Reflection of Yourself
J. D. Salinger is a man that has seen the violence of war. He was at D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge; he knows what combat looks like. And he comes home to a society that effectively ignores everyone else that they haven't known before or don't NEED to know. It's an alienating world that he returns to; and likely he saw a lot of it as something artificial. J. D. Salinger described the book as somewhat autobiographical, in which he identifies himself with Holden Caulfield. Salinger likely wanted to express what he's felt as a child, and as a veteran. Over the course of the story, Holden expresses symptoms of PTSD, a condition usually that war veterans experience when returning from war, or generally people that experience traumatic events (possibly like losing a sibling). There are many ties that can be made between Holden and Salinger, such as both of them going to many different schools, and both of them being on a fencing team, as well both of them have issues with society.
Society in the United States is a particularly empty concept; there are few friends to make, and a lot of hate to be had. Holden has a very pessimistic view of this society, referring to it as "phony." Salinger has his own grievances with society, preferring to recluse rather than socialize following his rise to popularity. This is a symptom of PTSD: avoidance. Social situations probably remind sufferers of the traumatizing event, and so they avoid it. Sebastian Junger will say how the reason for people being affected so long after a war is "our fault," and that it's because of the cold commonwealth that soldiers return to which causes the massive PTSD rates. And he's not wrong; people like Salinger that go off to war to watch hundreds of deaths--their best friends being killed in a single shot, the bombs echoing the symphony of death--simply to come back home to people that only pay any attention to them once every year. It takes a major toll. And so Salinger decided not to bother with people; it's a waste of time trying to interact with people that are "phony."
But you still want to interact with people. It's just, you don;'t want to interact with the fake ones. It's all an annoying paradox to them, those that want to be left alone but also want attention. Salinger reflected this sort of sentiment in Holden's narration: despising some people for how fake they were, but wanting them to listen to him.
Salinger probably wanted to talk to somebody about what he's been through, but he didn't want to talk to anybody about it. Thus, The Catcher in the Rye was born; an ode to himself that people can read about, but Salinger doesn't have to talk to anybody about it. It's the compromise that he's looking for, and it lets him talk about himself without having to talk to anybody. This isn't any way to live a life though; this isn't any dream life. People wish for more, and they want happiness. Salinger simply never realized how to improve his condition, and thus he was never able to find his dream. What he was able to do though, was allow people to see just what is unhealthy. He allowed people to see someone in distress, so that they might be able to view their situation and find the ties. Perhaps it is this that let him make a difference in people's lives: he showed his emptiness in order to let others find theirs and fill it. Once the void has been filled, they may find their dream.
Society in the United States is a particularly empty concept; there are few friends to make, and a lot of hate to be had. Holden has a very pessimistic view of this society, referring to it as "phony." Salinger has his own grievances with society, preferring to recluse rather than socialize following his rise to popularity. This is a symptom of PTSD: avoidance. Social situations probably remind sufferers of the traumatizing event, and so they avoid it. Sebastian Junger will say how the reason for people being affected so long after a war is "our fault," and that it's because of the cold commonwealth that soldiers return to which causes the massive PTSD rates. And he's not wrong; people like Salinger that go off to war to watch hundreds of deaths--their best friends being killed in a single shot, the bombs echoing the symphony of death--simply to come back home to people that only pay any attention to them once every year. It takes a major toll. And so Salinger decided not to bother with people; it's a waste of time trying to interact with people that are "phony."
But you still want to interact with people. It's just, you don;'t want to interact with the fake ones. It's all an annoying paradox to them, those that want to be left alone but also want attention. Salinger reflected this sort of sentiment in Holden's narration: despising some people for how fake they were, but wanting them to listen to him.
Salinger probably wanted to talk to somebody about what he's been through, but he didn't want to talk to anybody about it. Thus, The Catcher in the Rye was born; an ode to himself that people can read about, but Salinger doesn't have to talk to anybody about it. It's the compromise that he's looking for, and it lets him talk about himself without having to talk to anybody. This isn't any way to live a life though; this isn't any dream life. People wish for more, and they want happiness. Salinger simply never realized how to improve his condition, and thus he was never able to find his dream. What he was able to do though, was allow people to see just what is unhealthy. He allowed people to see someone in distress, so that they might be able to view their situation and find the ties. Perhaps it is this that let him make a difference in people's lives: he showed his emptiness in order to let others find theirs and fill it. Once the void has been filled, they may find their dream.