“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."
More teenagers in the past 60 years may have read that opening line from J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye than just about any other book.
Narrator, Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old from a well-off family in the post-World War II boom, identifies to teenagers as he wanders the streets of New York City after being expelled from prep school.
Much like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye has always been tagged with controversy and viewed by young minds as a right of passage and introduction into the world of adult themes.
You don’t have to be Depression-era poor to be alienated and anxious, struggling between the innocence of childhood and the perceived corruption ("phoniness") of the adult world. J.D. Salinger assembled language that spoke directly to teenagers – and still does today.
Book critic Jonathan Yardley, believes the novel “created adolescence as we now know it, a condition that barely existed until Salinger defined it.” Referring to it as: “A James Dean Movie in print.”
Since the original publication of “Catcher”, countless novels, movies and rock ‘n’ roll songs have echoed J.D. Salinger’s message of kids under siege.
In 1980 Tragedy surrounded the novel when Mark David Chapman shot and killed famed Beatle, John Lennon citing his life’s inspiration from the book.
According to the American Library Association, Catcher in the Rye was the most censored book in high schools and libraries between 1961 and 1982. – still selling over 250,000 copies a year and remains a staple read on school curriculums.
Salinger died Wednesday at the age of 91. He lived as a recluse in New Hampshire from the mid-1950s. He did what great writers do – conjuring a world provoking limitless thought and inspiration using words alone.
Armand Nardi is the publisher of the Gainesville Daily Register. He can be contacted at anardi@ntin.net.
Editorials
February 1, 2010
Points to Ponder
The voice of adolescence
- Editorials
-
-
Reflections while cleaning the garage
It’s not as easy to move to Cooke County as you might think. You see, I’ve been out in the garage.
-
Putting our best foot forward
Our fair city of Gainesville outperformed cities of comparable size in 2011, while Cooke County maintained a very favorable unemployment rate of under 6 percent for the entire year.
-
Most of us won't keep those resolutions
A column by Register publisher Jim Perry
-
Christmas is here, 2012 is near
A column by Register publisher Jim Perry
-
Christmas spirit is not store bought
A column by Register publisher Jim Perry
-
Breaking ground on domestic violence
A column by Register publisher Jim Perry.
-
'Tis the season to pay it forward
A column by Register publisher Jim Perry.
-
Cooke County's Centennial restoration
A column by Register publisher Jim Perry
-
The Publisher's Pen: Do you see what we see?
This week we have been spreading a lot of ink about a new positive image campaign for Gainesville, or “modern day Mayberry” as the mayor put it.
-
Publisher's Pen: Community events keep us going
I love it when a plan comes together.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
Reflections while cleaning the garage
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
