"That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Post #6: THE CATCHER IN THE RYE Ending
The ending to THE CATCHER IN THE RYE did not seem as extreme as the chapters leading up to it. Did you expect the ending to be more intense, or did you like how it was? Why? What are we left with, as far as the deeper truths we've been after?
I think at the beginning I expected a much grander ending but towards the end of the novel, I realized that just wasn’t going to happen. I think we saw enough of Holden’s wild side that it was more likely, if we wanted deeper character development, that we were going to see a gentler side of Holden. I think the scenes when Holden is with Pheobe or when he talks about Allie are far more impactful on the reader than when Holden’s just going on about what he hates. I did like it at least from the standpoint that at least Holden didn’t do anything too crazy. He’s in a hospital but he’s going to a new school so whatever got him into the hospital must not have been too crazy. I would’ve like to see more of Holden’s character at the end (in the present). However, a novel must end at some point and so I can’t really be mad at that. And we saw him mature which I think is the main point of his story. Once he’s matured, we don't need to know the rest of his story. As for the deeper truths of this novel, there are three main truths. First, adulthood is inevitable. Second, death is unavoidable. And lastly, once you get off the carousel (mature) you only can watch as children do the same.
I liked the ending. We saw Holden finish a journey that he didn't even know he was on. He went from a an irresponsible, rude kid to a decent, mature person. I think the last line in the book is important. I believe it means that if you talk to people you will get connected, and if you get connected to someone than you will always miss them. This is important for Holden, because we see that he claims to not like people throughout the novel, but I think this line truly shows that he cares about people and misses them.
While I expected the ending to be more intense, I liked it because it was peaceful unlike the rest of the book. He was happy which didn't happen much throughout the book. We're left with the realization that no matter how hard we try, we can't escape adulthood and maturation. Children must be allowed to fall to learn and grow into who they need to be.
This honestly was not my favorite book. To me it never really felt like there was a climax, so it made it hard for me to read this book. I was kind of hopeful towards the end because i thought surely something exciting would happen, but i was disappointed. I wanted Holden to go crazy at the end, which sounds bad, but to me that's interesting. Overall the whole book was kind of mysterious to me because i don't really understand the point in it, and the ending just made me question it even more.
I expected the ending to be much more intense than it was. After I read it, I had to re-read it because I was unsatisfied with this ending. Upon reading these last two chapters a couple times, I can understand why Salinger ended it this way. Yet, I'm still curious as to why he found himself hospitalized. The main truth I got from the last line is that he misses the time when he didn't have these realizations that he has in chapter 25. Ignorance is bliss. He is saddened by the realization that there are terrible people in the world, and that not only can he not save everyone, but he shouldn't. He misses the times when he did separate the world into phonies and not phonies, because he wasn't matured.
I did expect the ending to be more extreme, however I did like the ending. It leaves the reader with a happy image of Holden and Phoebe. The reader gets the feeling that Holden has finally matured or is maturing at the time. Holden finally being happy and not complaining about something is a good way to end the novel.
I did not expect the ending to end quite like this, but I did expect this kind of deeper truth from Holden. I feel like in this ending, the deeper truth represents Holden's loneliness. Holden is plainly stating that telling anyone anything means that you are getting close to that person in some way. That vulnerability to someone will eventually lead to your separation from that person. It is a warning to the readers to not make similar mistakes that he did. He regrets getting close to anyone.
In my opinion, the last sentence and the entire last chapter do not contribute much to the meaning of the book. The true end of the book is when Holden watches Phoebe on the carousel and reaches the conclusion that he should let kids fall into the perils and unknowns of adulthood. The last chapter strikes me as more of an epilogue because of how it is not in the same time period as the rest of the novel. It takes place outside of the central 76 hour the frame of the book. Overall, I find the last chapter useless and distracting from the meaning of the book. I already do not like the book and the last chapter makes me like it less.
I didn’t really expect the ending to be more intense. I feel like the entire novel just told his day-to-day experiences and the time he wasted or of his past. This ending is kind of hopeful in a way. It makes you feel like he has finished telling his story and he does have the chance to move on or make something out of himself at his next school. I feel like Holden will grow up. He seems to be on the path of maturation, but it just has taken a long time for him to begin to truly grow up. The deeper truth that sticks out to me is that life is different for everyone. People take many different paths and experience different things, but ultimately everyone does eventually grow up. It can take longer for some people, like Holden, but I believe he will get there. I kind of understand the last two lines. I felt like I almost clicked with exactly what he was saying. Reminiscing on experiences or thinking about people from the past will make you miss parts of each person involved. I think he says this to end with a piece of advice about exactly what he has just done. He told all of us pretty much everything and is experiencing missing everybody.
I did expect the ending to be a little more intense, and I was kinda disappointed when I had finished the book. I had hoped for a family reunion and perhaps an explanation as to how Holden was admitted into the hospital. I think the last line is pretty interesting compared to the first as it shows has Holden has matured. In the beginning Holden says he doesn't want to tell us anything, however he's told us his story of maturity, but he still tells us not to tell anybody anything. Classic Holden.
I completely agree. It seemed slightly unfinished and I wished we had been given a better explanation as to some of the things we were told. However, I think I liked the subtleness of the ending since it was still quite shocking and revealing underneath suspicions. I think that I just expected more of an explanation, but from Holden I assume that there isn't much we can expect.
I expected it to be more intense but I liked the way it ended.I thought that we would see him like blow up on the inside and go crazy and get sent to a mental institution but I'm glad that didn't happen because in the end, he kinda like "found" himself. We're left with the idea that all of the struggles and hard times we go through as a child make us the person that we are once we reach adulthood. It shapes us. -kilby
The ending was something that I felt was left on a good note. I already read it before so I can't really say what I expected. The last lines of Holden was something that really hit home with me. When I read it the first time, I never saw him as someone I would want to hang out with on the daily but he's really a character.
I expected it to be more intense, like where Holden decided to do something that explained why he was in the mental hospital. It made me almost mad because I didn't know why he wouldn't he tell us anything and just said he got sick. I was expecting more drama and a better ending. The two lines we are left with are sort of basic and not really out-of-the-ordinary sentences, and only have a faint meaning. During the novel, Holden explains how misses his friends so it's understandable that it ends this way, and only means that if you talk about people, especially those you actually cared about, you miss them.
I thought this would be way more intriguing and exciting in the end. Instead, it feels cliche and unfinished. The very last chapter doesn't contribute much, and doesn't feel worthwhile. The advice to never tell people things is harmful, you NEED to talk to others about things to heal and better yourself. Pretty counter intuitive I guess
I liked the ending of the book a lot. Though it wasn't as extreme as I predicted it to be, I feel like it was done to prove a point, that maybe growing up isn't as drastic as it seems.
I actually liked the peaceful and mature ending after reading it again because it shows how Holden has finally come to terms with growing up. However, I wanted to know about what Holden did afterwards, and I was unsatisfied because he didn’t mention anything about that. Also, I do not really know what the ending sentence meant and I am confused about how it relates to the book.I feel like less was more in this novel's case.
I agree completely with the fact that the ending was mature. I quite liked it this way though because Holden isn't the very "mature" type, as we have seen throughout the novel. I was also unsatisfied with the lack of answers presented in the ending as well.
The ending of the Catcher in The Rye left on a more emotional note than I was expecting, to be frank. While Holden does appear to be dramatic in every way he can manage, I didn’t expect the novel to end the way it did. Him and Phoebe on that carousel, just like they did when they were kids. I believe this exposes a side of Holden we don’t see often - a major softy. He clearly loves his sister Phoebe, and when he tells us to not share our story because we’ll miss the people we’ve told it to, it makes me wonder what happened between him and Phoebe that we weren’t told. Did they get into a big fight? Will Holden ever see Phoebe again?
I definitely expected the ending to be more intense than what it was, but I feel like the way that it ended was actually a good touch to Holden's story. It gave us more insight to the fact that Holden really was mentally ill and the fact that we probably couldn't trust him as a narrator. It was a subtle way to go out, but at the same time it had a punch to it in the way that it told us he was mentally ill and had been for a while. I wonder if Holden was always this way, or if after Allie died if that's what contributed to his mental downfall? Another thing that I wonder is if everything from his past that we read contributed or even had an impact on his behavior and mental stability.
ReplyDeleteI think at the beginning I expected a much grander ending but towards the end of the novel, I realized that just wasn’t going to happen. I think we saw enough of Holden’s wild side that it was more likely, if we wanted deeper character development, that we were going to see a gentler side of Holden. I think the scenes when Holden is with Pheobe or when he talks about Allie are far more impactful on the reader than when Holden’s just going on about what he hates. I did like it at least from the standpoint that at least Holden didn’t do anything too crazy. He’s in a hospital but he’s going to a new school so whatever got him into the hospital must not have been too crazy. I would’ve like to see more of Holden’s character at the end (in the present). However, a novel must end at some point and so I can’t really be mad at that. And we saw him mature which I think is the main point of his story. Once he’s matured, we don't need to know the rest of his story. As for the deeper truths of this novel, there are three main truths. First, adulthood is inevitable. Second, death is unavoidable. And lastly, once you get off the carousel (mature) you only can watch as children do the same.
I liked the ending. We saw Holden finish a journey that he didn't even know he was on. He went from a an irresponsible, rude kid to a decent, mature person. I think the last line in the book is important. I believe it means that if you talk to people you will get connected, and if you get connected to someone than you will always miss them. This is important for Holden, because we see that he claims to not like people throughout the novel, but I think this line truly shows that he cares about people and misses them.
ReplyDeleteWhile I expected the ending to be more intense, I liked it because it was peaceful unlike the rest of the book. He was happy which didn't happen much throughout the book. We're left with the realization that no matter how hard we try, we can't escape adulthood and maturation. Children must be allowed to fall to learn and grow into who they need to be.
ReplyDeleteThis honestly was not my favorite book. To me it never really felt like there was a climax, so it made it hard for me to read this book. I was kind of hopeful towards the end because i thought surely something exciting would happen, but i was disappointed. I wanted Holden to go crazy at the end, which sounds bad, but to me that's interesting. Overall the whole book was kind of mysterious to me because i don't really understand the point in it, and the ending just made me question it even more.
ReplyDelete-Maggie
DeleteI expected the ending to be much more intense than it was. After I read it, I had to re-read it because I was unsatisfied with this ending. Upon reading these last two chapters a couple times, I can understand why Salinger ended it this way. Yet, I'm still curious as to why he found himself hospitalized. The main truth I got from the last line is that he misses the time when he didn't have these realizations that he has in chapter 25. Ignorance is bliss. He is saddened by the realization that there are terrible people in the world, and that not only can he not save everyone, but he shouldn't. He misses the times when he did separate the world into phonies and not phonies, because he wasn't matured.
ReplyDeleteI did expect the ending to be more extreme, however I did like the ending. It leaves the reader with a happy image of Holden and Phoebe. The reader gets the feeling that Holden has finally matured or is maturing at the time. Holden finally being happy and not complaining about something is a good way to end the novel.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI did not expect the ending to end quite like this, but I did expect this kind of deeper truth from Holden. I feel like in this ending, the deeper truth represents Holden's loneliness. Holden is plainly stating that telling anyone anything means that you are getting close to that person in some way. That vulnerability to someone will eventually lead to your separation from that person. It is a warning to the readers to not make similar mistakes that he did. He regrets getting close to anyone.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the last sentence and the entire last chapter do not contribute much to the meaning of the book. The true end of the book is when Holden watches Phoebe on the carousel and reaches the conclusion that he should let kids fall into the perils and unknowns of adulthood. The last chapter strikes me as more of an epilogue because of how it is not in the same time period as the rest of the novel. It takes place outside of the central 76 hour the frame of the book. Overall, I find the last chapter useless and distracting from the meaning of the book. I already do not like the book and the last chapter makes me like it less.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t really expect the ending to be more intense. I feel like the entire novel just told his day-to-day experiences and the time he wasted or of his past. This ending is kind of hopeful in a way. It makes you feel like he has finished telling his story and he does have the chance to move on or make something out of himself at his next school. I feel like Holden will grow up. He seems to be on the path of maturation, but it just has taken a long time for him to begin to truly grow up. The deeper truth that sticks out to me is that life is different for everyone. People take many different paths and experience different things, but ultimately everyone does eventually grow up. It can take longer for some people, like Holden, but I believe he will get there. I kind of understand the last two lines. I felt like I almost clicked with exactly what he was saying. Reminiscing on experiences or thinking about people from the past will make you miss parts of each person involved. I think he says this to end with a piece of advice about exactly what he has just done. He told all of us pretty much everything and is experiencing missing everybody.
ReplyDeleteI did expect the ending to be a little more intense, and I was kinda disappointed when I had finished the book. I had hoped for a family reunion and perhaps an explanation as to how Holden was admitted into the hospital. I think the last line is pretty interesting compared to the first as it shows has Holden has matured. In the beginning Holden says he doesn't want to tell us anything, however he's told us his story of maturity, but he still tells us not to tell anybody anything. Classic Holden.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. It seemed slightly unfinished and I wished we had been given a better explanation as to some of the things we were told. However, I think I liked the subtleness of the ending since it was still quite shocking and revealing underneath suspicions. I think that I just expected more of an explanation, but from Holden I assume that there isn't much we can expect.
DeleteI expected it to be more intense but I liked the way it ended.I thought that we would see him like blow up on the inside and go crazy and get sent to a mental institution but I'm glad that didn't happen because in the end, he kinda like "found" himself. We're left with the idea that all of the struggles and hard times we go through as a child make us the person that we are once we reach adulthood. It shapes us. -kilby
ReplyDeleteThe ending was something that I felt was left on a good note. I already read it before so I can't really say what I expected. The last lines of Holden was something that really hit home with me. When I read it the first time, I never saw him as someone I would want to hang out with on the daily but he's really a character.
ReplyDeleteI expected it to be more intense, like where Holden decided to do something that explained why he was in the mental hospital. It made me almost mad because I didn't know why he wouldn't he tell us anything and just said he got sick. I was expecting more drama and a better ending. The two lines we are left with are sort of basic and not really out-of-the-ordinary sentences, and only have a faint meaning. During the novel, Holden explains how misses his friends so it's understandable that it ends this way, and only means that if you talk about people, especially those you actually cared about, you miss them.
ReplyDeleteI thought this would be way more intriguing and exciting in the end. Instead, it feels cliche and unfinished. The very last chapter doesn't contribute much, and doesn't feel worthwhile. The advice to never tell people things is harmful, you NEED to talk to others about things to heal and better yourself. Pretty counter intuitive I guess
ReplyDeleteI liked the ending of the book a lot. Though it wasn't as extreme as I predicted it to be, I feel like it was done to prove a point, that maybe growing up isn't as drastic as it seems.
ReplyDeleteI actually liked the peaceful and mature ending after reading it again because it shows how Holden has finally come to terms with growing up. However, I wanted to know about what Holden did afterwards, and I was unsatisfied because he didn’t mention anything about that. Also, I do not really know what the ending sentence meant and I am confused about how it relates to the book.I feel like less was more in this novel's case.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with the fact that the ending was mature. I quite liked it this way though because Holden isn't the very "mature" type, as we have seen throughout the novel. I was also unsatisfied with the lack of answers presented in the ending as well.
DeleteThe ending of the Catcher in The Rye left on a more emotional note than I was expecting, to be frank. While Holden does appear to be dramatic in every way he can manage, I didn’t expect the novel to end the way it did. Him and Phoebe on that carousel, just like they did when they were kids. I believe this exposes a side of Holden we don’t see often - a major softy. He clearly loves his sister Phoebe, and when he tells us to not share our story because we’ll miss the people we’ve told it to, it makes me wonder what happened between him and Phoebe that we weren’t told. Did they get into a big fight? Will Holden ever see Phoebe again?
ReplyDeleteI definitely expected the ending to be more intense than what it was, but I feel like the way that it ended was actually a good touch to Holden's story. It gave us more insight to the fact that Holden really was mentally ill and the fact that we probably couldn't trust him as a narrator. It was a subtle way to go out, but at the same time it had a punch to it in the way that it told us he was mentally ill and had been for a while. I wonder if Holden was always this way, or if after Allie died if that's what contributed to his mental downfall? Another thing that I wonder is if everything from his past that we read contributed or even had an impact on his behavior and mental stability.
ReplyDelete