The Catcher In The Rye
J.D Salinger
My Relation
In The book "The Catcher In the Rye" by J.D Salinger. There a main character named Holden.
He is very negative and lives his life with a chip on his shoulder. His hatred of the world seems to stem from no where. Even when I go back and reread parts of the book, it still confuses me why Holden is so upset all the time. He comes from a good family, it may be because his brother was always the golden child. Where as, Holden hasn't even made a future for myself. I think that Holden is depressed because of this, or some other thing that he has going on in his head. I have heard that a definition of depression is, not being able to make a future for yourself. Which is exactly what happens to Holden throughout the book, he goes to NewYork to try and find a future for himself, and ends up getting into an even bigger mess with his life. He ends up in a mental hospital in the end, which according to some people its a step forwarding. I think it is a step forward for Holden.
Being in a group while reading this book what very useful because I got to see the book from different views. And I got different input on thoughts about Holden and other characters in the book. It having partners allowed me to question myself, and the way I think about things verses the way they think about things. For example, my partners thought that Holden wasn't aware of his negative thinking, but I think that Holden is fully aware of his negativity, and unhappiness. When Holden has his "Vision" about being the catcher in the rye, he points out that he is happy. A normal happy person would point out when they are sad, instead of when they are happy, because they would usually be happy so it would be too much to point out when they are happy. But this book is in 1st person, so it shows that Holden knows what it is to be happy, and it is something special for him when he is happy.
Which it really sad, because it means that he is usually so sad, that when he actually is happy, he has to point it out.
I relate to Holden, which I regret. I often find myself thinking very negatively. And over judging people just as Holden does, and it really stems from a seed of a little bit of self hatred inside. Which I think, everyone has a little bit of in them. Really, its a problem of saving myself from my own head, and catching myself when I start to make a judgement of someone or something and thinking about, why I am thinking this about that person.And I have to think of ways to fix my flaws, before I point out other peoples flaws, and so does Holden.
