Catcher In the Rye. A book that is a required read in many school curricula. Recently, an article by Jennifer Schuessler titled, “Get a Life, Holden Caulfield” appeared in the The New York Times.
After reading it, I was left with a few questions and thoughts.
Holden no longer the “paradigmatic teenager”
The premise of the article is that Salinger’s Holden Caulfield “may be losing his grip on the kids.” Apparently, today’s youth are not connecting to Holden in a way that justifies keeping Salinger’s book on the required reading list.
Teachers say young readers just don’t like Holden as much as they used to. What once seemed like courageous truth-telling now strikes many of them as “weird”, “whiny”, and “immature.”
As our society increases its pace through the generations, is the result a more jaded youth?
A teacher interviewed for the article stated that “The alienated teenager has lost much of his novelty.” Alienation is not new, so I wasn’t surprised to read this. However, where is the empathy for what Holden experiences?
Compared to the early 1950’s, there is not as much room for the adolescent search, for intuition, for empathy, for the mystery of the unconscious and the deliverance made possible through talking to another person. — Barbara Feinberg, quoted from “Get a Life, Holden Caulfield”
In reading this, it is clear that the kids quoted in the article epitomize the above statement.
So why is this book still so popular with teachers?
As Finlo Rohrer noted in his article, “The Why of the Rye”:
Adults give it to teenagers hoping they will be reassured that having a train of misanthropic and cynical thoughts parading through their mind is entirely normal, perhaps even desirable.
Those who embrace the novel recognize Holden as a teenage everyman.
Aye, there is the rub. Define “teenage everyman”. Do today’s youth feel, or think, “misanthropic and cynical thoughts” as much as their parents assume? And for those that do, is identifying with a character in a book more powerful than what their peers have to say?
It seems many teenagers today internalize their feelings for fear of being perceived as whiny, emo – weak. This is borne out by the comment quoted at the end of Schuessler’s article:
Oh, we all hated Holden in my class. We just wanted to tell him, ‘Shut up and take your Prozac.’
For empathy to be given, it must be felt. Not only are the readers not connecting to Holden Caulfield, it seems some cannot even connect with each other.
Contention from the beginning
Salinger’s novel has been criticized from the beginning for some of the same things that are at issue today.
In “Stop Teaching Catcher In the Rye” by Anne Trubek, she (as well as Schuessler in her article), refer to critics who “considered Catcher of minor literary merit” and questioned its “relatability factor”. Trubek also brings up a good point, if coming-of-age stories are to be part of the curriculum, why not ones with characters the readers can more easily understand and relate to?
As much as Holden Caulfield is not a character many 16-year olds can empathize with, his story still carries a message.
All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she’d fall off the goddam horse, but I didn’t say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them. — Holden Caulfield, Catcher In the Rye
Every generation has it’s angst ridden experiences. Each tries for that golden ring, their parents fearing the worst, hoping for the best, and knowing no matter what they do, it’s the experience of success, failure, or both that will build character.
They also believe their experiences are unique and therefore cannot relate to those that have gone before. Perhaps this is the case with the lack of empathy regarding Holden Caulfield.
The issue then, isn’t identifying with his alienation: it’s the reaction to it. These kids may understand what he is going through, but cannot accept the way he handles it.
Is it a true lack of empathy that causes this?
Or is Holden Caulfield a character who is out of step, out of touch, and out of time?
What do you think?
Quick Links to the articles referenced above:
“Get a Life, Holden Caulfield” by Jennifer Schuessler
“Stop Teaching Catcher In the Rye” by Anne Trubek
“The Why of the Rye” by Finlo Rohrer
I think when I was forced to read this as a kid in school I thought the story was appealing and had a lot of depth but I didn't identify with the characters or situation at all. It is good for children to continue to read books such as this because they are classics, what do they want to discuss the symbolism in when Bella told Edward she knows what he is. It's laughable. I do however agree that some literature should be brought up to date, in progressive schools with good English teachers you are finding books like Laurie Halse Anderson's "Speak" on the reading list, updated and great literary versions of things children can relate to are not a bad thing either.
Wow, those are interesting thoughts! I liked Cather in the Rye when I was in school and I related to it (I guess). I should reread it with these thoughts in mind. I wonder if it is a "lack of empathy" in kids today? Maybe it is just dated. I'd have to reread it to decide.
No idea about the answer but Incredibly interesting issue!
Yes, Holden Caulfield is a character who is out of step, out of touch, and out of time. He was even when I was in high school over 30 years ago. Now, this is just my opinion, but a good English teacher will keep up with current literature and try to also keep the reading list updated to reflect new books. I understand that financial limitations would prohibit getting new books for your curriculum too frequently, but certainly as all those paperback copies of Catcher are worn out they could be replaced with a better option.
Great topic for discussion!
Holden Caulfield represents a generation already past and to be perfectly honest, I think most teenagers could write better teen angst than Mr. Salinger. The story is interesting and Holden's character is an interesting one (though he is incredibly whiny and annoying), but overall it's a weak book. It's a little too boring for its length, doesn't actually get too into the characters and lacks remarkable writing. So it's just not that amazing a book, even if it once embodied the "teen essence". I might be able to empathize with Holden if he was a better written character. But I don't like how he deals with things, I don't like what he does and I've found that most of my generation fully agrees.
In general, I think that the curriculum shouldn't be stagnant and should constantly accommodate for new generations and new literature. In this case, my person dislike of the book adds to the fact that I believe it shouldn't be included in the curriculum. But perhaps as these brilliant teachers say, I just lack "empathy".