cancel2 2022
Canceled
J D Salinger has died aged 91; yet it it is beholden to me, a foreigner, to give a eulogy.
He was a colossus in the literary firmament, Catcher in the Rye is without doubt the most seminal work of the 20th century. He invented, with his character Holden Caulfield, the concept of teenage angst seen through a first person narrative.
It seems to me that there are many Americans who need to be reminded of the great literary tradition which came out after WW2. Authors such as J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Ken Kesey and Jack Kerouac, to name but a few, should be lauded in their home nation. I wonder how many, on this forum, could even name one novel by any of the aforementioned authors?
Catcher in the Rye is most mystifying work that operates on many levels, I have read it several times, over the years, and it still has the power to amaze. Especially so when you realise that Salinger was in his 30's when the novel was published in 1951.
Each Caulfield child has literary talent: D.B. writes screenplays in Hollywood; Holden passed his English course while failing everything else; Allie wrote poetry; and Phoebe is a diarist. Phoebe is particularly influential on Holden; her name denotes and derives from the Greek Phoibe—the Greek Titaness associated with the moon, suggesting she is an oracle and catalyst for the boy who sees himself as the catcher in the rye at a cliff-side rye field where children play tag, whom he catches, and saves from themselves, when they stray too near the edge.
This "catcher in the rye" is an analogy for Holden, who admires in the kid's attributes he struggles to find in adults, like innocence, kindness, spontaneity and generosity. Falling off the cliff could be a progression into the adult world that surrounds him and that he strongly criticises. Later, Phoebe and Holden exchange roles as the "catcher" and the "fallen"; he gives her his hunting hat, the catcher's symbol, and becomes the fallen as Phoebe becomes the catcher.
J D Salinger was drafted into the Army, where he saw combat with the 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.[19] He was active at Utah Beach on D-Day and in the Battle of the Bulge.[21]
He was a colossus in the literary firmament, Catcher in the Rye is without doubt the most seminal work of the 20th century. He invented, with his character Holden Caulfield, the concept of teenage angst seen through a first person narrative.
It seems to me that there are many Americans who need to be reminded of the great literary tradition which came out after WW2. Authors such as J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Ken Kesey and Jack Kerouac, to name but a few, should be lauded in their home nation. I wonder how many, on this forum, could even name one novel by any of the aforementioned authors?
Catcher in the Rye is most mystifying work that operates on many levels, I have read it several times, over the years, and it still has the power to amaze. Especially so when you realise that Salinger was in his 30's when the novel was published in 1951.
Each Caulfield child has literary talent: D.B. writes screenplays in Hollywood; Holden passed his English course while failing everything else; Allie wrote poetry; and Phoebe is a diarist. Phoebe is particularly influential on Holden; her name denotes and derives from the Greek Phoibe—the Greek Titaness associated with the moon, suggesting she is an oracle and catalyst for the boy who sees himself as the catcher in the rye at a cliff-side rye field where children play tag, whom he catches, and saves from themselves, when they stray too near the edge.
This "catcher in the rye" is an analogy for Holden, who admires in the kid's attributes he struggles to find in adults, like innocence, kindness, spontaneity and generosity. Falling off the cliff could be a progression into the adult world that surrounds him and that he strongly criticises. Later, Phoebe and Holden exchange roles as the "catcher" and the "fallen"; he gives her his hunting hat, the catcher's symbol, and becomes the fallen as Phoebe becomes the catcher.
J D Salinger was drafted into the Army, where he saw combat with the 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.[19] He was active at Utah Beach on D-Day and in the Battle of the Bulge.[21]
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