Subject: Re: Question about reading Catcher
From: removed by request
Date: Sun Apr 01 2001 - 14:44:00 GMT
>Yes, I agree (before I'm spammed) that Catcher is best read when one
>wants to read it, not as an assigned book, but the reality of
>American students is that many simply do not like to read books and
>do so only with strong prompting...so what do you think--is there a
>suggested age for reading Catcher? Does it make sense to read it in
>college?
>
>Will
hey will, i'm emily.
i think that depends on what type of college you are talking about.
the kids at a community college, or even at some state schools, would
often be at the same level as the 8th-graders in a private school
honors program. from my own personal experience, i read catcher for
the first time at 13, and, of course, fell in love like any girl does
with holden caulfield. i then went on to read everything else by
salinger through my early high school years, but it wasn't as engaging
or as understandable as catcher. at 14 i hadn't 'gotten' that teddy
jumped into the pool. my dad had to explain it to me. and even
catcher seemed so intricate, so complex. now, years later, in college,
i pick up salinger, any salinger, and realize that the beauty of his
work is in his simple observations, not in his philosophy, not in some
complicated plot. just observations. the first page of franny is one
of my favorite things i've ever read. observing boys waiting for a
train. it's fabulous.
but, i think that for the kids who care, re-examining the book that hit
them so hard at 14 would be a treat and could be used as a transition
into studying his short stories, which not so many people have read.
emily
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