The following is an entry log I decided to make about The Catcher in the Rye.

Wow, I feel so moved. I don’t even know how to explain how I feel. I feel spiritually lifted. Actually, that doesn’t even describe how I am feeling. Anyways, today I finished The Catcher in the Rye. Man, that was probably one of the best books I have ever read. To be honest, at first it just seemed like the adventures that Holden would have in his time in the city, but it was much more than that. What I find very powerful about the book are the messages hidden within the text. J.D. Salinger did a really good job with this.

One message that I realized fairly early in the book (though it is pretty obvious--somewhat) is that Holden is just sickened and frightened by human nature, both in a good and bad way. He hates any negativity in the world, which is good. However, he gets really judgemental and picky on how people act and behave. He always mentions what’s wrong with people when he himself has his own problems. Being judgemental is one of them. Mr. Antolini makes Holden realize this in a broad perspective. I really enjoyed reading their conversation. All the wise information Mr. Antolini told Holden, impacted me as well. I enjoyed how he explained the mature man living humble versus the immature dying nobly, the story of the guys who gave up before even looking, and how an education makes you aware of the “size” of your brain. That whole conversation was just full of wisdom. No one should finish reading that section of the book without taking inspirational wisdom with them. 

The other message I picked up, but not until after reading the book, was childhood innocence, or innocence in general. Although Holden is problematic and naughty, he has his side where he cares about people. He always talks about certain experiences with people he likes in friendly manners. Holden worries about these same people who might be hanging around with those who are bad influences, like Holden’s old friend Jane hanging out with Stradlater. Although being slightly jealous of Stradlater going out with Jane, he was sensitive to the idea of her going out with him because he knows how precious Jane is and how much of a fool and egotistical jock Stradlater is. He’s afraid that Stradlater will be a bad influence on Jane and make her do things that she wouldn’t be comfortable with doing. In addition, Holden loves his sister dearly. He mentions that whenever he heard this specific poem, he pictured himself saving children who might fall off the cliff of a rye field, but would be there to catch them; to save them. Holden is a guardian, there to protect children from the evils and dangers of the world. Eventually, he does realize that children do grow up, and will lose their sense of innocence. Holden realizes that children will have to face the world at some point, and he can’t be there to protect them. He begins to understand that it is okay to grow up, and face the world. I realize this is metaphorically presented at the end of the book, when his sister is on the carousel. She tries to reach for the gold ring and he gets nervous that she’ll fall off, but then he says that if kids want to grab the ring, let them. If they fall they fall, but just don’t warn them about anything. Kids need to learn from experiences they have, good and bad, that’s how we mature, and Holden realizes this. Although he does have a revelation that we as kids must eventually leave behind our childhood and experience the world for what it truly is, he’ll always be there to help those and protect, because he is the catcher in the rye.