65 millions copies in print since 1951 and we are still divided into one of two camps. We either glorify Holden Caulfield as a teen sounding the anthem of rebellion for generations of our youth or we vilify his disregard for normalcy along with his x-rated coming of age, and attempt to shield our children from the stark reality of the real world. 65 million copies in print yet it still holds records as the most censored text in American history. It’s an enigma. I will not attempt to understand the irony of such numbers or dissect what many believe to be the perfect novel, alongside one or two others, Huckleberry Finn and Gatsby of particular note. Legions of academics have come before and attempted to pull forth the inner meaning of the scenes in his dorm, the stories of his friends and family, in particular the death of his brother and relationship with his younger sister. Even more poignant would be the potential deflowering of Jane Gallagher, the girl next store, which seems perilously close to the first published record of date rape, for which Caulfield gets a bloody mouth trying to rise in her defense, but for which J.D. Salinger, never takes the opportunity to investigate fully. What a missed opportunity for what would surely be a fantastic prescience of a modern scourge.
Beyond Salinger’s description of what it might like to be “Down and Out in Paris and France”, ala Orwell, we never quite arrive. When Kerouac paints the seedy underbelly of America in, “On the Road” Caulfield can’t quite go those places, after all he’s only 16. And beyond “Gatsby”, F. Scott’s descent into alcoholism, in “the Beautiful and the Damned”, we don’t see much change from being on streets in New York a generation later. It’s still no less unforgiving of character.
In modern times, perhaps Haruki Murakami comes the closest to being on the street, as a teenager, but for him it’s in Tokyo, and with him “After Dark” touches something that Salinger has brilliantly described, but has left unnamed. Murakami doesn’t shy away from depression and suicide. Salinger ran through the door, yet left it all unnamed. I haven’t done a comprehensive search for other’s of the 65 million readers who think that Salinger accurately depicts teenage depression, but to me, this is his real genius. Without a doubt, Salinger had first hand experience with depression, whether it's own or someone close to him...and what he has brought to us, since most schools seem to include it as required reading, should be the open conversation we have with our kids about depression and suicide. This should be the conversation from “Catcher”, no one of being rebellious or being sexual or homosexual or dropping out of school or having a plan for our lives or the sage advice of Wilhelm Stekel. Depression should be our first stop, those other topics, are heavily treated elsewhere.
I’m going to give the book 5-Stars and society’s reaction to the book 2.5-Stars (50/50 for those who worship it and those who censor it) even if for the wrong reasons. I’m also going to give my teenage daughter 5-Stars for forcing me to read it, so she could talk to me about it’s deeper meaning--a meaning that she has referred to as it’s beautiful. But just to clarify, the beauty for her is contained in the message that a “Catcher” is someone trying to ward off the corruption of innocence as we come of age...not my introduction of depression into the greater conversation...but that conversation will happen as well…
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