why is the piece of shit considered a classic?

>>8595876
Basically it's like, the first time I read it, it felt was whiny, repetitive, mundane and boring till I got to the part where he escapes from his teacher's house because he suspects he would molest him or something. Then it gave me an entire new view of the book and made me read it the second time. Your total perception changes. It doesn't sound like a whiny rich faggot complaining anymore. Instead, you're wondering what shit he had seen in his life that made him form his thoughts. And desu senpai, Holden experienced a lot of fucked up shit. He saw his classmate die in front of his eyes, him unable to do anything about it. He was probably molested by a gay man too. And all these experiences made him transcend into adolescence and leave his innocent childhood behind. He feels that the innocence of childhood is too precious and he wants to save children from entering the wicked world of adolescence and adulthood.

It's a very comfy book senpai. I used to read it in the waiting room of the dentist when my mom got her root canal done.

>>8595963
I agree this book may not be the pinnacle of lit but it's definetly comfy

>>8595876
Catcher is legitimately one of the best entry-points to classic literature for young adults.

>>8595876
Because it's a parochial version of The Recognitions written by a sentimentalist pedophile. Before you say it came out earlier, both authors started working on their books in the 40s.

>>8595876
t. high schooler

The thing about the book is that it has an arc of reception:

>Patrician: Generally enjoys the book, as he understands Salinger's goals and doesn't think a protagonist must be relatable

>Pleb: Generally hates the book because he thinks Holden is 'the real phony' and 'an edgelord'

>Turbopleb: Generally enjoys the book, as he is so edgy he actually relates to Holden unironically

>>8596021
I typically steer clear of pomo, but I really enjoyed Catcher and that makes me want to check out The Recognitions. How are they similar?

Aren't all classics shit?

>>8596029
It's more modernist than pomo. People just gave it the pomo label after the fact. It's similar in that nearly everyone in it has deep reservations about various aspects of society. A lot of "phonies" are shown in party scenes and such too.

>>8596040
Also fraudulence and authenticity are major themes to the point where even reality is questioned.

I read it when I was in school and wondered what the fuzz was about. There was nothing extraordinary about it, I just thought that eveyone has thoughts and experiences like this so why would anyone bother to write this stuff down. Now, a few years later I get it.

The great gatsby is shit. So is lord of the flies

>>8596028
>implying you can prove or validate authorial intent

Please God, delete this stupid board and deliver me from my suffering.

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>>8596207
>implying you can't prove authorial intent

baka...

The ending.

>>8596207
>>implying you can prove or validate authorial intent

Inability to prove the author's intent in any rigorous logical way doesn't bar it from consideration in one's personal appreciation of a book. Fuck off your high horse.

because dumbass american puritans had a moral panic over it

>>8595876
It inspired numerous assassinations fucktard.

>>8596477
what assassinations?

>>8597738
Google it man

>>8596028
This

Loving it for the wrong reasons is reddit, and so is hating it

I actually like the book very much, but the rape scene made me really uncomfortable.

I mean, Holden's just so nice to his sister the entire book, one can never see the Phoebe molestation coming.

>>8596172
OOOOh we got a badass over here

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Everyone I know who's read it has hated it. I liked it.

Have a wallpaper.

>>8598474
Do you like carousel rides?

>>8598474
>Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.
What did he mean by this?

>>8598511
I read the book years ago so if you're making a reference, I don't remember.

>>8598514
Learn how to hide your feelings.

because I'm emotionally fucked and relate to it

>>8596172
Lord of the Flies is fuckign great you buttface

>>8598527
Is that what it means? I remember way back in high school my teacher saying it meant something else. And now that I'm googling it everyone is saying the same thing she said.
To me, back then at least, it meant hide your feelings away. Once you start talking about things you'll just push people away. Pretend like everything is fine even if it's not.

>>8598549
I was just going off of memory. Read it ages ago as well.

>>8595876
>why is the piece of shit considered a classic?
i don't know

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>>8595876
THE RAPE

I read it like six years ago and liked it. I finished Nine Stories today and loved it. I'm gonna read Franny and Zooey next then re-read Catcher.

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>>8598689
read this before re-reading the catcher in the rye

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>>8598699
>>8598689

Holden Caulfield is actually Judge Holden.
He rapes the kid.

>>8596028
So pleb you actually become a new class: You relate to Holden Caufield so much that you win the Nobel Prize, but you're too much of a lunatic to accept it.

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>>8598747
sides on suicide watch

>>8596028
>>Patrician: Generally enjoys the book, as he understands Salinger's goals and doesn't think a protagonist must be relatable
I've heard these Holden apologetics since high school and they've never held any water. Yes, Holden is puerile hypocrite with a shaky moral compass. He is decidedly not a David Copperfield-esque crowd-pleaser, but his iconoclasm and individuality are nevertheless portrayed in an extremely empathetic light. Salinger wanted his audience to understand and admire these traits in his Holden, and he repeatedly glorifies them in other characters throughout his oeuvre. If there is no empathy for Holden then the audience abandons him and the excellent emotional scenes (Natural History Museum, visit to see Phoebe) do not hit their mark. Salinger didn't want people to agree with every word Holden said, but he did want them to appreciate why he opened his mouth in the first place.

>>8598840
>Salinger didn't want people to agree with every word Holden said, but he did want them to appreciate why he opened his mouth in the first place.

It's more likely that Salinger was trying to show us the consequences of a hedonistic mentality, and the outcome of dwelling on the past.

Salinger served in the military, and PTSD, (or shell shock at the time) was common but not professionally treated, it's possible that a solution to mental trauma at the time was to "just get over it" and constantly thinking about it could send you down a spiral of mental instability, like what happened to Holden.

>>8595876
same reason people still talk about the beatles: because my daddy is sooooooo smart and everything he likes must be good

If you cant identify with the character that means the book is bad

What about the sequel

>>8595876
Because it is good, are you one of those clowns who think that Kurt Vonnegut is bad too?