Lily Meyer from The Atlantic went back and revisited The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger now that she was no longer an angst-ridden teen, but as an adult — both because it is the 75th anniversary since it was published, and because she wanted to see it with “adult” eyes.

And, in doing so, she found our famously cantankerous protagonist in the story to be less cynical than readers have generally allowed. Holden is very much against the fakers and phonies, but people generally overlook just what the character expected as part of a moral compass.

[…] I was struck not by what Holden is against but by what he’s for. Along with all of his rejections, Holden has a very clear set of ideas about what sorts of behaviors and activities and companions are correct. He doesn’t always live up to his own standards, but he never changes them; he certainly doesn’t give himself breaks. His monologue—the whole book is a monologue—is, in fact, a stream of statements about what’s worthwhile, more than what’s worthless.

Holden’s moral rigor is refreshing in a cultural moment marked by an unsettling mix of cynicism and heedlessness. […]

I will admit that I greatly admire Salinger’s stories, though you would likely be hard-pressed to see the impact of his influence on my own writing.