History YMMV / TheCatcherInTheRye

* RonTheDeathEater: Holden is definitely not the easiest kid in the world to like but his personality flaws tend to be grossly exaggerated by the book's detractors who see him as a raging narcissist rather than a flawed but well-meaning young man dealing with serious trauma from his brother's death and his angst is implied to be the result of untreated depression and they ignore both his troubled past and his sympathetic traits, mainly his genuine love for his sister Phoebe, his soft spot for younger kids in general and his happy moments with Sally and Jane. It's far too common to see people take the book's portrayal of Holden as cynical, pessimistic and egotistical and ignore all context around ''how'' he ended up that way, how unhappy his world view has made him and his redeeming traits outside of it.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny:
** The book is uncontroversial by today's standards and developed an undeserved reputation as a dark and controversial book. Its current 'tame' status was referenced in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS14E2TheTaleOfScrotieMcBoogerballs The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs]]", where the boys, disappointed by the book's content, try to write the most disgusting story imaginable.
** In TheFifties, Holden Caulfield probably was a great character, just for being so ''[[DarkerAndEdgier different]]'' from other literary protagonists of the time. Today...not so much. Considering that so many characters are like him nowadays, he [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation can sometimes come off]] as the UrExample of a Jerkass Stu. This was referenced in the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Recap/FamilyGuyS3E8TheKissSeenARoundTheWorld," which featured a one-shot character based on Holden's likeness shouting "big fat phony" as a RunningGag.

* ValuesDissonance: Though innocent, Holden's FriendToAllChildren attitude would probably get him into a lot of trouble these days. Giving two boys a tour of a museum or offering to take an unattended girl for a hot chocolate would get him MistakenForPedophile.

* TearJerker:
** Virtually every interaction Holden has with Phoebe. She's concerned about her brother because he keeps hurting himself and she's genuinely concerned for his well-being. When she receives his note, she drops everything because she's so scared of losing her brother and it's ultimately what drives Holden to get his shit together. Mind you, she's only ten and Holden leaving wouldn't be the first time she's lost a brother.
** Holden talking about his younger brother, then [[MoodWhiplash abruptly stating that he died of leukemia]]. He then says, "You would have liked him".
** Holden's recollection about James Castle, a boy in his school who committed suicide by jumping out of a window because of bullying (or possibly something even worse) - while wearing a sweater he borrowed from Holden.
---> '''Holden:''' I heard everybody running through the corridor and down the stairs, so I put on my bathrobe and I ran downstairs too, and there was old James Castle laying right on the stone steps and all. He was dead, and his teeth, and blood, were all over the place and nobody would even go near him. He had on this turtleneck sweater I'd lent him.

* SignatureLine: The very last lines of the book: ''"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."''

** Holden talking about his younger brother, then [[MoodWhiplash abruptly stating that he died of leukemia]]. He then says, "You would have liked him."

----

* HypeBacklash: Considering its reputation as both one of the most controversial and most loved books in history, it has lead to quite a few people being a little underwhelmed when they read it the first time.

** Robert John Bardo, who shot and killed actress Rebecca Schaeffer, was also carrying a copy of the novel when he committed the murder, and threw it on a rooftop as he fled. However, he insists that this was a coincidence, and that he was not trying to emulate Chapman.

* OvershadowedByControversy: Whenever the novel is brought up, oftentimes it's less for its actual content and more for its association with a number of shootings, such as the assassination of Music/JohnLennon, the attempted assassination of UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, and the killing of Rebecca Schaeffer. Note that at no point in the book is such violence ever actually advocated, and analysts agree that the book has had a more positive impact on society than a negative one.

* ValuesDissonance: Though innocent, Holden's FriendToAllChildren attitude would probably get him into a lot of trouble these days. Givingtwonboys a tour of a museum or offering to take an unattended girl for a hot chocolate would get him MistakenForPedophile.

** The book is uncontroversial by today's standards and developed an undeserved reputation as a dark and controversial book.
*** Its' current 'tame' status was referenced in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS14E2TheTaleOfScrotieMcBoogerballs The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs]]", where the boys, disappointed by the book's content, try to write the most disgusting story imaginable.
** In TheFifties, Holden Caulfield probably was a great character, just for being so ''[[DarkerAndEdgier different]]'' from other literary protagonists of the time. Today...not so much. Considering that so many characters are like him nowadays, he [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation can sometimes come off as the]] UrExample of a Jerkass Stu. This was referenced in the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Recap/FamilyGuyS3E8TheKissSeenARoundTheWorld," which featured a one-shot character based on Holden's likeness shouting "big fat phony" as a RunningGag.

* MisaimedFandom:

** In general, many readers identify with Holden to the point of seeing his misanthropic worldview as something to emulate and even idolize as an appropriate reaction to the world around him, missing the point of the story that his scorn and loathing mask a deep unhappiness.

* HilariousInHindsight: Why is this book so frequently banned? Because it uses the word "Fuck"- during a scene in which Holden, discovering it scribbled where grade-schoolers can see it, tries to scrub it out so it can never offend anyone again. Considering how much Holden swears BEYOND "fuck," this is somewhat justified. However, this does miss the point, considering how iconic the book is. The underage protagonist spending the entire novel smoking, drinking (when he can get served), hiring a prostitute (though he doesn't actually sleep with her), having a generally negative attitude AFTER being kicked out of school might also have something to do with why people ban it...

** Holden is either a shining beacon of morality amongst all that was wrong with the 1950s, or a whiny prototype EmoKid (and a rather hypocritical one at that) who refuses to let himself see anything good in the world, or someone who has good insights and potential but is weighed down by cynicism and bitterness, OR just one of the first examples of teenage disillusionment in a post-World War II world. Or you think he's telling you to kill pop-culture icons (see LoonyFan in the Trivia sec). It really depends on the reader.

** In TheFifies, Holden Caulfield probably was a great character, just for being so ''[[DarkerAndEdgier different]]'' from other literary protagonists of the time. Today...not so much. Considering that so many characters are like him nowadays, he [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation can sometimes come off as the]] UrExample of a Jerkass Stu. This was referenced in the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS3E8TheKissSeenRoundTheWorld The Kiss Seen 'Round the World]]", which featured a one-shot character based on Holden's likeness shouting "big fat phony" as a RunningGag.

** ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is uncontroversial by today's standards. See the LoonyFan entry in the Trivia section for what helped fuel an undeserved reputation as a dark and controversial book.
*** Its current 'tame' status was referenced in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', where the boys, disappointed by the book's content, try to write the most disgusting story imaginable.
** In the '50s, Holden Caulfield probably was a great character, just for being so ''[[DarkerAndEdgier different]]'' from other literary protagonists of the time. Today... not so much. Considering that so many characters are like him nowadays, he [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation can sometimes come off as the]] UrExample of a Jerkass Stu. This was referenced in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' which featured a one-shot character based on Holden's likeness shouting "big fat phony" as a RunningGag.

* HardToAdaptWork: Being very monologue-centric, along with the fact its [[NoAdaptationsAllowed author J. D. Salinger forbids it]], is why there have been no screen adaptations of ''The Catcher in the Rye''.

** In the '50s, Holden Caulfield probably was a great character, just for being so ''[[DarkerAndEdgier different]]'' from other literary protagonists of the time. Today... not so much. Considering that so many characters are like him nowadays, he [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation can sometimes come off as the]] UrExample of a Jerkass Stu. This was parodied by ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' which featured a one-shot character based on Holden's likeness shouting "big fat phony" as a RunningGag.

* HoYay:
** The infamous passage in which Mr. Antolini strokes the forehead of a sleeping Holden. Even Holden himself is disturbed, fleeing Mr. Antolini's house right afterwards. Antolini's inquiries about Holden's girlfriends and the fact that he calls Holden "handsome" as he wishes him goodnight could be read as flirtatious advances as well.
** Carl Luce, who was said to be always grabbing guys' butts, and somehow seemed to know if anyone was gay. Note that, for a long time in America, spotting a gay man based on behavorial patterns (that is, by any way other than catching him having sex with a man) was seen as a surefire sign that ''you'' were gay. Gaydar was one of the main reasons so many people were expelled from Harvard in the 1920's, even if they were actually heterosexual or bisexual.
** Interestingly, Holden himself fits the popular perception explained in Luce's case, as he similarly identifies several gay people in the bars he visits. Moreover, he refers to how attractive Stradlater is all the damn time, including calling him a "sexy bastard" at least twice (though, as noted on the main page, this is most likely the result of HaveAGayOldTime and/or Holden trying deliberately to annoy him). Although Holden would be actually bi, given that, unlike Luce, he is unambiguously attracted to girls too.