why is this book held to such high acclaim?

It has the most realistic depiction of rape in the history of literature.

>>9580449
Because it captures universal feelings of adolescence in a relatively simple and short story.

He rapes his sister, Phoebe.

>>9580462
>>9580456
I don't remember this
>>9580449
Because it's for adolescents so it's natural to include it in hs curriculum

>>9580449
this book is trash thats why they force high schoolers to rad it

>>9580456
Well how the fuck was I supposed to know it was a buncha generations of spics in the jungle

>>9580449
For many people it is the only book they have ever read. For more it is the only book they have ever liked.
Fucking American Education.

>Read it as a kid going through puberty
>Holden is kind of a prick, but you can get what he's trying to suggest for the most part
>Read it as a young adult
>Holden is an annoying fucking faggot
>Read it as an oldie
>Holden is completely oblivious yet full of enviable youth and vigor

It's almost like Eliot, though not as refined or "noble." Different messages for different parts of life.

>>9580993

Oh god shut your retarded fuckin mouth

Eliot You mean eliot rodger that narcist delusioned self absorbed piece of shit ?

He was so far up his own ass he didn't even realize how gratefull he should really be.

I really don't understand idiots who praise him.

>>9581085
I assume he was referring to T.S. Eliot, you troglodyte.

>>9581093

Oh ok sorry my bad i'm basicly retarded

>>9581085
What the fuck?

>>9581093
>>9581103
>>9581097

It seems much more likely he was referring to the murderer rather than the poet. I don't really see any connection between Salinger + T.S Eliot

>>9580457
>it captures universal feelings of adolescence
If you ever felt that way during your adolescence I feel really sorry for you. Holden is nothing but a giant douche and he's ways more immature than a kid of his age should be and normally is. And he's an annoying character which makes the novel nothing but annoying - it's totally overrated imo.

>>9580449
Because Samuel Beckett loved it.

I finally read this book (my class didn't have to read it in high school) so can someone explain to me the phoebe rape meme?

It captures adolescence perfectly

>>9581107
>>9581093
>>9581085
I-I was talking about Thomas Stearns Eliot please don't be mad at me

>>9581163
its a meme

>>9580449
people do not give salinger credit for his propensity for ambiguity and stellar characterization. plus its a good period piece.

only tryhards rebelling against "high school literature" or "entry level" hate this novel.

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>>9580449
FOUR OUT OF TEN ON IGN.

>>9581176
I know it's a meme but is it referencing a certain scene or something? Or is it just random kek he rapes his sister hurr durr

Because the ridiculously spoiled Boomers identified with Holden as adolescents.

Literarily I agree with >>9581176 that Salinger's characterization of Holden is excellent and much harder than it looks but I still think it's vastly overrated.

>>9580993
Then why not just read Eliot?

>>9581163
It's a meme based on the scene when Holden sneaks into her bedroom. Salinger really did create a sense of intimacy there, but nobody got raped (or engaged in consensual incest, which was another version of the meme originally).

>>9581085
Nigger, how is Elliot Rodgers not the Holden of the 4chan era? He's like a walking avatar of /rk9/

>>9581125
take your shit opinions back to plebbit, fagtron

>>9581125
I wouldn't say these feelings are universal, but it clearly resonants with what a lot of people were going through back then.

>>9581214

Eliot rodger a stuck up insanly narcistic brad Child with a trustfund from mommy and daddy. Who bitches about his life being "suffering" because he didn't get any pussy. Which is btw his own fault.
He expected people to wall up on his dick and praise him for nothing.

His "manifesto" was laughable and really Shows his pittyness. He was fuckin Child that deserved a beating if Anything.

A meme in Death and in life

>>9581296
None of this refutes what I said.

>>9581194
Because I couldn't read Eliot in sixth grade.

>>9581303

Uhm yes actually, none of those characteristics apply to Holden

>>9581315

That's actually a great title

>>9581125
>doesn't want to grow up
>wants to preserve innocence of those younger than him despite being a kid himself
>just wants a genuine life instead of one where everyone around him convinces themselves they're happy when some really aren't

Yeah, what rare feelings for a kid to have. Looks like you're the odd one out here.

>>9581315
Where does this meme come from? Does he rape her right after telling the reader to kill John Lennon?

>>9581986
Guess so. I've never felt this way at any point in my life. It's baffling to me, but thanks for putting it in plain terms.

Why not just read Shakespeare?

The Catcher in the Rye rules and any phoney ass pseuds about can suck my dick.

Goddamn book

It's tough judging a book that's so well-known and had such a big cultural impact in a fair and objective way. I saw the South Park episode about it before I ever bothered to read it myself. Who knows what I would've thought about this book if it came out today or if I'd never heard of it before.
I found the style a little tedious but I don't have strong feelings about the story either way. It's not the worst book ever written and I can see how people find Holden easy to relate to, but I don't think it's particularly good or important either. I don't understand why people hate it with such passion.

>>9582461
>the catcher in the rye kills me
Ftfy

>>9581125
>Holden was molested
>Holden has distant parents
>Holden saw another student die
>Holden's brother is dead
Do you not understand there's a reason why he's fucked up

because every american highschool student is forced to read it and for many it is the first and only real novel they will ever read

>>9580456
came here to say this

>>9580462
Oh fuck I gave this to my sister for Christmas without having read it. That's awkward.

>>9580449
I thought it was a funny book

>>9582808
your average normie that read it in hs will say that holden's annoying because all he does is whine

>>9583093
There is no "literal" rape. It's just a meme implied by the ending or something.

>>9582793
Wait when was he molested?
It's been a while since I read the book.

>>9584227
When he goes to Mr. Antolini's apartment (who married an older unattractive woman and is implicitly gay/pedophilic) and has a drink he suddenly feels very tired. He goes to change and notices that Mr. Antolini >forgot to give him pajamas. He falls asleep on the couch but wakes up to Mr. Antolini caressing his head. Now that isn't necessarily molestation, but Holden says "that sort of thing has happened to me about 20 times" and "perverts are always doing perverty things when I'm around."

Also his views on sexuality and youth, e.g. becoming incensed when thinking about his friend "giving the time" to a girl he knew from his childhood, indicate he's trying to protect the innocence of other children, which is fairly consistent with people who have been molested.

It has some beautiful scenes in it. Like the one where he relates that anecdote about jane gallagher's step father

>>9580993
This is better than anything eliot ever wrote.

>>9580456
I'm being serious here, what did he mean by this?

>>9581093
He's obviously referring to the character Elliot in my OC buddy-cop sequel "Catchers in the Rye"

>>9580449
Because it makes one want to assassinate celebs.

>>9580449
It's emo canon

>>9580449
It's not a bad book
It's not a great, epoch-shattering classical work which will be remembered forever
It's a pretty well-crafted, polished piece of work that's very emotionally nuanced, with good use of motifs/symbolism, slice-of-life events and good dialogue (Salinger had influenced a surprising amount of modern American literature after him with his slice-of-life tone and realistic dialogue), and a really interesting first-person narrator with obvious dramatic irony (if you can see it) between what Holden feels, thinks, says, does, etc., and what Salinger/anyone knows to be normal and good.

All in a way that (if you're not sufficiently cynical/jaded enough) doesn't satirize or cruelly portray Holden, but rather makes him a complex and ultimately sympathetic character.

Or basically >>9581176

FYI: Nabokov and Beckett loved Salinger, and Beckett loved this novel in particular. Lolita was published 4 years after Catcher in the Rye and while Nabokov is obviously more concerned with form, more experimental and poetic and cerebral than Salinger, I think you can see some (maybe ironic, maybe unconscious) influence of Catcher on Lolita.

>>9584476
I'll bite.

>>9580462
whooaa in which part? I don't remember that

>>9580449
Because it's an all-time top 3 work of fiction

>>9581315
What is this meme? I don't remember this happening. Then again, I haven't read the book in over 15 years.

>>9583720
>normie
Normalfags get out of this website reeeeeeeeeee.

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This was better.

>>9584633

A book that inspires both Beckett and Nabokov deserves to be considered a classic.

>>9584467
Oh yeah,
thank you.

>>9580449
Effective use of the vernacular & strong theming. Occasional moments where the prose is incredibly beautiful. Pushed the boundaries regarding obscenity in literature. Portrayed youth in an ambiguous light. Lends itself to multiple readings. Dense with symbols. Excellent characterization.

Basically, it's well-written and challenged a lot of assumptions about how to write.

>>9580449
American propaganda

>>9587824
basically this

not a difficult book to love