Week 1- Holden Caulfield: A Complex Character

I have already finished reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, which honestly surprises me. It only took me a week to finish a 277 page book. I believe that was the fastest I’ve ever read a book that long. I think that’s because not only is the book entertaining and well-written, but its language is very prevalent to teenagers. The main character, Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy from a wealthy family, tells his story, speaking to the reader the same way he normally would to any character in the story. I read the book so quickly because he doesn’t use a giant vocabulary, and I didn’t have to look up any words to understand what was going on. Even though I like to learn new words and be challenged when I read, I liked that Holden just told his story straight and to the point without any metaphoric or confusing language; I found it refreshing, and his character became more realistic. His simple, yet descriptive language also added to his characterization. Salinger’s characterization of Holden portrays him as a wealthy, lazy, pessimistic boy. Yet, somehow, through Holden’s thoughts and opinions, I found him misunderstood, lost, and caring. In fact, he reminded me of many young men my age whose actions I don’t understand, but I would like to. For example, I kept thinking of one of my friends who doesn’t act like anything bothers him or that he cares about anything, but I know that deep down, he truly does. Because Salinger mainly focusses on Holden’s characterization for entertainment, some may consider the plot quite slow and boring. In fact, the entire book’s storyline can be described rather quickly. Holden drops out of another expensive school because of bad grades, so he leaves for Christmas break a few days early without telling anyone. He then roams around New York aimlessly for a few days staying up all night and probably not making the smartest decisions. Even though the plot is simple, I never thought the book was boring because I was trying to "figure out" Holden the entire book. I tried to put myself in his shoes to see why he made the decisions he did. Another way Salinger characterizes Holden is how he is always giving his opinion on everything, even if it's not his place to do so. For example, he frequently says, "It just depressed me," to things that aren't even that depressing. He even says that when he meets two nuns in a diner because he feels bad that they can't wear nice clothes or makeup, and they have to live in a convent. I actually thought that part was rather funny because Holden said that he liked the nuns, and he offered them a cigarette, which they refused, of course. That was probably one of my favorite parts of the story, actually, because it showed a more compassionate side of Holden. A part of the story that upset me was that throughout the entire book, Holden kept talking about how he was going to call this nice girl named Jane that he grew up with to see how she was. However, every time he was about to call her, he'd say, "... but then I decided not to. I mean, you have to be in the mood for that kind of thing." Then, as it got to the end of the story, he still hadn't called her, and I thought maybe that would be the ending, but it wasn't. He never even ended up talking to her. I was mad because she sounded like she would be a good influence on him, and he truly cared about her. However, that was the only part of the book I didnt like. Even though the plot wasn't too complex, I enjoyed getting to know Holden and trying to understand his motives. By the end of the book, I wished he was a real person so I could meet him. His interesting characterization and simple use of language is how I managed to read the book in just a week. I hope I like my next book, The Great Gatsby, just as much.