Both Catcher in the Rye and Gatsby are great books
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Date: March 11th, 2025 10:41 AM Author: jade galvanic stead
Idk why right wingers get screechy about these books being part of the HS canon.
Catcher: Cons say the narrator is whiney and annoying, and I think they aspire to some esoteric literati status in shitting on this book. Libs hate any story told by and for white male teens and because Holden is a private school kid and not a Sudanese migrant, his problems arent real.
Sed contra, the voice is perfect for a 16yo esp of that era, and it does indeed capture the minds of teen boys, who otherwise are completely ignored or worse, propagandized into self-hatred and gay shit. It doesnt hold up when youre 33? Big fucking deal, its a coming-of-ager. And its core message: that adults are duplicitous and sell-outs, that the teen heart burns with sincerity, that there's no place for a sensitive white boy in society, are all good places for a white kid to start.
Gatsby: Cons say it's simplistic and voyeuristic and the characters are all hateful. Race realist cohort doesn't like that Tom Buchanan is marginalized. Libs say, inexplicably, its capitalist propaganda and the problems of the rich don't matter.
Sed contra, Fitzgerald's prose is perfect. Its an economic tiny little novella where every sentence works. Gatsby's lifelong yearning for the girl he fumbled is the primary right wing emotion. And we should push kids towards aspirational thinking about being rich and being great.
Two pretty good books which merit their inclusion, amid Tony Morrison and bell hooks or whatever other shit kids are forced to read.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5692451&forum_id=2,#48736585) |
Date: March 11th, 2025 10:42 AM Author: impressive provocative resort
I've never heard anyone shit on Gatsby.
I think with Catcher people just remember annoying losers who were super into that book and don't want to deal with them anymore.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5692451&forum_id=2,#48736588) |
Date: March 11th, 2025 10:46 AM Author: Cheese-eating School Cafeteria
Not aware of these books being polarizing for conservatives. There's always someone out there who will complain about anything.
Concur with previous poster that I found Holden Caulfield a whiny brat when I read the book. His existential crisis and failure to get a grip on life means he was popular with teens with imaginary existential crises and boring for everyone else.
Went to a boarding school and there were kids who modeled themselves on Holden Caulfield, which I found pathetic, but it did win them a few girls.
Gatsby probably falls into the same category, romanticizing the notion of not getting over whatever the existential gripe is and getting on with life the way most of us do.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5692451&forum_id=2,#48736600) |
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