Posted on 12/07/2012 10:25:09 AM PST by grundle
Salinger’s work is essentially conservative. It’s about individuals trying to recover from some past trauma and regain some dignity in their lives.
So when reading that novel keep in mind that the person was writing it while preparing for or recovering from D-Day (in which Salinger participated).
So?
No excuse for having your "hero" be a worthless whiner.
He’s not supposed to be a completely sympathetic character. He also has signs of incipient schizophrenia.
He was boring. He actually needed some problems in his life as he had none.
He also has signs of incipient schizophrenia.
He was a narcissist, not very intelligent and lacked a desire to learn. While it is possible to write a good story where the protagonist is all of these things this was not that story.
Boring is obviously subjective. He’s regarded as one of the most engaging characters in American Lit. Not unlike Huckleberry Finn (who’s problems were much more serious). The fact that he didn’t have any ‘real’ problems is part of the theme. It’s why he struggles. An early case of Affluenza.
Probably by people who like being pretentious.
Not unlike Huckleberry Finn (who’s problems were much more serious)
Finn was actually doing something. Holden was not.
The fact that he didn’t have any ‘real’ problems is part of the theme. It’s why he struggles.
He is not struggling at all. He is enjoying being a self centered little snot.
An early case of Affluenza.
Is that a fancy way of saying he was boring?
Because he does not seem to be anything new, just your run of the mill bore.
At the time his voice was completely new. The alienated urban adolescent. Hard to believe now because it’s so ingrained.
Sure it was. Why every kid I knew growing up off Arthur Avenue, Flatbush, 3rd St and Avenue A, Roosevelt Avenue, and dem places in Brooklyn and Staten Island, dey all said, "Man, dis Holden guy, it's like he's living my life!"
The fact that he came from a blue blood privileged background added to the irony of his position.
I know people like to think that they are cutting edge but I bet Og in his cave would have recognized Holden as that brat from downstream.
It is cliche to say the least.
The irony is that he’s upset even through he seems to have nothing to be upset about. It’s more than just a generation gap...it’s tied to a specific time and place and has been endlessly imitated.
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