With the death of reclusive J.D. Salinger last week, we have been inundated with media thoughts about his novel,
The Catcher in the Rye.
When my oldest child was in high school in Texas, he came home one day with this novel. Required reading in 10th grade. He had read some of it and was grumbling about how he didn't like it at all and how he could not relate at all to the main character, teen Holden Caufield. He told me how his teacher explained to the class that this young man was full of teenage angst and confusion, like most, if not all teens of the same age. My son told me he thought Caufield was "just plain crazy".
I had not read the book, having graduated from a college prep, Catholic high school where we studied the classics. I can recite Shakespeare from memory, and remember much about the Canterbury Tales, as well as "Sir Gwain and the Green Knight. But I had not read this famous novel by J.D. Salinger. So I read the book. It was a quick read and I came away with one very clear conclusion. This young man, Holden Caufield was not just full of teenage angst and confusion.
He was JUST PLAIN CRAZY!!!
Maybe J.D. Salinger felt that way too. Soon after he wrote the book, he locked himself away from the prying eyes of the world. He wouldn't discuss it, make appearances or in any way promote his novel. Maybe he understood that it had all become Just plain crazy!
