Review: The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I decided to read this book after watching an extensive documentary on the life and writing of J.D. Salinger. Of course, I first heard about the book because it is still required reading in schools across the country to this day. It is a book that continues to sell very well and it is seen as an American Classic.

As a Christian (and a pastor), I also believe it important to understand and interact intelligently with literary forms which reflect or influence today's art and culture.

I am not sure if this is the most influential book regarding the "stream of consciousness" approach to writing, but it certainly engages the style in a profound way. On the one hand, the author is trying to represent an adolescent who is seemingly more introspective, thoughtful, and resentful than most of his peers. On the other, the writing seems to purposely revel in dialogue which often seems to have little purpose, coherence, or direction. The style seems purposeful so as to communicate a disdain for the key subject matters (shallowness, phoniness, and greed) coupled with a pretentious obsession to critique and morally rise above them.

It may be that this book resonated so deeply in the American culture in its day (and now) because Holden Caufield is such a contradictory, narcissistic, moralistic and hypocritical character while finding people with similar characteristics (and especially the older generations) "goddamn" unbearable. Holden has little hesitation in playing judge, jury, and executioner for whoever he finds as an irritant. Few escape his scrutiny, and most people he meets wear the tag phony, largely, it seems, because they do not share his acidic resentments and simplistic unnuanced judgments. And yet, Holden DOES see legitimate patterns of hypocrisy and phoniness; shallowness and greed; selfishness and brutality. However, he seems to see little value in constructive and sacrificial ways of approaching these challenges or problems.

While Holden may be written to reflect a spoiled middle-class teen with profound resentments and cynicism, his characteristics seem celebrated not critiqued. This seems to reflect on Salinger's upbringing, life, and his intolerance of others. Holden Caulfield in the quintessential individualist who makes himself both his own deity and self-destroyer at once.

Could it be that this book resonated (and still resonates) with an American audience because it reflects the hypocrisy and pain so many have experienced as they were reared in families, institutions, and places of worship that they have encountered? Does it resonate with them because of the frustration, boredom, and emptiness of the expected directions that they have felt entombed to fulfill? Does it reflect our own struggle with our empty individualism, narcissism, hypocrisy, and greed; our own search for our own kind of moral superiority? I think so.

I didn't care much for Holden until the end of the book, where he finds himself challenged and softened by the love of a child. To his credit, he allowed it to happen.



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Reflections on the Beginning of a New Era

Wonderful article. May the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul be one of those small parishes.  May we truly be used to unify and invigorate Christ's "one holy catholic and apostolic church."

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2018/07/18/reflections-on-the-beginning-of-a-new-era/

Toward Vocation

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three-thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:41-42

...each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him. For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one in body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them... Romans 12:3-5

Often, we think of ourselves first of all in relation to the way that we provide for our and our family’s needs. We might hear some appreciative wife state that her husband “is a good provider.” While, certainly, this is a good thing, is this the starting place for our values? How does our Lord Christ think of us? Does what we do in our professions truly make us who we are?

Father Andrew has some helpful words in this regard.

There are three ways in which we can look at what we do as an occupation, a profession, or a vocation. Roughly speaking, our occupation is that which we do because we think we will or because we have nothing better to do; our profession is that which we are paid to do.  But our vocation is that which we do because we believe the great God, Who gave us our mind and intellect and affections and every part of our being, is calling us to use all that He has given us in harmony with Him, to glorify Him, and to express His beauty in our life.

Our Lord had His times of recreation, when He went to the marriage-feast at Cana, or the house of His friends at Bethany.  But all the while He was doing the will of God.  His occupations were lifted to the level of vocation.  He had His profession.  He was a carpenter, and doubtless a very good carpenter.  But His profession all the while was fulfilled in obedience to, and to the glory of, His Father.  Again, to the Scribes and the Pharisees their religion was their profession, and to many people it is just an occupation, but our Lord’s religion was always a vocation.  He went to His prayer with a sense that He was called to it.  He came from His prayer with a sense that all His life was to be lived in communion with His Father.

Father Andrew’s astute observations coincide with the words of Jesus when he detailed and explained the futility of life associated with mere existence and self-provision in Matthew chapter 6:

For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

We must pray that our religion may never drop into being occupation or profession, but that the occupation and profession and the whole of life may be lifted to the level of vocation, that God’s Holy Spirit ‘may in all things direct and rule our hearts.’ (Father Andrew, Meditations, pg. 257)

May our prayer and aim be that our Kingdom vocations will saturate and direct how we occupy ourselves in the created order and engage the professions to which we are tasked. When we see everything in our lives as Kingdom energy, our discernment grows.

-Father Tom