Hyde-Woodstock faculty member Rachel Folan offers insights into links between Holden Caulfied and Hyde students. She also closes the loop on our first husband-wife blogging team.  Come to think of it, do we have any non-Folan contributors out there?

I never truly enjoyed English classes in high school, but if I had to pick one year as my favorite, it would be my junior English class that focused on American Literature.  It began with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Catcher in the Rye.  Looking back, Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield would have made ideal Hyde students; the ultimate rebels who saw the world in their own way, continuously seeking their own unique potential.  The Catcher in the Rye became one of my favorite books of all time.  I was intrigued by Holden Caulfield’s desire to go against the grain and ability to embrace his rebel spirit, as I still struggle to do both of those things.  I deeply appreciated his ability to call out the “phoniness” in his surroundings and follow the journey he felt he needed as opposed to the one prescribed for him by his upbringing.

As a legal battle ensues between Holden Caulfield’s creator, J.D. Salinger, and J. D. California, a Swedish man who has written a book called “60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye,” there has been extensive discussion on how the perception of America’s anti-hero has evolved in the classroom since the book was published in 1951.  New York Times reporter Jennifer Schuessler has recently written an article entitled “Get a Life, Holden Caulfield.”  I was astonished to discover that today’s English classrooms see him as “‘weird,’ ‘whiny’ and ‘immature.’”  Schuessler discovers that many students feel that they “can’t really feel bad for this rich kid with a weekend free in New York City.”

I was not a rich kid, I did not grow up in New York City, and I did not feel the alienation he did as I grew up.  So why do I still have such an appreciation for Holden Caulfield?  One teacher answered this question for me.  In responding to Schuessler’s research, she stated that teenagers today “are more focused on distinguishing themselves in society as it is presently constituted than in trying to change it.”  Therein is my answer.  I have always wanted to change the world, not conquer it.  I also realize why I love Hyde students even though I wasn’t one: They embrace their rebel spirit similarly to Holden and seek their path in an unconventional manner.  They are not concerned with distinguished honor, but with making the world one in which they are proud to live.

Is Holden Caulfield considered an outsider?  Probably.  But if that’s what it takes to make an impact, that’s what I want to be and that’s who I want to teach.

Thanls, Rachel!

Onward,  Malcolm Gauld