J.D. Salinger, author of the widely celebrated novel, “Catcher In The Rye,” died in his home in N.H. on Wednesday.
Salinger died of natural causes, said his literary representative, Harold Ober Associates, according to an article by the New York Times.
Salinger was an author known for his insightful novels, as well as his reclusiveness as an author. In a rare interview published in the Boston Globe in 1980, Salinger explained his views.
“I love to write and I assure you, I write regularly,” Salinger said. “But I write for myself and I want to be left absolutely alone to do it.”
His body of work includes “Catcher in the Rye,” “Nine Stories,” “Franny and Zooey” and “Raise High the Roof Beam” and “Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.”
Salinger is known for his frequent use of adolescents as the protagonists in his novels. In a note he gave to Harper’s Magazine in 1946, he said he almost always writes about very young people. “Catcher in the Rye” fits this description, and centers on the aloof college-age protagonist Holden Caulfield. The novel focuses on isolation and alienation as Caulfield spends three nights alone in New York City.
Sagarika Sinha, a 19-year-old sophomore MCD biology major, explained Salinger’s influence over today’s youth.
“Salinger is a huge influence, especially among college students,” Sinha said. “You can’t even count the number of people who have ‘Catcher in the Rye’ listed as their favorite book on Facebook now.”
When it was published, “Catcher in the Rye” fell under scrutiny for its heavy use of language and depictions of sexuality. In 1981, it was the most frequently censored novel in the United States, as well as the second most taught according to Sylvia Andrychuk’s “A History of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in The Rye.”
However, the novel has now been rated by Time as one of the top 100 English-language novels from 1923 to the present, according to the Time Web site.
Due to its cultural significance and popularity, “Catcher in the Rye” has become widely used as a pop culture reference.
For example, in Steven King’s “The Shining,” the character Wendy is seen reading the novel according to the Filmsite Web site. This creates a connection between Salinger’s Caulfield and and King’s Jack Torrance.
Even a band as popular as the Jonas Brother made a reference to Salinger in the song “6 Minutes” which contains the line “Sometimes I feel like the catcher in the rye/Sometimes I wish that I could catch her eye” according to the Lyrics Mania Web site.
Stuart Kilgore, a 20-year-old sophomore at Front Range, said that “Catcher in the Rye” was never one of his favorites.
“It was required reading in high school and I didn’t really like it,” Kilgore said. “It was an interesting read but not something that stuck with me in the long run.”
Faria Noureen Ahmed, a 19-year-old sophomore MCD biology major said she plans to read Salinger as soon as she finds the time.
“I’ve never actually read any of his novels, but all my friends rave about him. I feel out of the loop.” Ahmed said. “‘Catcher in the Rye’ is high up on my to-read list.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Lindsay Mullineaux at Lindsay.mullineaux@colorado.edu.
