsion from Pencey Prep, Holden decides it best if he stays away from home for a little while before and after his parents receive the bad news. Simultaneously, he leaves Pencey before he is due to.Why? Perhaps because he is fed up of school and disciplined education. Perhaps because he is annoyed by his neighbour Ackley, who does not have the best hygiene. Perhaps because he is angry with his roommate for going out with an old belle of his. Most probably, it's a mix of the three, and some other reasons too.
This indisputably classic novel carries so many themes and symbols it's as if it's about to burst. As we grow closer to Holden throughout the book, we feel like we know him as a friend or family member would, or not as the case may be: Holden doesn't seem to have many of the former nor does he appear to be close to the latter. We realise that this troubled young man tends to form opinions of things... and pretty quickly too. In his mind, the outside world is "phoney".
Everything is phoney. The people, the streets, the cafés: trust me, he will think they are phoney. The question we must ask ourselves is: is he right? This book is obviously about growing up in the real world and maybe it's someone like Holden who is going to be the one to notice how it is. On the other hand, he can't seem to see how similar he is to everyone else. He has a black-and-white view of the world and unfortunately it just isn't that simple: growing up is that realisation.
Holden's hunting hat is a paragon of phoniness. It represents, in my eyes, his soul. He wants to stand out, to shout "Look at me! Look how different I am to how similar you all are!" But when he is with someone he knows, he takes it off, because he feels too embarrassed. Little bit false, isn't it?
The title is a bit of a paradox in itself. It is from a Robert Burns song: yet he has misinterpreted the lyrics. The words are "if a body meet a body comin' through the rye" referring to sexual encounters when there are no ties or wedding bells to be heard. Holden interprets the very opposite. He thinks the words are "if a body catch a body comin' through the rye". What he wants to do is catch children before they fall off the metaphorical cliff that is the edge of innocence. So what do we figure out from this? That Holden is scared of falling into a world where he has no footing.
For those of you who have not yet read
The Catcher in the Rye, never fear: I shall not spoil the entire plot, tempting as it may be, though there isn't much to spoil: it's more of a thought-provoking sort of novel. All I can say is: read it. Now. Or you are missing out.
By Jess
