Catcher in the Rye

When I heard we would be reading "Catcher in the Rye", at first I did not know what to expect. The title of the book didn't make much sense to me, so i sought to find out what the book was really about from the second i opened it. I soon discovered it was about a teenager named Holden Caulfield, who can't seem to stay in one school for very long. He is very judgmental and thinks that he is better than everyone else. The story takes us through many different journeys and events in Holden's life, and gives us extreme details on his views on others. I still had some question as to why the title was what it is, but that was revealed when Holden heard the child singing, which to me was a poor excuse for a reason of a title. I think Salinger does a great job of going into detail and depicting the thoughts and feelings that Holden experiences in the situations shown in the book. After finishing the story, I noticed some character traits and habits that Holden has. He always seems to be uncertain and can never make up his mind. He has his heart set on doing something but then right before he does it, he backs out and finds an alternative. Holden also tends to be depressed and sad a lot. I think this trait is directly connected with his overall judging of people which kind of controls him. In all, I think Holden Caulfield was an interesting character throughout the book and his attitude seems to shift at the end to one of optimism and hope about his future.

Focus: I was trying not to revert to plot summary at all because I don't think that an essay full of recounting events is any good. Did I accomplish my goal?