I read this in high school like 15 years ago and I didn't like it. The teachers told me I'm supposed to find Holden relatable but I hated him for being a little prick who just can't seem to do what he was supposed to do. I was a kid who always did what he was supposed to do. It wasn't that hard.

He is still a little prick on the second reading, of course. But, I feel mostly sad for him this time. He's gone through some shit that kids should never have to go through: the death of a beloved sibling to illness, witnessing a violent suicide, and sexual assault. He's still responsible for his own behavior, but I realize now it's not so easy to judge him.

There's nothing really insightful I can say about his psychology that hasn't been said, I'm sure. Maybe just that this is a prime demonstration of when someone is complaining about how they hate [some general phenomenon] it can normally be traced back to one person pissing them off once. Salinger saw it then and we see it all the time on Twitter now. Funny way our minds work.

Reading the reviews on here from like 2008 rule lol. Like a time capsule for how I was thinking back then.