"The Catcher in the rye" J.D.Salinger?

Question

Hi there, I'm Valentina from italy..."The catcher in the rye" is my favourite book, i think Salinger is a genious, i ve read the book both in english and in italian...in italian it s called "Il giovane Holden" that in english means "the young Holden" I think the way they translated the title is TERRIBLE, the original title is probably the most important thing of the book..the italian traslation is absolutely useless...
BTW, here is my question:
I ve always thought that at the end of the book, (in the last chapter) Holden ends up in a mdhouse, not because he's "mad" but simply because he's "different" and we all know how difficoult it is to be the minority in our society...but recently i ve talked to a couple of people who love the book too and they said they think he s not in a madhouse but he s just in hospital 'cos he probably got a flu or something...
well,
what do u think???

Thanks Succubus, yes, i ve just finished reading "nine Stories" and I think i m going to buy Franny and Zooey this evening :)

...I don t think that just because some crazy guy who shot john lennon liked this book that means that this book is a book for insane people...Holden was "different" but in a good way!

Answer 1

I think it's pretty clear that Holden has had a breakdown. I don't agree with the previous comment. Catcher In The Rye is a masterpiece. Holden doesn't want to settle for the world of phonies. He doesn't want to compromise his ideals.

Most people do and that's the tragedy.

Answer 2

Hi Valentina,
I think Salinger left that for us to imagine, it's possible that Holde was just in a regular hospital because met with his sister and all in the end.

Have you read other things by Salinger, such as "Nine Stories" - a collection of 9 brilliant short stories, and "Seymour, an introduction", "Franny and Zooey", "Raise high...
they're amazing, he truly is a genius

i agree about the Italian translation

Answer 3

Mark Chapmann thought Salinger was a genious too and look what he did.
Chapmann based his whole life on Salingers "The Catcher in the Rye", he too thought he was "different", when in actual fact, he was criminally insane. Now, Chapmann is the perfect mirror image of Holden, for he is now in a "madhouse" and may never be released.

Answer 4

He's definetely in a mental institution, not because he's mad but because he's depressed. That's my opinion. I don't think he would be telling us the story of his life if he was in a hospital.
Don't you love "a perfect day for bananafish"?It's my favourite short story ever!!!!
And I don't agree when people think that because some guys interpreted the book in a wrong way, the book itself is evil. Even the Bible has "missinterpretations", we have our own ways to see the world in in every case is something different.

Answer 5

The title is probably the best part of this novel. I felt no empathy with Caulfield. I persevered and read 'Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenter' which again was a seductive title and guess what?

Answer 6

Holden is destroyed by his own ego. A fitting end. Young people usually grow out of this book as they lose their narcissism with graceful age!

Answer 7

He's in a madhouse. His brother visited and asked what he's gonna do after he gets out of that place. Most probable a madhouse.

Answer 8

Robin is correct. In my opinion Chapman did for this book as Hitler did for Nietzche.

I would say it is quite a good book though, despite its negative press.

Answer 9

lmfao We invented cootie spray. It was a wonderful idea that consisted of your forefinger at an angle and the sound of "sssshhhhhhh" coming out of your mouth.........that was our cootie spray

Answer 10

I think it is pretty clear that he had a breakdown and was in a mental hospital.