Who else here feels that "Catcher In The Rye" is ultimately a humanistic novel?

Answer 1

I would say not. I think Catcher is a reflection of the time period in which it was written. People were learning about the horrors of the 2nd world war, and were very disillusioned--including Salinger, who puts that disillusionment into Holden's character. I would say that it is extremely pessimistic about humanity in general and could be said to be nihilistic--Holden's discussion with the therapist really leads nowhere. It's a circular book in some senses. He starts and ends by saying that people are full of crap and are all liars. There is nothing positive being said by Holden or anyone else in the book, for that matter (except Phoebe, but she's a child). I also don't think Holden is crazy--I think he is a realist who is viewing the world realistically, given what was going on. In my opinion, it is not humanistic (in my sense of the definition), it is not life-affirming or celebratory of "the human condition:" it is the embodiment of disillusionment. However, unlike some respondents have said, I believe it is well worth reading, and then contextualizing in terms of when and why it was written.

Answer 2

There's a lot of definitions for humanistic--these are just some of them.

1. a person having a strong interest in or concern for human welfare, values, and dignity.
2. a person devoted to or versed in the humanities.
3. a student of human nature or affairs.
4. a classical scholar.
5. (sometimes initial capital letter) any one of the scholars of the Renaissance who pursued and disseminated the study and understanding of the cultures of ancient Rome and Greece, and emphasized secular, individualistic, and critical thought.
6. (sometimes initial capital letter) a person who follows a form of scientific or philosophical humanism.
–adjective 7. of or pertaining to human affairs, nature, welfare, or values.
8. (sometimes initial capital letter) of or pertaining to the humanities or classical scholarship, esp. that of the Renaissance humanists.
9. of or pertaining to philosophical or scientific humanism.

Answer 3

In the sense that much of humanity are whiny egotists who don't recognize how good they have it? Yeah, I guess so.

Answer 4

Absolutely, a pretty d... good one too.

Answer 5

That book is evil. Do not read it.