"Does 'The Catcher In The Rye' Still Resonate?"
After reading The Catcher In The Rye would you argue that the
novel still "resonates" with people in our day? Why? Why not? Specify
your argument and use at least one quotation from the article to support
your claim. This blog response is due Wed., Sep. 26th by 3:40p.m.
Article: …Resonate… Article
Article: …Resonate… Article
posted by Greg T at Sunday, September 23, 2018
27 Comments:
I think at this day and age more and more teenagers have been exposed to drugs and alcohol. Part of the reason people are flunking test and not passing classes is because of the drugs. Most drugs are supposed to make you feel good for a small amount of time, then you become a lot more depressed. Some people might not believe in themselves enough to pass the test and most people will just give up. There are many other factors to why this is an issue, but I think this is one of the main reason why students don't try or want to try their best in school.
"The Catcher in the Rye" still is valid today, as, even though many years have passed, teenagers around Holden's age still find themselves feeling and acting like he is: that is, lonesome, sarcastic, and trying to get a deeper knowledge of the world. The book further opens up what the reader is feeling, and then they can begin to understand it better because of that. They realize that others feel like they do and that they are not alone. An example of this can be found throughout the book when Holden says that he isn’t in the mood to do something. He claims this when he is trying to call up his old friend Jane. Holden says that “I started toying with the idea...of giving old Jane a buzz...the only reason I didn’t do it was because I wasn’t in the mood. If you’re not in the mood, you can’t do that stuff right.” (Salinger, 71). In this instance, Holden has the desire to do something but then doesn’t, because he isn’t in the mood. Many modern teenagers will find themselves not doing something they really want to do, claiming that they aren’t in the mood when they might really be afraid or unsure.
I think this story still resonates today because it shows what its like to be a teenager and It is still very relatable to teens this day. The article says," Fans of the novel regard it as the defining work on what it is like to be a teenager. Holden is at various times disaffected, disgruntled, alienated, isolated, directionless, and sarcastic." This shows how teens really connect with that the author says.
After reading multiple chapters of The Catcher In The Rye, I believe that the novel still resonates with people in our day. Not all high school kids go to prep schools or have the exact same situations as Holden, but they still lived similar lives by the choices they made and the way they lived. This quote in the article states, ¨The fact that teenagers were all in high school for the first time, instead of working and providing for their family from an early age, gave them time to think¨ (Rohrer). The quote helps to backup the thought that the novel still resonates with high schoolers today. For example, all teenagers experience high school for the first time and not all of them provide of their families and work. Many kids live a carefree and fun life as Holden did. Although some tragedies were present, but tragedy is common for many high school students. I do believe that the novel still resonates today with many high schoolers in our society.
After reading most of The Catcher In The Rye, The novel resonates with people in our modern day, because teenager's still have similar problems like Holden. With school work, family, social life it's hard to keep all of it balanced. Not only can teenagers connect to the story, but parents and teachers can connect to the story as well. "Perhaps they hope to recapture something of the way they thought when they were not a teenager"(Rohrer). This quote helps support the idea that many people can relate and connect to the book and grasp something from it.
After reading most of The Catcher In The Rye, I do feel as the novel resonates with people in our society for many reasons. Even though many teenagers may not grow up in a prep school, or live in the same situation or condition as Holden, many people, especially teens, go through many of the same experiences as him. Throughout the book, their or many cases Holden expresses himself, that many other people can connect through from the High School experience. It reaches out to everyone, because even if you were not the troubling kid, or one that hated school, many emotions he went through you definitely experienced. This quote explains what I am saying, when they say, "The fact that teenagers were all in high school for the first time, instead of working and providing for their family from an early age, gave them time to think." If you went to High School, you can connect to this no matter how your High School experience was. Overall, many people in our society, no matter who you are, what you look like, or how you work, can connect to this book.
After reading part of Catcher In the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, I believe that the novel still resonates with people, especially teenagers. Yes, the average teenage experiences differ from Holdens in the novel, such as most of us don't attend a private prep school and live in dorms at the age of 16. But lots of the experiences and problems that Holden faces in the novel are very similar to the experiences that we encounter today. For example, when Stradlater asks Holden to write a composition for him because he was too busy or lazy to do it himself. Likewise, today I ask people to copy homework and I see that happening all the time. Holden and other characters also have some of the same personality traits that lots of teens have today, like being narcissistic and looking down on all the other kids. This makes it easy to understand. For those reasons and many others, is why Catcher and the Rye is still a relevant book today.
After reading part of the Catcher and the Rye, by J.D Salinger, I think the novel still resonates with people especially high schoolers. Even though every high schooler doesn't go to prep schools they can still relate to Holden. At some point all high schoolers and teenagers are sarcastic and uncooperative. As Finlo Rohrer from BBC said "Holden is at various times disaffected, disgruntled, alienated, isolated, directionless, and sarcastic." As a teenager I can connect to this quote because everyone goes through these emotion at one point or another. After reading the Catcher and the Rye it also showed me that all high schoolers basically go through the same emotions and that it is all normal.
After reading the first 8 chapters in The Cather and the Ray, by J.D Salinger, I think that the book resonates with people in our day. I think at some point in everyone's life they go through a time questioning everything. Yes, Holden goes to a private school, but I think every teenager can relate to him in some way. I also feel like the other characters in the book can be related to by teenagers. Stradlater is too lazy to do is own work, but is unsatisfied with what Holden writes. Teenagers these days always have something to critique about. Something is always wrong. Holden has characteristics of teens personalities today, like not cooperating with others. He doesn't care about anything and all teenagers go through that phase of questioning why they are here and what their purpose is. ¨The fact that teenagers were all in high school for the first time, instead of working and providing for their family from an early age, gave them time to think¨ (Rohrer) This quote proves that high school is meant for us to make mistakes and learn from them. It is our time to really think about things and if we fall we can always get back up. Most teens go through high school trying to figure out who they are and that is what Holden is doing.
Catcher in the Rye is and forever will be a classic because it shows the internal conflicts of a teenager. From what I have gathered from Holden, he seems not really know who he is. From having to get kicked out of school and just being 16, he is bound to be confused and not truly understand. Most of us want to be someone else when we are 16 and that applies to Holden as well. I believe that is why he lies so much because he wishes that something else would happen to him. One reason why people do not like Holden is that he complains a lot, to which I would say yes he does complain. However, find a person that doesn't complain about everything, at the very least in their own head. Every man, woman, and child regardless of age finds something to complain about. Just some do not say it out loud. ""It's like reading a diary written by a spoilt, annoying, Emo teenager - self-indulgent, repetitive and likely to leave you wanting to just slap the narrator while saying 'for God's sake, get over yourself'."" The novel does sound like it is straight from an angry, annoying teenager. Because that is the main character and that is him being a teenager. Holden is a confused, angry at the world, teenager. He thinks just like most teenagers do now. Where he will complain, and whine, and fuss, just like most of us do now.
The first few chapters of The Catcher In the Rye show similar aspects of today's society. Many high schoolers can relate to Holden because they are lonely, have lost a loved one, and are trying to find themselves. Additionally, most high schoolers are sarcastic like Holden. Holden knows what he dislikes for he mentions he hates phonies, but he is still trying to find what he likes and what his place is in the world, "It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques."(Salinger, 60). Holden does not think that the school serves a purpose. I can connect to Holden because I sometimes feel like school is just busywork and I am still trying to find myself too. By reading Catcher In The Rye, I understand that I am not alone and that all high schoolers go through the same struggles.
I think the book still does valitate to things in modern day. I really do think that Holden can connect to many teenagers this day in age. He is sarcastic, moody, and confused still trying to figure things out along the way. I think one of the best quotes would be “I started toying with the idea...of giving old Jane a buzz...the only reason I didn’t do it was because I wasn’t in the mood. If you’re not in the mood, you can’t do that stuff right.” (Salinger, 71). I think this quote can connect to a lot of teenagers because simply they don't want to do things because they arent in the "mood".
The few chapters of Catcher in the Rye apply to modern day society by showing the behavior of teenagers. The way Holden behaves is similar to a teenager today because most teenagers in this generation have the behavior of being hateful of others. teenagers in this generation are very disrespectful. It's because now we seem to have everything at our fingertips, iPhones, laptops, and the easy highways we have now compared to what our parents had. We have a tendency to act like we know everything, but we lack the wisdom of others. Being born in the microwave generation has lost all the wisdom that teaches us how to really grow up to be wise. The internet can't tell you how to master the skill of rhetoric, or how to really fall in love, or how to handle grief. We have the safety blanket of the internet, but we don't know how to truly know how to learn ourselves. In the Catcher in the Rye Holden acts like he knows everything, but he doesn't know the whole story. Also, he constantly complains about everybody and comes off as a very hateful towards other people. Most teenagers act like this because they are in the state of mind of ' I am the only normal person here' and discard everybody by there behavior and act cold towards others.
I believe that the book does in fact resonate in todays society because many aspects of the book still apply. In the beginning of the text, it is clear to see that Holden is a sarcastic man and is having trouble with school. This is still applicable to modern day teenagers and even those in college because it shows how kids can struggle in school at any time. I would also say this because many teenagers have that type of attitude, being sarcastic and serious but not very serious. An example of this when Holden says, "How about turning off the goddamn light? I gotta get up for mass in the morning,: after Ely said, "Tell me the story of your fascinating life." (Salinger, 55)
In the text, there are many aspects of the society that we live in today. Most of us don't live the everyday life that they might but we aren't clueless. We have experienced multiple situations that these people have been through. When my parents were teenagers, they say things were a lot different then they are now. There are many kids that don't learn much growing up and rely on other people for everything. Our age rely's on social media and their "friends" when it's really not that easy. An example from the text would be Holden. He puts off the status of a preppy stuck up teen, we all think that we are better than everyone else, which is the act that Holden is playing.
The text still impacts and resonates in todays society because the book represents the identity of a teenager. It is relatable by many people because it has many of the ideas and thoughts that many teenagers experience as they are growing up in high school. Many of the older generations, such as our parents think that our generation is lazy and all we care about our phones, they believe that we don't care about the world, that we are all just living in a bubble. I think the character Holden Caulfield brings to light that in every generation, there is a "iPhone" that distracts the younger generation, and in fact it helps you figure out life in the end. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden is constantly so far distracted by his own thoughts and feelings and perspectives on other people. He is moody and lazy and never seems to be in the "mood" to do anything. He does things aimlessly and is always questioning why things are which is exactly what teenagers in the modern age do as well. In the article, they talk about how the books dialogue and the character Holden has a strong affect on the teenagers today because he simply is relatable, he is having thoughts and feelings that at one point or another everyone as a teenager has. "There is a strong dialogue between the book and the teenage experience - they are mutually shaping."
I think the first few chapters of Catcher in the Rye do resonate with many teenagers and adults of our time. Holden’s thoughts are more like a teenager’s than most of the other books that I, personally, have read. Lots of people think that Holden has a bad attitude and is very pessimistic about many of things going on in his life, but I disagree. I think Holden’s upbringing, the death of his brother, and the fact that he is a teenager all cause him to be cautiously optimistic in his life. Sometimes he definitely can be very negative, but most of the time I think he is just looking out for himself, and I think a lot of teenagers can be this way, and now have this book to give them some insight on why they act that way. Personally, his cautious optimism makes me want to root for him, and exceed his expectations, which is what all of us really want.
I Think that so far the first few chapters of Cather in the Rye do resonate with teenager and adults of our time. Say this because high school and college are tough years in life. Holden is facing tough times being kicked out of his private school. Although a lot of teenagers do not attend private schools, the struggles faced are still very similar. These are the years teenagers are figuring out who they are and what they want to do with there life, and that is why I believe that this novel still resonates in todays day and age.
Not only does the book resonate with a modern audience, but I would argue that it will continue to resonate with teens and adults alike for decades to come. Holden is a personification of how confusing and frustrating the teenage years can be; many, including myself, can relate to his thoughts and feelings about the world around him. Sarcasm and angst are everywhere in high school. Reading about a character caked in these things creates a powerful feeling of recognition. Most of us are going through, already have been through, or are going to go through our own version of the space Holden represents. Sooner or later, everyone is going to feel, “disaffected, disgruntled, alienated, isolated, directionless, [or] sarcastic” (Rohrer). To me, that intense relatability to a large audience makes this book feel timeless.
I think that Holden thinks the same way as most teenagers do today. Most of his ideas and struggles may resemble the way kids act or think now, however I do not beleive that his severe actions would slide in todays society. Holden partakes in many illegal and rebellious activities that almost all modern teens dont even think about doing, however the way he views other people could be similar. I think this book does resonate with modern ideas for those main reasons, I dont see an exact similarity, but it definetley does have a few concepts that apply today.
Yes, this book does still resonate in the modern world. Many teens are very similar to Holden not just from today but for many years to come. As Holden shows throughout his story, he is extremely over being around the fakeness of the people and world. In the article the author states, “Holden Caulfield does not like a lot of what he encounters. Much is dopey, corny, lousy, crumby, vomity but most of all, phoney. Holden is surrounded by phoneys, almost wherever he goes. It's almost enough to make him puke.” In my opinion, not all of the components of this statement are true but the fact that this world isn’t true and real is extremely true. Today especially with social media creating a fake life is very easy. You are able to show everyone an alternate reality and not your actual life. Although this is annoying, everyone in todays world does it. This is very similar to The Catcher in the Rye, because Holden is constantly being surrounded by phoney people and things. Although this book was written a long time ago many things can be taken from it and connected to our modern world.
After reading and thinking, I think holden thinks similar as most teenagers do today. I say this because most of his actions and thinking are what some teens do today.But some of his actions would not be tolerable in todays world.
After reading the first 9 chapters of Catcher in the Rye I believe it does resonate with modern day teens and young adults. The main character Holden is rather negative and I feel this resonates with modern day teens because we are in a society that seems to focus on negativity. I think the internet is the best example of this as there is constant hate.
I think that this book still resonates modern world. Holden is a teenager and he had a bumpy past. Life can be hard at this point and a lot of things seem to bother him, like him, flunking out of school. I think today, some teens put other things before their school work, causing them to flunk out of school. Teenagers are still young, they can still learn from their mistakes. They have a life/future ahead of them.
After reading Catcher in the Rye, for a little bit, I definitely think that the book and meaning still resonates in the modern world today. After reading chapter 2 especially, I can see that these problems with teenagers are still apparent. " Id like to put some sense in that head of yours, boy. I'm trying to help you. Im trying to help you if i can." Is a powerful thing to be said by an older adult to a teen. Things like this are said to teens everyday to hopefully steer them in the right direction with their decisions which is why this book still resonates in the modern world.
After reading some parts of Catcher in the Rye, I believe that it still resonates with our society today. Holden, in many ways, is just like teenagers today. He puts other things before school, he’s lazy and undriven, exactly like teens that are in school at this very moment. Holden is more of a person that thinks of life and things negatively. He has hatred in his heart, and can’t seem to escape it. People today have hate in their hearts as well. Some are racist, bullies, homophobic, etc. Not everyone has the same ideas of the perfect world, therefore, everyone has some sort of hatred in their life. Although this book was written many years ago, we can still clearly see how it resonates with our society today.
After reading some of Cather in the Rye, I believe that is most definitely still resonates. As our generations have progressed, teens have become more involved in drugs and alcohol. We are also all similar to Holden in some way, whether it is with how he puts thing before school, his sarcasm, or his ideas on life. I believe that most high schoolers have become accustomed to the idea of a negative outlook on things. Holden most definitely has a more negative outlook on life, this is something that we can relate to Holden in. Holden is also very cut off from the people in his life because he feels as though if he gets close to people, they will leave. I relate to this a lot because at times I struggle to make strong relationships because I feel like people will leave. As the quote that relates to this is “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” I think that when Holden says this he is saying that if you open up to people, they will leave and you will miss them. This book most definitely still resonates without generation and will most likely resonate with generations to come.
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