cordeliaistheone reblogged
newblogisjacindaelena
by Allegra
Source: englishsnow
cordeliaistheone reblogged
This is where – if you are the kind of person that thinks that books should be read with their authors in mind – it becomes relevant that JD Salinger saw more combat during World War II than almost any other American. The ‘Great American War Novels’ of that generation (Catch 22, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Naked and The Dead) were all written by men who saw far less of war’s horror than JD Salinger did. He was on Utah Beach on D-Day, at the Battle of the Bulge and he was one of the first Americans to enter a liberated concentration camp. And yet, Salinger returned home and wrote, not about war but, about Holden Caulfield bumming around New York City. So, you can say that the stakes aren’t high in this novel, but as Salinger well knew, the cruel and phony world of adults doesn’t just treat people like Holden Caulfield poorly, it kills them.
John Green, Crash Course (Literature)
(Relevant given the widening release of the documentary SALINGER)
cordeliaistheone reblogged
cordeliaistheone reblogged
robinsoncruesoes-deactivated201
The hunting hat, the movies, the carousel—that’s his way into us. That’s how he gets inside of us and makes us care, makes us believe in him, makes us realize that he is a person in the same way that we are. So ultimately Frank, that’s my answer to people who say that “all that English class stuff ruins books.” All that English stuff is Holden’s way into us, and our way out of ourselves.
John Green on Holden Caulfield and The Catcher in the Rye
#John Green#The Catcher in the Rye#J.D. Salinger#Nerd Fighters#i haven't watched the vlogbrothers in years as i got to stressed i couldn't catch up#i adore you though#this is perfect#i used to hate all the pointless analysis and want straight answers but now i get it#now i'm all about the analysis#education#schooling#analysis#english stuff#holden caulfield#perfection#humanity#life#escapism#understanding