Even though we are SO far into The Bell Jar, Catcher is still on my mind. I love Catcher in the Rye a lot. It's probably one of the best books I've read in a really long time. I felt a strong connection with this book, because I feel like I can relate to Holden in a way. The thing that stuck me the most about Holden was his relationship with Allie. It was super hard for Holden to let Allie go, and I know how he feels.
About a year and a half ago my aunt Jane passed away. She was my favorite person and I miss her every single day. She had a brain tumor and she went pretty quickly, by the end I guess it was for the better. But sometimes I still ask myself why it had to be her. She was such a giving person, always volunteering and giving her time to help others, her and my uncle never fought once throughout their entire marriage, and she loved her job and her friends and family so much. She had a great life and so I sometimes wonder why it had to be taken away so soon. I feel like Holden has these thoughts as well which is why I liked his character so much.
I'm not saying that I spiraled into depression like Holden did, but I felt a lot of sorrow for a very long time. I understand what he is going through and I have also seen the same thing happen to others. This is why I feel like I can relate to Holden. His feelings struck a chord within me. I have a new emotional connection to this book and I am so happy that we got to read it for this class.
I'm sorry about your aunt, but I'm happy to hear that you have a positive outlook on it. I really agree with you that "Catcher" is a difficult book to move on from. I'm glad that we read "The Bell Jar" and I definitely connected with Esther, but it wasn't the same as how I felt towards Holden. I'm having trouble pinpointing all the reasons for this, but I felt such a deep connection with Holden and I remember on multiple occasions telling whoever was nearest to me while I was reading it that Holden and I are literally the same person. After having such a great time reading about his story, seeing him develop, and feeling happiness when he decided to get help for his depression, it will probably be difficult to feel satisfied by any novel, but I'm not sure that is really a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree! And I'm so glad we read this book for class because I almost surely wouldn't have read it otherwise. I mean... I've had the book for a while but was under some false assumption that it would be boring and irrelevant to my life because it was written so long ago, but I actually related to Holden a lot more than I expected. I felt a deep connection with him as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree. For some reason, Holden and "Catcher" is still something I find myself randomly thinking about. I don't know if it was the voice, which I found very entertaining, or maybe the subject, but either way, Catcher quickly became one of the best books I've read for a school class. Although I may not have been able to connect to Holden in the same level you were able to, I still feel that sympathhy and understanding.
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