The ending of the catcher in the rye

At the end of reading "The Catcher in the Rye," I thought that it was essentially a long story about nothing. We go through the motions of him running away and coming back to his family; however, in my opinion, there didn't really seem like there was a significant climax and therefore plotline. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the story overall. I liked listening to his views on the boys at his school and how his dates went. I thought he could even be funny at times. However, throughout the reading, it felt like I was waiting for something to happen that just never did. 

When I got to the last page, I thought I had to be missing a chapter. "The Catcher in the Rye" is such a popular book that holds meaning for so many people I feel like I must be missing something. What is so special about it? We get no insight into how his dead brother truly affects him. I wish there was more of a backstory that helps us understand more about why he is the way that he is. Are we supposed to infer all of this? I'm still not convinced I've read the whole book at this point. It just ends. Why? Based off of the course of the story, Holden rants about literally everything and everyone he comes into contact with. I'm just confused on why stop where he did or start where he began for that matter. Overall, I just don't get the hype of this story.

Comments

  1. Aryan LalwaniFebruary 15, 2021 at 10:05 AM

    Interesting post! I agree that Holden's coming of age narrative feel unfinished, and I think that part of that sentiment comes from Holden not growing much as a character. At the beginning of the book he was a social outcast who was failing classes and had no concrete outlook on life, and all of that pretty much holds true at the end of the book.

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  2. Eric RothFebruary 15, 2021 at 11:36 AM

    I would also agree that I felt that catcher in the rye felt unfinished. It didn't follow the traditional exposition->rising action->climax->falling action->resolution. However, I wouldn't say the story is "pointless." I think the story is all about the little moments of Holden's life and how they illuminate his worldview, like his view of phoniness. I also think it's meant to be relatable, and most people don't have a exposition->rising action->climax->falling action->resolution in their own life stories, it just kind of happens. Despite this though, I still agree it was a story about "nothing," because the plot kind of leads nowhere.

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  3. EssraaFebruary 18, 2021 at 10:09 AM

    The ending did definitely leave the story incomplete to a degree, but who really knows what happens beyond the book and if Holden starts to grow from there? We may never know but it could've been done on purpose to leave room for questions about Holden's coming of age like this. Either way, the book did feel unresolved and we won't know the intention of that ending.

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  4. MitchellFebruary 18, 2021 at 1:12 PM

    It's interesting what we consider as plot-worthy "stuff happening" in a novel. If something like this had happened to any of you--if you were kicked out of a boarding school (for like the third time in as many years) and you decided to ditch early, go to the city, and live on your own for three days before returning home, you'd probably consider this a story worth sharing with your friends! In fact, quite a LOT happens to Holden over these few days, and over this short time-frame we see him start to unravel psychologically--he's much less confident and seemingly stable at the end.

    But I see what you're saying: there's only so much character development that can take place over the course of three-four days, and we might find it unrealistic if Holden were to transform completely by the end. If we look closely, there are lots of ways to read the final scenes (with Phoebe at the carousel, etc,) as representing a significant change in perspective on Holden's part--but Salinger won't let that sit still as a "happy ending," because he has to be realistic about Holden admitting he really doesn't know whether he'll "apply himself" or not. I might not LIKE the fact that a teenager takes such an attitude, but I have to admit that it's honest and reveals a degree of self-knowledge on Holden's part.

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  5. LaraFebruary 19, 2021 at 5:20 PM

    I agree with you that the ending felt abrupt and out of place. It's quite disappointing to me how we never got a resolution with Allie, like you mentioned. I feel like I would be fine to imagine the rest of his coming-of-age without it being included in the book, but not seeing how Holden comes to terms with his brother's death bothers me. I'm rooting for Holden to become a better person and I think seeing him knowledge this part of his sadness would have cemented the idea that Holden was going to get better for me. I guess I have to try and be content with imagining that he eventually is able to process his grief in a healthy way.

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  6. Literature with LexyFebruary 21, 2021 at 7:21 PM

    The ending was definitely not typical for a coming of age novel, since there was no huge transformation. There was more of a slow change, which started to happen at the carousel with Phoebe. This scene felt hopeful to me. And since there was no extreme transformation or typical happy ending, this felt more realistic to me. But I agree that it felt like it was missing something, and I wish we could have gotten more insight into how his life will be when he starts at his new school.

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  7. Raneem SaadahMarch 10, 2021 at 8:07 PM

    I agree that I still feel like there's a missing part to the book. Most of the books we read have a clear plot and theme and at the end there's usually a lesson we learn through the character. I didn't feel like Holden really learned much because he didn't really change throughout the novel.

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  8. CadiMarch 13, 2021 at 1:48 PM

    I definitely agree that this book didn't seem to have much substance to it. Although a lot of stuff happened over the course of it, most of the events didn't seem to actually hold much meaning. While I was reading the book, I kept waiting for something more significant to happen that would really trigger Holden's coming of age, but nothing really came. Looking back on the events of the book, however, there is a subtle and more optimistic shift in Holden's attitude that could result in a more significant coming of age, depending on what Holden does with it. The book kind of seems to chronicle the events that lead up to Holden's possible more concrete coming of age without actually going into the specifics of how he changed.

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  9. Lauren L.March 18, 2021 at 4:19 PM

    In some essence, the ending could be a climax point, not in the usual respect where some big event comes to a close or resolution but because Holden is truly happy for the first time, something we never saw throughout the book. The whole time he's been searching for something that will fill the hole in his heart and that moment with Phoebe is what really brings that search to a close for him, even if temporarily. I guess it's safe to assume that he's going to make some changes in he lives his life after that experience.

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  10. JakeMarch 21, 2021 at 8:31 AM

    It's true, the book didn't seem to have a whole lot of actual substance, but I think that might make it a more interesting read. People don't always change so fast and maybe that's something that others can connect with. Holden was looking for something that would fill him, but I don't think that he was really looking to change. The book ending like it did really leaves it up to the reader to decide if he ever did (even if it is disappointing).

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