Love Crawl Tiny Along change
An insightful high school English teacher introduced me to Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye.” It was a book report assignment not only to capsulize the story but also to address my personal experience reading it. At that time – as I recall – I found Catcher daring and quite revolutionary in Holden’s exploits and language. Rebellion in those days was often repressed and silent. Holden broke that mold and for the first time I met a literary character with whom I could empathize. He represented freedom to express and the guts to criticize.
Now, fifty years later – motivated by Sallinger’s death – I reread “Catcher in the Rye.” A very different experience, indeed! By today’s standards and my own personal evolution, Holden emerges as a complaining, negative and whining fellow. You want to take him by the shoulders and shake before dragging him to the nearest mirror for a hard look. Still, the book is a classic – a product of its time – and offers new perspectives in the revisit. It works on many levels and is a must read for youngsters of today who are bound to appreciate the differences, and for seniors who take pleasure in recalling the rather stilted days of their youth.