Blog #43: The Catcher in the Rye

Throughout reading The Catcher in the Rye, I marked down a few of the little phrases that I enjoyed. One of them that I liked was said by Holden Caulfield to Stradlater. The little quote is, “Ask her if she still keeps all her kings in the back row(Salinger 42).” I really liked it because it really showed me that Holden did have feelings so to say. Up until this point, it kind of seemed like Holden did not care about anyone or anything. When he asks Stradlater this, it really shows that he cares about Jane Galangher. This is the girl he was referring to when he asked Stradlater about the kings. I also like this quote because this makes Holden sound younger. He really goes back to his childhood with this statement. He has not seen Jane in years, and the fact that he remembers this is extraordinary. It is one of those things that you think are pointless facts but they really make an impact on you. He also goes on to say that this always annoyed him about her. I guess this would be quite annoying while playing a game. I just like that Holden remembers this about Jane. I think it also shows that he has a child-like mind I guess. He could have asked Stradlater to ask her any other kind of question, but he went straight to the one that seems so childish. In my opinion, though she was never really in the novel, Jane kind of reminds me of Phoebe. They both really bring out the best in Holden. Holden really goes back to childhood memories a lot it seems like. He also referred to Phoebe a lot who is just a child herself. This really makes me think that Holden just feels like a child himself but he wants others to think of him as an adult. Overall, I feel that Holden is just a child and that is why I really enjoyed this little remark.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Back Bay, 2001. Print.