12 replies to this topic

[Mrs.Hippie3]

Anyone ever read it? I just read it and i gotta say it was a disappointment.. I've heard about the book in movies and shows about how it's like a guide for criminals so I'm expecting it to be about government conspiracies or something but nooo it's about a horny teenage boy who keeps getting kicked out of schools. And the title is from a poem but the boy says if wrong and his 10 year old sister corrects him. Then he keeps asking where the ducks go in the winter like he's too stupid to know they migrate like other birds.. then the authors use of god damn is excessive which is why it is no longer read in schools.. but the excessive use of curse words makes me think that the author doesn't have a very extensive vocabulary.. but i might be missing the meaning of the book.. any thoughts on this? I did do some research on it and this is the original poem....

Edited by Mrs.Hippie3, 03 June 2021 - 01:28 PM.

[shiftingshadows]

I remember nothing of it, ( I read it over half a lifetime ago), but since you ask for any thoughts, I can think of one. For me adolescence was also a nightmare, (as I'm sure it was for many), so although the book (novel) may have faults as you say, my question is: Do you know of any other book that attempts to deal with the some of the painful issues associated with adolescence?

If not, then you have part of your answer, as to why, it is well known.

Edited by shiftingshadows, 03 June 2021 - 02:49 PM.

[EYMAIOS]

.

I loved it.

A revolutionary masterpiece of the 20th century!

Whether you like it or not, it is a world famous book for it's unique style of describing the unmasked thoughts of a teenager. A book you love or hate depending on your cultural background.

Conservative culture had it banned by law in USA.

Your final conclusion should be expressed after reading it all.

You will perhaps recognise some of your past moments in this non "hero's" thinking.
Of course in terms of Artistic expression none is obliged to like it, as each one is oriented towards a different reading style according to his caltural predisposition.

This is not an every day literature intented for correct-conformity consumption.

Disliking it it raises issues about the way one perceives reality as is, or as it should be.

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Try reading it without judgements, and perhaps you will meet yourself decades ago...

Happy reading!
 

[EYMAIOS]

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Beloved Mrs.Hippie3,

I realized late that it was you who made the post.

I cant believe that the wife of the most Hippie of all hippies did not discover the message.

You have been through the flower power wave, and strange... you seem to be still intact!

I am sure that if your heart is still vibrating and young ...you will finally enjoy it.

My best regards.

[Mrs.Hippie3]

Well i guess i should have read it when i was a kid and not an old cranky woman.. lol.. but even so I don't think I would have related to him since I'm a woman. Im not saying i didn't like the book i was just disappointed.. i was expecting something totally different.. I learned about it from the show Criminal Minds so I'm thinking it's like a manifesto or something but noo it's about a teenage boy... like expecting donuts and getting bagels.. still good but ain't gonna get a sugar rush off it.. lol

[shiftingshadows]

"The Kominsky Method: Created by Chuck Lorre. With Michael Douglas, Sarah Baker, Graham Rogers, Alan Arkin" is a comedy about those who are about the age that boomers are now. I enjoy it, but a lot of the humor is again male oriented (prostate humor) so it may not be your 'cup of tea'. But if Netflix is available, it may only take a few minutes to find out.

[EYMAIOS]

Well i guess i should have read it when i was a kid and not an old cranky woman.. lol.. but even so I don't think I would have related to him since I'm a woman. Im not saying i didn't like the book i was just disappointed.. i was expecting something totally different.. I learned about it from the show Criminal Minds so I'm thinking it's like a manifesto or something but noo it's about a teenage boy... like expecting donuts and getting bagels.. still good but ain't gonna get a sugar rush off it.. lol

 

.

Beloved Mrs.Hippie3,

Ι strongly object the statement of "old cranky woman".

Having similar age with you, I know I am the ageless epicenter of the Quantum Universe.

The Universe exists only for me to see it!

Therefore I propose you apply your Quantum ageless epicenter rights, and ignore illusive cranky mirrors.

More than ever before you need to land inside the teenager's shoes, and enjoy the fresh air emanating from your tender heart...

.

Have a nice day with greetings from the Greek Islands!

[Mrs.Hippie3]

Lol I will try to be less cranky but I can't get any younger dammit.. lol... I do see how most adolescent boys could relate to the character and the analogy of capturing your youth everybody could relate to... in the poem it talks about children running through the rye and in the book he talks about catching the children when they come out of the rye before they go over the cliff into adulthood.. hence the title "catcher in the rye".. he wants to capture their youth.. so yea i can relate to that part.. who don't want to be young forever.. lol

[FLASHINGROOSTER]

Lol I will try to be less cranky but I can't get any younger dammit.. lol... I do see how most adolescent boys could relate to the character and the analogy of capturing your youth everybody could relate to... in the poem it talks about children running through the rye and in the book he talks about catching the children when they come out of the rye before they go over the cliff into adulthood.. hence the title "catcher in the rye".. he wants to capture their youth.. so yea i can relate to that part.. who don't want to be young forever.. lol

 

I always thought the metaphor was about him literally saving a misguided young man from going off the societal cliff. Growing up to become a criminal or degenerate of sorts.  I think the testosterone could have something to do with how this story is interpreted. Easier to associate when one was a young man full of angst and anger about the way the world worked. Disappointed and disenfranchised by his role in it all, forming a bleak outlook of his future

Edited by FLASHINGROOSTER, 04 June 2021 - 03:01 PM.

[Mrs.Hippie3]

Yea but there's no mention of him becoming a criminal so I guess that's assumed from his outlook on life? I just don't see how reading the book can make you into a criminal... I'm not gonna go commit any crimes because i read it.. anymore crimes than i already do anyway... lol.. I've read '50 shades of grey' too but I'm not a sexual sadist... well anymore than i was before anyway... lol.. point being I don't think a book, movie, video game or music should influence us to the point of committing crimes but society needs something to blame for this behavior instead of blaming the person themselves

[FLASHINGROOSTER]

Forgive me it has been a very long time and I barely remember the book. I think it had a somewhat ambiguous ending where one hoped that the protagonist turned out okay..

 

I agree though, no idea how reading that book would make you a criminal.

 

Must be some Psychologist at work on that one, or the weird censorship crowd making up nonsense to get it banned

 

Reminds me of how they tried to blame school shooters on Marylin Manson

[Mrs.Hippie3]

Ok I gotta bring this up again because I was reading trivia questions from the game trivial pursuit and came across this question...
What book did Mark David Chapman have when he shot John Lennon? Of course I figured it was Catcher in the Rye.. so it makes it sound like the book made him assassinate a member of the Beatles.. I'm really trying to understand why this book makes criminals.. I see no connection and think it's just a coincidence they have the book on them when they commit murder but society needs something to blame so let's blame a book. Like blaming a gun but worse because the book didn't do the actual killing like a gun.. I have read many books and not one of them gave me an urge to kill.. people have given me that urge but not a book.. lol

Edited by Mrs.Hippie3, 20 July 2021 - 09:56 AM.

[FLASHINGROOSTER]

And Marylin Manson caused that school shooting too remeber. Yeah always looking to art and media to take the blame