Checking my Facebook page, I came across a link to a posting on the Barnes & Noble blog Unabashedly Bookish. The writer notes that some students reading The Catcher in the Rye today say that the book's protagonist is just a whiny rich kid, who maybe should shut up and take his Prozac. The piece goes on to pose a question as to whether Holden Caulfield would be involved in social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter if he was a teenager today.
As Catcher is on Merrick Library's list of Ten Books to Read before You Die, we'd also like to know what you think about this question. Comments welcome.
That's a REALLY good question. Since I have to reach back pretty far in my memory bank with regard to Holden, I'm not sure I can come up with anything other than my gut reaction, which is that Holden would think most, if not all, of the people on Facebook & MySpace are phonies. I'll have to ask my Mart and Dan what they think.
ReplyDeleteMaureen, that's pretty much how I felt he would react, but if he was taking his Ritalin or Prozac maybe things would be different....
ReplyDeleteAnd there's no doubt but that Holden would have been on SOME drug.
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