Ok, so this a very controversial one. Yes, JD Salinger is indeed the rebel who made me Rebellious. But before anyone starts sending me hate mail to which I may kindly respond to with drawings of hearts or good words from God, allow me to explain.
The Rebel that was JD Salinger
First, let’s get the controversy out of the way. Yes, JD Salinger was not exactly the noblest of men in accordance to the history books. He had 3 divorces, an aversion for society, a thing for young girls and strong, eccentric beliefs that so much in this world was just “phony”. Not exactly the kind of guy you would want to see on the face of kids’ milk boxes.
Nevertheless, while I cannot praise or support many of the man’s life choices, I can understand some of them. But what I was able to get out of his most popular and arguably overrated masterpiece, The Catcher in the Rye, is the prime reason I hold the late Salinger close to mind.
JD Salinger and his Rebellious Catcher in the Rye
At the time reading The Catcher in the Rye I was about 20, much in my early stages of writing. Like many people, I’m sure, I stumbled across the book on a banned list; I thought if this thing was once allowed in schools how bad could it really be? I gave it a try and I was hardly impressed at first; but I could not seem to put down the book the more I read. There was, rage, cursing, drinking, a five dollar whore and sufficiently. Most importantly, there was a main character who seemed to dislike the entire world. Why was I reading this filth? I had thought to myself. And still I read it to the end.
The truth is that the contents of the book were highly relatable to my past thoughts and memories; they ultimately represented freedom for me. Finally, I felt like someone completely understood why I felt the way I did. Also seeing a character think of or do so many things wrong that I once considered doing made it so much easier for me to appreciate that I never actually tried any of them.
In a way, it was like the main character represented my dark side that I never got to live out. The book gave me a chance to do that mentally without having to live with the real life consequences.
He helped me live with less regret
Truthfully, if people are really honest with themselves they will admit that they don’t always have the best or most positive thoughts. I respect JD Salinger’s work as it is so powerfully written; can make you feel as though you are the character to the point that you no longer wish to be him afterwards.
This in itself can prevent many people from taking the wrong paths in life. Why? Because oftentimes it’s the experiences people feel they’re missing out on that drive them to do things they later regret.
JD Salinger prepared me for the real world
But the biggest way Mr. Salinger’s work was able to help me was that it made me realize that I had been holding back with my writing all along. I had been innocent and not rebellious enough. To reach on this man’s creative and mental levels I had to let go of all of my notions and beliefs; I needed to learn how to write while telling each story as explicit as it needs to be.
Sure, I don’t believe in cursing every two minutes; nor do I believe in taking advantages of prostitutes means. But that doesn’t mean I can’t write about people who do in the most realistic way. These were the biggest lessons I learnt from JD Salinger. And they have only helped increase the quality of my work over the years.
JD Salinger may not be respected by everyone due to the way he ultimately chose to live his life. But his level of success is something I can encourage to be emulated. He may just be one of only a few people whose work can save lives even though he’s dead.
