If you somehow escaped high school without reading J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye," this post may show off the always quirky, somewhat questionable, and oh-so-quotable protagonist that made this 1951 coming-of-age tale so popular: 17-year-old Holden Caulfield. From the painfully relatable perspective of Holden, readers come to understand the harsh, horrible, and downright hilarious universal truths that make life the strange and incredible ride it is. Right or wrong, love it or hate it, here are nine examples from Salinger's work of Holden Caulfield just #nailing this whole "life" thing:
1. “If you do something too good, then, after a while, if you don't watch it, you start showing off. And then you're not as good any more.”
Can I get an amen? Who hasn't found themselves in a position that started as a good deed and ended as a way of making us look good, feel better about ourselves, or seem more impressive on a resume? Doing good for the sake of doing good means so much more than doing it for recognition or popularity.
2. And another one:
What's that saying? Some days you're the bug, some days you're the windshield. If you've never been called a moron (and maybe kinda sorta in the moment deserved it), you aren't putting yourself out there enough...that's what life is all about! The difference between being a moron and behaving like a moron is all in your reaction.
4. “If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn't rub out even half the "F*** you" signs in the world. It's impossible.”
Holden's realism is refreshing at times, but dang...what a glass-half-empty way of living. While he's right about this - there will always be more fights to fight in the world - what we do every day to rub out the "f*** you" signs when we can still makes our corner of the world a better place. And that counts for something.
5. This:
6. “It's really too bad that so much crumby stuff is a lot of fun sometimes.”
Sometimes we do mean stuff for laughs. This is bad and we should try not to do that so much. 'Nough said.
7. “If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if she's late?”
Take notes, fellas. Holden gets it. And we love him for it.
8. Not to mention this one:
If only, if only. Maybe Holden is an optimist, after all.
9. “Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody.”
If there's one thing we can all learn from Holden's unique approach to life, it's to take note of when we're being shitty to one another. Hold open some doors, smile at some people, and quit worrying about whether your roommate has better suitcases than you. Oh, and read some books. Like maybe this one. Life is short, and people are petty. But we don't have to be all the time.
Thanks for lessons, Holden. And if you haven't experienced this classic character and his story, get reading, friends!
