Why Catcher in the Rye is a Horrible Required Reading
Holden Caulfield, a literary character that has redefined what the term petulant means. This character has been forced on many of us in our days of required reading. The Catcher in the Rye has been lauded by many as a “brilliant, funny, meaningful novel.” However, the original audience for this coming-of-age tale is quite different from today’s youth. Why is The Catcher in the Rye continually placed on school reading lists? What does Holden Caulfield teach today’s angst ridden teenagers?
After a beating and a night of sad introspection, Holden goes on a date with a girl named Sally who he only kind of likes. He is a class A jerk and leaves her to walk home crying. His treatment of women can only be a learned behavior, but from whom did he receive instruction? Throughout the novel Holden can be seen treating women as something to amuse him and not as humans capable of thoughts and feelings. He comments on how they look but becomes quickly bored when they begin to speak. He seems to care more than some boys his age (Stradlater didn’t even know his date’s actual name) but does that make him any less responsible for the way he treats them?
Okay, so it's clear that Holden really doesn’t care about money. Holden considers running away from his life because he just has it so hard. Ultimately, he becomes inexplicably sick and ends up in a mental hospital? I won’t pretend to understand how he got to the mental hospital, but the guy still doesn’t really care about his life.
Holden is given opportunity after opportunity. He goes from school to school without so much as a second thought. His parents shovel money into his pockets to keep him satisfied. He is given free rein to literally run around one of the largest cities in the world for days. We read about Holden and are expected to identify with his problems, but honestly I couldn’t feel more alienated from him. The problems he faces are petty at best and yet he is completely shut down by them. Teens should not be forced to read The Catcher in the Rye because Holden’s story is not one that they can relate to. The typical teenage experience? I think not.
Who needs school?
From the ivy covered walls of Pencey to the lively streets of New York City, Holden continually proves to the characters of the novel that he is not ready to become a responsible member of adult society. The novel begins by showing readers that Holden cares little for the opportunities that his family’s money has afforded him. He has flunked out of yet another school simply because he believes the work to be beneath him. In order to avoid the disappointed looks of his parents, Holden gathers his belongings and disappears into the crowded streets of New York.Into the city
As a New York native, Holden doesn’t oogle and ogle at the magnificence of the city as some would expect of a teenage runaway. He instead interrogates his cab driver on the location of the city’s ducks. This whole duck thing is a really important metaphor for change and aging, but coming from Holden it loses a lot of its power. Anyway, Holden does what any teenage boy looking to play adult does and invites a prostitute to his room after a night of repeatedly trying to buy alcohol. Yes, he’s spent more money than most lower-class adults make in a week, but who cares when Daddy can just give him more?After a beating and a night of sad introspection, Holden goes on a date with a girl named Sally who he only kind of likes. He is a class A jerk and leaves her to walk home crying. His treatment of women can only be a learned behavior, but from whom did he receive instruction? Throughout the novel Holden can be seen treating women as something to amuse him and not as humans capable of thoughts and feelings. He comments on how they look but becomes quickly bored when they begin to speak. He seems to care more than some boys his age (Stradlater didn’t even know his date’s actual name) but does that make him any less responsible for the way he treats them?
Money is a boy's best friend
Finally, after running around the city for a few days he returns home to watch his sister sleep. (Weird, but who doesn’t enjoying watching people sleep? I’m looking at you Joe Goldberg) The opulence of his New York apartment highlights the reason for his spendthrift behaviors, but this doesn’t stop him from borrowing his sister’s Christmas money because he was reckless with his own. Let’s take a look at the ways Holden spends his money:- Giving two nuns 10 dollars for literally no reason
- Buying alcohol…like a LOT of alcohol
- Cabs (Uber definitely wasn’t a thing yet)
- Hotel rooms to avoid his parents.
- Play tickets
- Ice Skating!
- A red hunting cap?
Okay, so it's clear that Holden really doesn’t care about money. Holden considers running away from his life because he just has it so hard. Ultimately, he becomes inexplicably sick and ends up in a mental hospital? I won’t pretend to understand how he got to the mental hospital, but the guy still doesn’t really care about his life.
Holden is given opportunity after opportunity. He goes from school to school without so much as a second thought. His parents shovel money into his pockets to keep him satisfied. He is given free rein to literally run around one of the largest cities in the world for days. We read about Holden and are expected to identify with his problems, but honestly I couldn’t feel more alienated from him. The problems he faces are petty at best and yet he is completely shut down by them. Teens should not be forced to read The Catcher in the Rye because Holden’s story is not one that they can relate to. The typical teenage experience? I think not.
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