I finished "The Catcher In The Rye" and will certainly say it will stick wuth me like a stay in hospital or being forced to watch a bad TV quiz show or soap. I am glad I read it and can now have an opinion on it. My opinion is that it is worth reading but don't expect to enjoy it, annoyance is the biggest feeling that I take from it.
I don't know if it has been made into a film or play, but I wouldn't bother with either. The titles comes as a result of kids sining lines from a Robbie Burns poem in a vers short interlude in the book implying that Holden Caulfield is some kind of potential threratening outsider but really he's nothing but an annoyance.
I lifted the following text from Esther Lombardi's blog ThoughtCo which you can read here
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The poem, "Comin Thro the Rye," by Robert Burns is probably best known because of Holden's misinterpretation of it in The Catcher in the Rye. He tells his fantasy to his sister, Phoebe (he's the "catcher in the rye," rescuing children).
The reference in The Catcher in the Rye has prompted writers and scholars to take a look at the source.
Here's the complete text of the poem.
Comin Thro the Rye
O, Jenny's a' weet, poor body,
Jenny's seldom dry;
She draigl't a' her petticoattie
Comin thro' the rye.
Chorus:
Comin thro the rye, poor body,
Comin thro the rye,
She draigl't a'her petticoatie,
Comin thro the rye!
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body,[r] Need a body cry?
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro the glen,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warld ken?
Jenny's seldom dry;
She draigl't a' her petticoattie
Comin thro' the rye.
Chorus:
Comin thro the rye, poor body,
Comin thro the rye,
She draigl't a'her petticoatie,
Comin thro the rye!
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body,[r] Need a body cry?
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro the glen,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warld ken?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If anyone wants my copy let me know or else it will be going to a charity shop.
It's a complete coincidence that I finished it on the moring of April Fool's Day where you are supposed to play pranks on people, which is fine as a kid but can get a bit grating in the adult worldd and some April Fool's jokes can be extremely tasteless indeed, so I suppose that falls into line with Holden Caulfield. The Wiki page is here where it mentians possible origins in Chaucer but various countries have equivalents.
Song wise this morning, because we have got onto Robbie Burns I will leave you with "A Man's A Man For A' That" by Five Hand Reel featuring Dick Gaughan who I think has one of the most distinctive voices in the world. I remember seeeing them perform this at Preston's Charter Theatre (The Guildhall's smaller performance space) in the early seventies, but I know that Eddi Reader also produced an album of Robbie Burns songs so there are links to all below this.
There is a site here that has all the robbie Burns stuff including "A Man's A Man For A' That" so hopefully I've left you a bit to think over.
A to think this si a result of me reading "Catcher in The Rye".
Don't be fooled and enjoy your Sunday
