Is 'The Catcher in the Rye' overrated?

Question

I read it in school and have read it since, and read a good deal of other stuff besides, and now I have very little patience with Holden. I think it's something to do with how Salinger seems to think that Holden really knows something very valuable, whereas he just strikes me as very young and very ignorant. He's quite proud of how much he hates 'phoney' people, and yet he has very little tolerance for anyone he thinks is actually phoney. I get the impression that Salinger has a lot of admiration for Holden, if only because Holden narrates the whole book and there's nobody else there to comment on him, and yet I find Holden to be just a narrow-minded, priggish, self-pitying little squit.

Not that teenagers aren't like that, I was like that myself. The good thing about the book is how accurate it is. But it's not the guide to life that some of its fans think it is. Holden is somebody you have to grow out of being like.

Answer 1

Absolutely, it is overrated. It really seems to parallel Salinger's real life. He seems to have had trouble growing up just like Holden did. He couldn't make his first marriage work, then he moved in with that teenager, he won't grant interviews, etc.. I really think that he must have difficulty communicating with adults. (The list of examples are almost endless.) Sadly, I think the book mirrors his psychological problems, just like Holden had.

It wasn't a requirement for me, I read it out of curiosity. I was intrigued as to why it inspired several killers such as Chapman.

Answer 2

I really didn't like the book that much though i read it in high school about 4 years ago. I think it gained popularity cuz the assassin who shot John Lennon had it in his pocket. I think the book was really about a form of karma cuz if read the book u see that the more more Holden hates people the more and more paranoid he becomes it almost seems that Holden is falling into insanity. He is always waiting for something that will never happen Like the Geese coming back to the pond or something like that i don't quite remember but that's close enough. Also i thought the plot was a little lacking nothing really happens in it it kinda strange that for 300 pages there really isn't any plot climax or changes or twists but then again it was some years ago that a read it that just what i remember.

Answer 3

i think of you have been probable staring at it the incorrect way... I enjoyed it for precisely the justifications why you probably did no longer. i admire how instead of a dramatic plot line, The Catcher interior the Rye depicts a usually common week interior the existence of a desirable man or woman. that's not the flaws that take place that make it between the main suitable books ever written, that's how Holden sees them. the finished e book is one outstanding character study that summarizes the passions; the struggles; the loneliness of young toddlers.

Answer 4

I think it's not overrated. I read it two years ago in a small hotel somewhere in Europe where we went to join a competition so I can't concentrate on it much because there are lots of things to do and i was really wondering how come my friend thinks very highly of it. But, as we discuss the story (sometimes), i realize the reason why it was so popular was because it accurately describes most of the teenagers of any generation. Even I have those moments of wishing that everyone would just stop being phony, and have the feeling that everyone are being phony.

Answer 5

I read it when it was first published. I was not more than 17 and I borrowed it from the Public Library. My recollection of it, is that the two main characters were confused about their position in society and their sexuality. I can see that it would seem dated these days. What that has to do with the man who killed John Lennon is not clear. As far as I know John Lennon didn't attend church in New York and the assassin could not have spent boring minutes contemplating the hairs on the his neck.

Answer 6

Yes. Yes I do. It was recommended to me by a friend who'd never lead me wrong before, so thinking that it HAD to get interesting at some point I kept at it until I was almost done, but ... in the end did give up without quite finishing it. The protagonist was annoying and the book was boring and completely plotless, and I still don't see why so many people seem to like it so much.

Of course ... this is just me, and my disliking it doesn't automatically make it a bad book, period. Different people, different opinions, and all that. :P

Answer 7

I don't think so personally because I enjoy reading the book and I find it a good story- although this might be because it was a theme in one of my favourite ever fanfictions. I think there's something within the character of Holden that speaks out to every reader and demands their attention whether they like him as a character or not- and to be frank I'm not sure I do.

Answer 8

Why do people keep asking this question? critics say that it is a brilliant novel. It's UK equivalent would be Billy Liar, and I'm afraid that Billy liar still sticks in memory, years after I read it, whilst Catcher in the Rye, (not as long since I read it, and then because it was one those.."you must read this" books,) wasn't that memorable, but...it is ALL about taste, and if everyone had the same taste, what would be the point of such a wide and rich variety of novels that we have?

Answer 9

Well, insofar as it heralded the era of the teenager and such phenomena as youth culture, Elvis, etc., it is truly a great benchmark. But the whole point in my opinion is that it has also led us all down a huge garden path and I believe our civilization will end because of the war of the generations that his book so long ago not only predicted but helped to become established.

Answer 10

I don't think its over-rated at all. I personally learned a good deal about life through the symbolism of the novel. Its pragmatic and telling.