HOW SALINGER AND HEMINGWAY ARE ELITISTS. Mary McCarthy, in her essay “J.D. Salinger’s Closed Circuit,” pointed out: “Like Hemingway, Salinger sees the world in terms of allies and enemies … ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ … is based on a scheme of exclusiveness. The characters are divided into those who belong to the club and those who don’t.” ( I found the quote in this article).
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Whenever the topic comes up, I point out that I don’t think CATCHER IN THE RYE is that good. They respond, “You should have read that in your adolescence.” But I read it when I was 14 and even then it seemed juvenile, unrealistic, frustrating, and pointless.
Nick’s reaction is typical for his generation. It reflects how different the opportunities and experiences of young people are today from those of the 40s and 50s when Philip and I were growing up. But I must admit that the book already seemed unrealistic to me when I read it in the mid-fifties.
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