Scent of a Woman and Dead Poet Society are highly successful coming-of-age stories about prep school boys wrestling with how to become a man. The Summer of '42 covers the same topic with different characters and settings. These are all successful films, but none as endearing and enduring as The Catcher in the Rye and Ordinary People, both based on novels about a sixteen-year-old boy in crisis from witnessing the death of their brothers. The stories closely parallel each other, the main distinction that CITR is urban and OP takes place in the suburbs. Why does one sell millions more? Why did Ordinary People get made into an award winning feature film while The Catcher in the Rye has been left at the Hollywood alter for half a century?
The protagonists in The Catcher in the Rye and Ordinary People are the same age and have severe behavior problems and trouble at school. Both ended up in the care of a mental health professional. Conrad attempted suicide whereas Holden only contemplated it. Both boys were from intact upper middle class families. Both were well above average in intelligence. Neither felt they could talk to their parents about their problem and both sought sympathy and understanding outside family, including the company of female peer companions and emphasize the redemptive power of love.
Conrad is an updated suburban version of Holden.
OP is in some ways a more sophisticated and more complete treatment of the trials of a troubled teenage transition. It is a 360-degree view of Conrad that includes his family and extended family, his school friends, a fellow inmate from the mental hospital, his swim coach and his therapist. Salinger on the other hand, tortures us with three suffocating days inside the mind of the rude, confused, conflicted, sarcastic, arrogant and ultimately compassionate Holden, a torture to which many of us willingly and gratefully submit but are grateful to escape at the story's conclusion.
Some of us enjoy the intimacy of that ride. How many of us could withstand public scrutiny of our innermost thoughts (fears, anxieties, prejudices, sexual urges, the works) as Salinger so effectively accomplished with Holden? Of course much of it isn't going to be pretty; we self-censor our dark and whiny thoughts. In OP Conrad's troubled thoughts are hidden and his therapist has to probe them out. But because we're in Holden's head we can't avoid them. CATCHER is satisfying because it does in first-person what third-person cannot--gives us an uncensored version of the protagonist. Moment by moment.
OP is a more reserved presentation of Jarrett but satisfies because it does strike out in all directions, showing how Conrad's problems affect the lives of those around him and how these people are affecting him, good and bad. The story feels fuller, more complete.
So, OP is a more complete story but CATCHER sells millions more. Can the writing be that much better? Do so many more people care about the East Coast urban life than life in the Midwestern suburbs?
Or is it because academia is so taken with CATCHER? Teachers know that short books appeal to grade schoolers. There's a greater chance they'll actually read them instead of swallowing the Cliff Notes digest.
The protagonists in The Catcher in the Rye and Ordinary People are the same age and have severe behavior problems and trouble at school. Both ended up in the care of a mental health professional. Conrad attempted suicide whereas Holden only contemplated it. Both boys were from intact upper middle class families. Both were well above average in intelligence. Neither felt they could talk to their parents about their problem and both sought sympathy and understanding outside family, including the company of female peer companions and emphasize the redemptive power of love.
Conrad is an updated suburban version of Holden.
OP is in some ways a more sophisticated and more complete treatment of the trials of a troubled teenage transition. It is a 360-degree view of Conrad that includes his family and extended family, his school friends, a fellow inmate from the mental hospital, his swim coach and his therapist. Salinger on the other hand, tortures us with three suffocating days inside the mind of the rude, confused, conflicted, sarcastic, arrogant and ultimately compassionate Holden, a torture to which many of us willingly and gratefully submit but are grateful to escape at the story's conclusion.
Some of us enjoy the intimacy of that ride. How many of us could withstand public scrutiny of our innermost thoughts (fears, anxieties, prejudices, sexual urges, the works) as Salinger so effectively accomplished with Holden? Of course much of it isn't going to be pretty; we self-censor our dark and whiny thoughts. In OP Conrad's troubled thoughts are hidden and his therapist has to probe them out. But because we're in Holden's head we can't avoid them. CATCHER is satisfying because it does in first-person what third-person cannot--gives us an uncensored version of the protagonist. Moment by moment.
OP is a more reserved presentation of Jarrett but satisfies because it does strike out in all directions, showing how Conrad's problems affect the lives of those around him and how these people are affecting him, good and bad. The story feels fuller, more complete.
So, OP is a more complete story but CATCHER sells millions more. Can the writing be that much better? Do so many more people care about the East Coast urban life than life in the Midwestern suburbs?
Or is it because academia is so taken with CATCHER? Teachers know that short books appeal to grade schoolers. There's a greater chance they'll actually read them instead of swallowing the Cliff Notes digest.
Or could it be that the award-winning movie of OP has stolen the book's thunder? "Why buy the book if you can see the film," potential readers say? No film version of CATCHER has been made nor will there be if Salinger's wishes are honored.
If I were a teacher I would assign CATCHER and give extra credit for watching the film version of OP and comparing them. More credit if Stand by Me, The Summer of '42, and Scent of a Woman are included.
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