[read] THE CATCHER IN THE RYE
Despite over two decades of formal education, somehow “The Catcher in the Rye” never made any of my required reading lists. Which could be surprising or unsurprising considering that, in 1981, it was both the most censored book and the second most taught book in public schools in the United States*.
Last month, after finishing “Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas,” I went to my bookshelf and scoured for my next literary adventure. Perhaps on a subconscious level I remember hearing the news of J.D. Salinger‘s recent death on January 27th, and my hand was guided to the novel. Still, whatever the determining factor was, I’m satisfied that I finally sat down and read this American classic.
This specific passage resonates with me not only because it is clearly the source of the novel’s title, but because of the purity of the sentiment being expressed.
“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around – nobody big, I mean – except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be.”
What I hear communicated is a desire to serve and protect others, which is possibly the most meaningful activity in which one could engage. I truly believe that we are searching for meaningful ways to fit into a world that doesn’t explicitly provide meaning. It has to be created.
I also related to Holden’s disenchantment with “phonies” and a system that perpetuates mediocracy. Holden’s main solution to his frustrations is to run away “out west” and build a cabin on the edge of the woods. This strategy of escapism is familiar. For me, my escapisms currently occur on micro levels: running off to yoga class or not answering the phone or avoiding paying parking tickets. But the “cabin on the edge of the woods” also could take the form of a long, solitary voyage, such as a multi-month solo cycling trip or trucking off to India to hide in an Ashram for a year. The desire to fuck-off is palpable at times.
Yet, much like Halden, I have a loved one pulling on my arm and saying, “How could you ever leave me?”
And the truth is, I couldn’t.
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*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye#cite_note-26
