Catch The Kids

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, I pick up a book I read in high school. This week, I’m tackling The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, first published in 1951. I found it in large print (LP) at my local library with the help of an assistant librarian. The larger font improves my reading enjoyment and has now become a necessity in my life.

It is a classic “coming-of-age” novel. I read it in its entirety in high school. Well, I think I did. That might be a bit of a stretch. I might not have read it at all, except in Cliff Notes. The second-guessing I just used reflects the novel’s artistic style, which uses first-person monologue throughout the book. I clearly remember trying to understand things as a teenager, when second-guessing was pretty much the norm.

I am more than halfway through the book. I remember very little of the battles the main protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is experiencing. The read is most enjoyable. I’ve learned that I don’t recall many of the subplots. I guess that is good, making the fresh reading more pleasurable, much like a new, first-time experience.

Hello, it's been sixty years. Wee.

Might you recall Holden Caulfield’s obsession with the ducks disappearing in winter from the frozen pond in Central Park? He gets into a real dust-up with a cab driver over his inquiry about the ducks. Their jousting is priceless - a match of wits from two totally different worlds. Very funny. The melee expands to include questioning the fate of fish in the frozen pond, put into the fray by the NYC cab driver. Salinger captures the cabbie’s personality in their repartee toward Holden’s obsessive questions with such comical brilliance. It could have been a Seinfeld episode. It was that good.

I was curious about the title and did a little digging in AI and Spark Notes. Sadly, they both reminded me of English teachers who often complicated understanding with even more complex explanations. Oh. My.  I’ve taken on Holden’s personality after only a few days of reading about his tribulations.

Oh, the title, The Catcher in the Rye, symbolizes Holden’s deep desire to preserve childhood innocence and shield children from the adult world. Holden explains to his sister, Phoebe, that he imagines thousands of children playing in a field of rye near the edge of a cliff. He wants to be the “catcher in the rye” who saves the children before they fall from the cliff. (With AI help).

Here’s to childhood fantasies and the wonder found in all things in our universe.

Please forgive me or thank me.

The beat goes on.