freegraphic2014

Sometimes annoying but persuasive. Holden Caulfield is a very self-aware or even trustworthy narrator. He's a bright but fucked-up teenager who is convinced that you're hanging on his every word, even when he's repeated that word 100 times. Also, I'm not convinced I like the "attitude" of Salinger's authorial presence. How are we to take the fact that Holden's never called to account for his low/tormented opinions of women and girls. And what about that homophobia in the penultimate scene? The conclusion of the narrative bails Holden out a bit. I guess that's Salinger making peace with his unruly narrator. The book is rather brave though - it gives a frank portrait of angst and depression at a time when American self-awareness needed major uplift - post-WWII. It seems clear from this vantage point that Catcher helped spin up the discourse that led to the Beats and the hippies.

2022-11-14 17:11