The Boy Who Wrote Poetry on His Mitt
Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around — nobody big, I mean — except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff — I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be. I know it’s crazy.
— Holden Caulfield from J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye
Sounds like a great job, right?
In a perfect world, I think we’d all want to catch the children in the rye. If the world wasn’t full of Sally’s, Stradlater’s, and Antolini’s … phonies, corruption, and brokenness … then maybe it would work.
The innocence represented in Holden’s brother Allie is something to be admired. Based on what little we get, we instantly love this boy; Not because of any great things he did or sound thoughts he voiced, but because we’re seeing him through his brother’s eyes. To Holden, Allie was the image of the most pure person. And now that he’s frozen in time, he always will be.
Holden watched his older brother, D.B., go from artist to phony. Even Phoebe, who he thinks the world of, tells him to shut up in the end. And it’s a sound “worse than swearing.”
And maybe if Allie’d been allowed to grow up, he too would’ve told Holden to shut up (or more).
But because he couldn’t, now Holden grips tight the memory of him, placing his hope for the world in the image of a boy who wrote poetry on his baseball mitt.
The Catcher in the Rye is a modern classic, popular in most any high school English class. The casual voice is a welcome change from Shakespeare and Hawthorne, while the story hits home well over 6 decades after it was written.
In the end, we’re relieved that Holden’s getting the help he needs. He’s been in a terrible depression, arguably for years. And the fact that everyone he talks to either doesn’t understand him or doesn’t care, doesn’t help.
But don’t you hope he holds onto some of that perspective?
Phoniness is out there, people. The world is broken and so are we. But if we’re careful, maybe we can remember what’s important and how to be real.
If The Catcher in the Rye sends you to your happy place, spend some more time with Holden (and your hosts, Lauren and Rachel) on the 433 miles apART podcast. Our first two episodes cover the book from start to end, and then some.
Find us on iTunes and SoundCloud. Episode notes for part 1 and part 2 are on our website.
