Many people consider The Catcher in the Rye as a red flag book. I’ve never read it before, so naturally, I got myself a copy and started reading.

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” 

This is the first line of the book. And I was immediately hooked. Right away Holden says that he will tell you a story, but it’s not the kind of story you’re expecting. It’s from a very specific day in his life that becomes a major turning point in his life. On this day, Holden is expelled from school again, and he doesn’t want to tell his parents about it just yet. He’ll be coming home for the holidays anyway, so instead of going home early, he spends the day in New York City.

Holden Caulfield is a teenager. And an angry teenager at that. But underneath all that anger and false bravado is pain, grief, frustration, and a feeling of not truly belonging in the world he finds himself in. He seems to be the typical troubled kid who is a disciplinary nightmare. 

And yet. There is something buried under all that tough exterior that is worth knowing and nurturing.

A privileged kid, he attends (and has been expelled from) exclusive boarding schools filled with other privileged kids. He is aware of all the social niceties and unspoken codes of conduct he has to perform, but he hates it. And he hates all the “phony people” doing all these phony things. Holden has some pretty interesting takes though, and I agreed with a lot of them. 

But I do have to say that Holden comes across as phony a lot of the time as well. He is prone to saying one thing and then backtracking in the next couple of lines. Or he will say or do one thing, but actually mean or want the opposite. This constant back and forth is something I noticed throughout the book, and while it amused me, it also annoyed me. 

 But maybe this constant shifting is Holden’s way of reading the room and finding the best response or behavior that will allow him to fit in and conform to everyone else’s expectations.

Loneliness may also play into his behavior. I imagine forming strong and deep friendships is difficult when he is expelled from school multiple times. Having to suddenly leave school, and then start over again at a new one made him a master at forming acquaintances. We see him meet some of them over the course of the book, but I don’t recall reading about anyone Holden considered an actual friend. Feeling like a misfit in school as well as in his family certainly takes a toll on him. 

 One thing I love about Holden though, is how much he loves his siblings. Sure he may hate the fact that his older brother works as a writer in Hollywood because Holden thinks it’s beneath his skills, but he obviously adores his brother. Holden’s relationship with his younger sister Phoebe was so precious. Holden tries to be a good influence on his sister. Phoebe idolizes Holden despite his flaws, and she would do anything for him. Their conversations towards the end of the book were some of my favorite parts of the reading experience. And then there is Holden’s love and grief for his younger brother Allie, who died of leukemia. He carries around Allie’s old baseball mitt filled with poetry he wrote on it. Aside from Phoebe, Allie is the only other person he has a deep relationship with. He is still grieving over his death, and at one point in the book, Holden says that it would have been better if he had died instead of Allie. With the problem child gone, his parents won’t have to deal with his shortcomings. Aside from brotherly love, this shows me how much of an outsider he feels within his family. 

 After reading the book, I now have a soft spot for Holden. Is this my red flag? Maybe. I mean there were times in the book when I did not like Holden’s words and actions. But this desire to give him one more chance stayed with me. He is the type of kid who needs a nurturing and stimulating environment, filled with supportive people who can help him grow and thrive. He is the noisy kid in class who teachers would place beside the top student in the hope that they can get some good influence. And I’m sure that given the right support, Holden will come into his own and shine.

I enjoyed The Catcher in the Rye (oooooh controversial 😂). But the reading experience wasn’t always fun. I couldn’t read the book for long stretches of time because Holden was exhausting to be around, and even though he’s just a book character, my introverted self could not handle his energy for very long. But he is a character that will most likely remember for a long time. Read it if you haven’t already!!