The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger

I'm not going to lie; I don't see what all of the fuss is about.

I get it he’s troubled by his past and he’s using a defense mechanism in order to keep himself from having to live an actual life. I get it, the reason he acted the way he did was because it was a coping device for the loss of his younger brother, but even his sister, who was ten years old, was able to see how destructive and nonsensical Holden’s behavior had become.

Our main character, Holden Caulfield (I suppose I should have introduced him more clearly) is a teenage with a tortured soul.  He hates the people around him because they are all “phonies”. He thinks that if they enjoy anything or if they have an opinion on something that is different from his own then they are being fake. Basically he is simply a regular teenage boy with a bad attitude. My problem with him is that he does nothing to try and make his life better.

For example, he flunks out of his prep school and he doesn't even really seem to care. When his history teacher Mr. Spencer tries to shake him out of his apathy all Holden can do is wonder how fast he can get out of this man’s house and why he is pretending he cares. The only reason I can find for this is that Holden doesn’t want to be helped. He wants to keep living with no responsibilities. He doesn't want to grow up.

Maybe he feels guilty for Allie’s death. Not maybe, he does feel guilty for it. So if Allie won’t get the chance to grow up then he shouldn't either.

Saying this I should also add that I don't have any sympathy for the guy. I understand why he feels the way he does, however, as I said before he doesn’t do anything to make it better. Even by the end of the book when he finishes telling us the story of how he got to the mental institution he still isn't sure if he wants to do anything to better himself. He keeps on feeling sorry for himself.

I can't stand it.

If I had to rate this book on a scale of 1 to 5, I would have to give it a 2.

If I want to listen to teenagers complaining I'll start eavesdropping at the mall.

Please don't make me go to the mall…