J.D. Salinger is of course noteworthy in this space because The Catcher in the Rye ranks as one of the great boarding school books of all time.

Salinger’s protagonist, Holden Caufield, presents a mid-twentieth century picture of teenage angst and cynicism.

Often taught as Holden losing innocence and becoming disillusioned, I find the book much more sad. It’s the chronicling of Holden going through what we colloquially call a “nervous breakdown” and heading toward institutionalization through his refusal to leave childhood, or, bluntly, grow-up. Holden’s inability for complexity and nuance seem static from the book’s opening to its end.

In the words of my old headmaster, Holden “defines the world in terms of himself” from beginning to end.

The Catcher in the Rye became a boarding school staple because Holden is expelled from his boarding school, “Pency Prep,” spending three days wandering New York City on his way home after getting kicked out.

At some point, every high school student sheds their rigid definitions and begins to see the world in shades of grey. Holden’s mental illness keeps him from seeing in grey scale. Instead, Holden persists in seeing, and defining, the words and deeds of others only in his version of clearly delineated black and white. An absolute world view is difficult for anyone to hold. An absolute world paired with Caufield’s inability to empathize with anyone presents a symptom of his mental illness.

I taught the book for several years. With some work, my students gained some insight and empathy into what was happing. But, I have to say, I quit teaching Catcher. It became dated.

Modern students arrived to class with greater and wider experiences than Holden and many students brought at least a rudimentary understanding of modern student mental health to their readings. Period terms and slang no longer resonated with students. The book’s appeal skewed far too much toward boys over girls. And, some of the novel’s imagery/symbolism seems downright hokey.

Criticism aside, The Catcher in the Rye continues worthy because it presents an adolescent failure of empathy to an adolescent audience. As I’ve made the case through the years in presentations to both faculty and students, one of the primary reasons our students are in school with us is to learn empathy. Failures of empathy produce frightening results.

I’m off to pull my copy from the shelf. It’s been there a while.

Photo credit: quiltingmick / michelle