A Japanese "Catcher in the Rye?"
Another perspective on J.D. Salinger's novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” (Penguin Books: London, 1951). By Stephen Wilson.
“That is the whole trouble. You can't even find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you are not looking somebody'll will sneak up and write 'Fxxk you' right under your nose. Try it some time. I think, even if I ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and I have a tombstone and all, it'll say 'Holden Caulfield' on it, and then what year I was born and what year I died, and then right under that it'll say 'Fxxk you.' I am positive in fact” {“The Catcher in the Rye,” pages 219 -220} laments the main hero Holden who feels absolutely alienated and at odds with a society he can't fit into. The troubled and traumatized teenager feels an unbridgeable gap between himself and society.
Salinger's novel “The Catcher in the Rye” remains the quintessential novel about the angst, alienation and loss of young people who feel like outsiders. They feel adrift and disorientated without a clear idea of what to do with their lives. The novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” with pathos, humor and sharp wit tells the story of the odyssey of the luckless Holden Caulfield who continuously gets expelled from one school after another while encountering a wide number of odd characters such as his fellow students, teachers, nuns, and pimps. He feels an implacable opposition to a society he regards as 'phony' and soulless. He finds the education system is designed to humiliate and denigrate pupils. He also experiences a short spell of homelessness.
WHAT MAKES “THE CATCHER IN THE RYE” A GREAT READ ?
I have always been enchanted by this novel. What I find appealing is the well-written dramatic dialogue, the detailed descriptions of characters and the ironic humor of Holden whose extreme judgments seem over the top. I like the raw honesty of this novel and the unashamed use of the language. But I also believe that this novel captures some of the deep emotions felt by the victims of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome caused by stressors of war. However, I am not the only one impressed by this book.
My wife Svetlana Wilson told me "This novel made a profound impression on me." The Russian English teacher Oksana Chebotareva stated, “I think Holden's heart is in the right place and he really wants to help people and he can relate well to kind nuns." Her daughter Natasha disagrees and thinks the character “has too negative a view of things." What I also like about this novel is you really feel that you are experiencing the adventures of this hero or have entered into his psyche. Few novels achieve this impact. I only felt this when I was reading novels such as Alexander Trocchi's novel “Young Adam” {2003} on an aimless drifter… or James Kelman's “A Disaffection, {1989} about a disillusioned Scots teacher.
POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS SYNDROME
The novel can be understood on many levels but there is little doubt that it partly, if not wholly, mirrors the Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome experienced by World War Two Veterans. The signs are reflected in Holden himself. He can't seem to concentrate on many things, over reacts to some situations, can't find complete peace of mind, feels survivor guilt about not being able to prevent the death of a fellow pupil who was bullied, and harbors a wish to withdraw into “splendid isolation” from society.
We now know that the author himself intensely suffered from this condition {a condition where people can be deeply traumatized by terrible events which leave indelible scars on their minds where they experience repeated flashbacks in dreams, overreact to people or things which bring back painful memories and feel survivor guilt and alienation from people who can't or won't understand their experiences}. It is worth saying that many people can experience this condition for fifty years or more. Some war veterans don't ever recover from it.
Salinger himself was a soldier who fought during D-Day, and in the Battle of the Bulge. Most of his comrades were killed in combat. One soldier said of a battle which Salinger had taken part in that "After 5 days you talk to the trees and on the sixth you start yelling back." Salinger himself told his daughter that "You could live a lifetime and never really get the smell of burning flesh out of your nose." He was later suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized in 1945 in Nuremberg, Germany.
HOMELESS WAR VETERANS
It is worth pointing out that many of the homeless are war veterans. In fact, as many as 10% of the homeless are reckoned to be war veterans in America. Many are not getting the assistance or aid they are entitled to. And contrary to the widespread prevailing view that discharged soldiers have an advantage in the job market, many companies are reluctant to employ them because they doubt they will be able to settle down in their new jobs. Many of the war veterans are left alone to struggle in the streets with an indescribable pain which very few can begin to imagine.
A war veteran such as Alex Miller {who is currently a writer} tells how so many veterans are unaware of the benefits available to them. The big number of benefits is apparently a well-kept secret! And even if the war veterans do discover those benefits, it is very difficult to navigate through all the dense red tape. {See the article by Alex Miller of 11.10.21 which was first published by Newsweek titled “37,000 U.S. Veterans are Homeless, I Was One Them” which is readily available on the internet}
HOLDEN GOT IT RIGHT !
Holden is not a rebel without a cause. Far from it! For Holden tells his sister that he wants to become a “Catcher in the Rye.” He has become inspired by misquoting a song by Robert Burns. He says, “You know that song 'If a body catch a body coming through the rye' when in fact the line is actually 'If a body , meet a body coming through the rye.'” He says he wants to stand near the edge of a cliff and save children jumping over it so they don't die. Holden tells his sister “I know it's crazy, but that is the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy” {page 186}. Perhaps some readers might agree. But Holden was being hard on himself. This is not a crazy idea.
In fact, there is actually a real catcher in the rye who lives in Japan. An ex- police officer Yukio Shige regularly patrols a cliff where he attempts to persuade people not to commit suicide by jumping over a notorious cliff in Tojinbo, Japan. Shige, known as the Chotte Matte man {Japanese for “Hold on, wait”}, and his volunteers have saved the lives of over 600 people. Shige was shocked at not only people committing suicide but the callous attitude of many officials who didn't seem to care. He set out to change all this by intensely studying the causes of suicide and doing what he could in a concrete way to save people. However, this is not easy work.
While he managed to persuade an elderly couple who had fallen into debt not to kill themselves by jumping over the cliff they still took their lives five days later.
Shige noticed suicide shot up dramatically whenever there were mass job losses. For example, during the financial crisis of 2007 to 2008 the rate of suicide soared! But Shige's example vindicates a spark of idealism still lurking within Holden.
So Holden was not deluded. In a word, Holden had the right idea. Trying to prevent people from jumping off a cliff is far from being a crazy idea! For Shige shows that in many cases, suicide is preventable. People contemplating suicide often need just someone to lend a sympathetic ear. An appropriate and timely intervention can make a difference!
We need more catchers in the rye!