Sad? Happy? Bittersweet? I'm not exactly sure, but our time with old Holden is drawing to a close. Most of us are probably very relieved, but I have to admit, I wish we had a little more time with him. Some people think he gets more annoying the more you read, but I'd like to see what happens next. He finally seemed to be understanding things a little more and calming down. I wonder if he kept that up. Salinger must have wanted the reader to create their own ending for Holden, but I'm guessing he had a general idea of what happens next that he wanted to leave the reader with.
For whatever reason, I think Holden's life ends happily. I feel quite certain that he has lots of problems in his time on earth, but we all have those. His life was never worse than an average person, he just dealt with things differently. I think now he knows that he'll be OK and that knowledge will allow him to muddle through and probably even succeed. He always had potential, and I think he knew that, but he kind of suppressed it because he was unsure about the future. Eventually I think he realized that he defines his own future, so he doesn't really need to worry about it. When you stop worrying, you free yourself, in a way, to thrive in life.
So my question for you all is, what do you think would happen next? Doom and gloom? Or happily ever after?
I have to say, I completely agree with your idea that Salinger wants people to interpret his future differently. He leaves so many open-ended questions that you'd think he'd be the J.J Abrams(writer of LOST) or something. I also agree that Holden knows he has some potential for a bright future, particularly in writing like his brother; however, I don't believe he suppressed his potential because he was unsure about his future. I think that he stopped himself from trying because of his fear of the future. He seems drawn to the past, and can't seem himself progressing in one where he doesn't stay the same. Hence his willingness to be immature.
ReplyDelete"Some people think he gets more annoying the more you read, but I'd like to see what happens next." I completely agree. I don't think that Holden's annoying, I think that Holden is us, which might be why we're so bothered him. We, meaning teenagers, are all complainers and whiners. It's about time we admit it. But in terms of what will happen next, I think that there is no definite answer. I can say that I want him to grow up and find sollace with himself, but I'm not sure that can happen for Holden, but when I say that am I saying I don't think that that can happen for any of us? So I think that Holden just needs to grow up, and at some point in his life, I think something will force him to.
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