Re: H. Bloom and TCITR
EEver73319@aol.com
Sun, 22 Feb 1998 14:55:06 -0500 (EST)
<<Without really giving it serious thought, I'd say it might be a little
difficult to come to Catcher at, say, 45, though I'm sure it could still be
appreciated for its literary qualities. But if you read it, as most of us
have, in high school or college, then the appreciation of it can stick far
past the age of literal empathy with Holden, his situation, etc.>>>
I'd agree with this. At my particular school, Catcher is always read in the
Junior year, by both honors and regular classes. I'm a senior now, and so
read Catcher for the first time about a year ago... This year's junior class
is reading Catcher right now. Its incredibly interesting listening to juniors
I know talk about the book and how much it means to them. These people are
changing before my eyes, going through a toned down version of Holden's set of
problems as they read the book. Very weird. These are the kids I believe
will, on the whole, come out of high school and college with a much better
understanding of themselves. Nice to see.
Eric