Book review 1st draft

Okay so the book I’m reading is The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I’m not that far into it, so I haven’t gotten to the “good parts” yet. But from what I’ve read, I know it’s about this teenager named Holden Caulfield. He’s basically the kind of guy who slacks in school. He never does any work. As a result, he got kicked out of four schools and just recently from the one he was in. No one understands him. His teachers tried cooperating with him, but he just isn’t committed to school. In his head, he’s still a child. He doesn’t realize that he has responsibilities and expectations. He either isn’t aware or simply doesn’t care. Maybe he’s gone through some stuff. Maybe something happened that affected his view of life. I don’t think he was always like this. His eleven year old brother did die when he was thirteen, maybe that could’ve been a reason. That could really affect someone, especially since they were really close friends. Or maybe it could be things that happen in school. For example, he was talking to his old history teacher a couple weeks after he got kicked out of school. His teacher said,

“’Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.’
‘Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it.’
Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it's a game, all right - I'll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren't any hot-shots, then what's a game about it? Nothing. No game.”

I’m not so sure what this means, but take a stab at it. Maybe it means that if you’re a hot-shot, or a popular kid everyone knew and liked, then life could be fun. Like a game. But if you don’t fall in to that category, then life is all dull and lonely. There is no game. The people who do know him, know him from the negative things he does, or the negative ways he acts. Nobody ever notices the nice things about him. That’s what he said, “people never notice anything.”

                                                                                                     

So I have not exactly finished reading the book, but I am almost done. There is so many new things I noticed about the main character, Holden Caulfield, and the author, J.D. Salinger. First of all, I noticed how Holden uses the same words over and over and over and over and over and over and over throughout the story. For example, he says “I really did”, “I really do”, “I really don’t”, and “I really didn’t” quite a lot. Here is a quote from the book, “I didn't mind the idea so much, but I didn't feel like being lectured to and smell Vicks Nose Drops and look at old Spencer in his pajamas and bathrobe all at the same time. I really didn't”

Yea so I think he says that way too much. But in a way I think it is a good thing. I mean, his voice is distinctive from others, so I always know it is him talking, even though he is the narrator.

Also there is a pattern in the book. I notice Holden talks about being depressed, A LOT. I’m not sure why, but here are a few quotes I found:

"Boy I felt miserable. I felt so depressed, you can't imagine. What I did, I started talking, sort of out loud, to Allie. I do that sometimes when I get very depressed." (Allie is his brother that died of leukemia)

"I never seem to have anything that if I lost it I'd care too much. Maybe that's why I'm partly yellow. The more I thought about my gloves and my yellowness, the more depressed I got."

"I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead"

"Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends making me sad"

Yeah….as you can see he is depressed most of the time. He thinks about killing himself at one point but I cant find the page where he said that. Anyways, what is up with this!? I just don’t get why he’s so sad all the time.  Something is definitely going on.