J. D. Salinger wrote one of the most famous books ever written, The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger wrote many stories and, in 1941, after several rejections, Salinger finally cracked The New Yorker, with a story, "Slight Rebellion Off Madison," that was an early sketch of what became a scene in "The Catcher in the Rye." The magazine then had second thoughts in part because of World War II in which Salinger was in combat, and held the story for five years before finally publishing it in 1946, buried in the back of an issue. Everyone was surprised when the story and the book that followed it became a bit hit. Even today nobody can really explain why Catcher in the Rye is so famous and so popular. Yet, millions have been sold and are still being sold even though only available as used books nowadays. When The Catcher in the Rye was published in 1951, it was registered for copyright as "additional material." This obviously referred to the earlier work "Slight Rebellion Off Madison." The copyright page on "The Catcher in the Rye" states "Copyright 1945, 1946, 1951 by J. D Salinger." The date of 1945 obviously refers to the publication of "I'm Crazy," a short story written by Salinger and published in the December 22, 1945 issue of Collier's magazine that first introduced the character Holden Caulfield to the reading public. Salinger later reworked this short story to incorporate it into The Catcher in the Rye. The two earlier stories are "I'm Crazy," an early version of Holden's departure from prep school that later shows up in The Catcher in the Rye. With minor alteration, much of this story is familiar to readers as the chapter where Holden visits Mr. Spencer. What sets this story apart is the presence of an additional Caulfield sister and the clarity of Holden's resignation and compromise at the end. "Slight Rebellion off Madison" is an early version of another scene in The Catcher in the Rye. The story follows Holden when he is home from Pency and goes to the movies, then skating with Sally Hayes, followed by his drunken calls to her apartment late at night. An early story, it is the first of Salinger's Caulfied works to be accepted for publication.
On one hand The Catcher In The Rye was an impressive insight of teenage life. I identified with many of those feelings when I was in high school. I remember feeling alone, annoyed all the time and never feeling like doing anything. In this aspect J. D. Salinger was a master at capturing the feelings of my youth. But on the other hand, Holden Caulfield is the most annoying character I’ve ever read; I’ve wanted to punch him in the face so many times. He just infuriated me and I struggled to read this book because of that fact. On the upside there is a scene where Holden is having a conversation with an old school teacher, Mr. Antolini. The teacher told him that one day, he will discover what he is meant to do with his life, and on that day he will wish he paid attention in school. This is probably the most identifiable scene in the book; I know the feeling of wishing I paid attention and discovering a passion later in life.
Despite all the Controversy I really want to know why this book is always assigned to students in school. A book about teenage angst and dropping out of school; is that something you want students to learn about? High School Teacher who was involved in the controversy in America Shelley Keller-Gage stated; “[They:] are being just like Holden . . . They are trying to be catchers in the rye.”
Reading updates
-
Started reading
-
2 March, 2010:
Finished reading
-
2 March, 2010:
Reviewed