J. D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye, one of the all time bestselling books is an amazing novel written by J.D. Salinger. In an interview with The New York Times in 1974, Salinger said he wrote for his own pleasure. “Publishing is a terrible invasion of my privacy. I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure.” This shows how secluded and isolated Salinger was, having been in isolation for many years. He seemed to hate the media.

J.D. Salinger reminds me a lot of Holden. Salinger was very isolated and seemed to keep his thoughts to himself (by not publishing his stories). I guess one reason why he might have published The Catcher in the Rye and his other works is because he needed money to go into his secluded land. Much like Holden, he doesn’t like people who seem conceited, so maybe Salinger wanted to disappear to not seem someone he disliked.

When The Catcher in the Rye was released in the 1950s, there was a lot of disapproval for the book. It quickly went on the banned book list because of the bad and inappropriate language, Holden’s excessive drinking and smoking for his young age, all the sex talk, and rebellion. But, really. That was in the 50s. We’re talking about Elvis Presley’s time. Everything was being censored because parents or those conservative people disagreeing with this new change (imagine what those people say about our generation. If their kids were bad, we must be beyond horrible). These people were the ones that disliked the Rock n Roll. SERIOUSLY!

Despite the book being in the banned book list, it was a hit. This book is what, people say, defined our phase as teenagers. It describes our confusion in life as we try to move on from a childhood of innocence to the world of adults, which is full of phonies. What I really think, though, is that maybe these people seem phony because that’s not how we saw them as children. Being a teenager means growing up and opening our eyes to see the real world.

Today, many classes include The Catcher in the Rye as part of their course. It’s known today as an American classic and is still on the bestsellers chart. The reason is because this book has a deep meaning for us all, especially teenagers. People who criticize Salinger say that it just made teenagers now how they are: rebellious (maybe it’s because crazy Chapman said that his motives to kill John Lennon were found in The Catcher in the Rye).

To finish, J. D. Salinger is a phenomenon for his legendary book, The Catcher in the Rye.