The Catcher in the Rye : Post #2

"I don't see how D.B. could hate the Army and war and all so much and still like a phony like that. I mean, for instance, I don't see how he could like a phony book like that and still like that one by Ring Lardner, or that other one he's so crazy about, The Great Gatsby. D.B. got sore when I said that, and said I was too young and all to appreciate it, but I don't think so. I told him I liked Ring Lardner and The Great Gatsby and all. I did, too. I was crazy about The Great Gatsby. Old Gatsby. Old Sport. That killed me. Anyway, I'm sort of glad they've got the atomic bomb invented. If there's another war I'm going to sit right the hell on top of it. I'll volunteer for it, I swear to god I will." (141)

I chose this passage from The Catcher in the Rye because I thought it showcased the way J.D. Salinger writes and I also thought it was funny that there is a mention of The Great Gatsby in there. I am not sure if this is how all the books J.D. Salinger writes are like since this is the first I've read by him but every time I read this book I feel as if I am reading the main characters journal since it is told from first person. So I guess what is unique about the way Salinger writes is not only the "journal style" but the fact that it feels real, I have really gotten annoyed by the main character and all his talk about everyone and how they are phony, and that is not something that happens often. Usually if you read someone's diary or journal it doesn't give you emotion, it's just there but Salinger adds life to it.