Holden Caulfield: Ten Years Later

I did this for an English project in 11th grade and everyone seemed to like it. Based on my favorite book, Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. I then wrote a small sequel to this book.

Holden: Ten Years Later

Well, I’m guessing you’re probably wondering what became of ol’ Holden Caulfield after everything that happened to me ten years ago. To tell you the truth, I really don’t feel like talking about it, but I guess I’ll tell you anyway. Let’s start where I left off, the mental institution I put myself in. God that place killed me. I remember when they took everything I wrote for “evaluation. They came up with this phony story of how, get this, “what I wrote and what I really am are two totally different people.” Whatever, people lie about themselves and what happens to them all the time. The funny part of the matter is, he was the phoniest of all the people I’ve ever come across.

            Anyway, once I got out of there, while I did feel much better about myself, and “sane,” that place was still full of phony therapists. But I ended up discovering who I really was in that place. I was actually starting to think clearly…normally. I don’t know, I think the stuff they gave me in the loony bin helped me be more “normal.” I went back to school right after I got out of the crazy house, and believe it or not, I actually applied myself.

            Ol’ Antolini helped me a lot, I must’ve read that paper he gave me a billion times before it finally set in and I understood what it really meant. Damn that Antolini killed me; I’m still wondering what the hell he was trying to do to me while I was sleeping. All I know is that kind of crap always happens to me. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I ended up so damn nuts. Its kind of funny really, I graduated at the top of my class, went to college and became what I’ve always wanted to be, a childcare worker. It’s kind of funny if you think about it, I’m the most screwed up person I know, but I have a job helping kids.

            Anyway, in college I met this guy who was a lot like me, someone who wasn’t as phony as so many of the other students. His name was Ethan Orthodox. I’m telling you, if it weren’t for him, college would’ve been boring as all hell. He wasn’t nearly as crazy as me, but he came pretty close, we kind of balanced each other out. It was nice to know I wasn’t the only crazy kid there. I think it was God’s doing if you want to know the truth, us meeting and all, and that’s coming from an atheist.

            So this kid, Ethan, he was my closest friend I had since that kid that fell out of the window and Allie. But him and I were even closer, I can’t really explain it, but it was like I felt the same way I did for him as I did myself, Sally Hayes, Phoebe, and Allie combined. I loved him, I really did. If you want to know the truth, in the mental institution I discovered a lot about myself, and I discovered that I was gay. Don’t tell anyone though; I don’t want anyone to know. I think it’s crazy myself. See, Ethan is like that too, so he understands me.

           

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, now I’m out of college and working as a child care worker. I’ve met some pretty great kids, there’s little Zach who really reminds me a lot of myself. He’s the biggest hell raiser I’ve met in a long time. He’s always playing tricks on all the other kids, and even us workers sometimes! It’s a great job to have, because it’s what I love to do, and I’m with people I actually understand, and aren’t phony like everyone else. I’m telling you, if you’d meet these kids you’d know what I mean, I actually feel like I have a purpose in life now, it’s a great feeling, it really is.

I’m sure you’re wondering about my family. They are proud of me for all I’ve done, everything I’ve had to go through, all the adversity I’ve fought through. Phoebe is now an actress in Broadway, God I’m so proud of her. I always told her she could do it, ever since her play ten years ago. That’s all I really have to say about my family, except for the fact that I still miss Allie so much. Oh, and D.B. is still writing in Hollywood, selling out all his stuff. So we’re all very wealthy, and doing well.

In other news, I’m living in Pennsylvania near the woods. I’ve always felt at home near the woods, even if I was raised in the big city. I really got into hunting, and fishing, but especially hunting. I love hunting. Not so much the real aspect of hunting for game or anything, I’m actually an animal rights activist, if you want to know the truth. I just like to go out and be peaceful, and get some alone time, and write. I would never shoot an animal. I love them like I do kids.

See, I have at least twenty pets altogether: dogs, cats, birds, even a monkey. People think I’m nuts because of all the damn animals I have. I agree with them, I like animals way too much. I treat my dogs like I would my own kids, maybe better. I don’t know, it’s just a hobby really.

Okay, it’s time to cut the crap. To tell you the absolute truth, nothing of what I just wrote is actually true. I’m still in the mental institution; I’m still as nuts as ever. I do believe that I’m not really nuts though. I could be doing all this stuff if I really wanted to, it’s just, I don’t feel like it. Just like I didn’t feel like writing this, I don’t really know why I did, what did I get out of it? Hopefully someone finds it somewhat entertaining. I sure as hell did.

Reviews

[yukiderp]

gosh this made me laugh, especially the end. it totally caught me off guard. i read this book so i understand everything you wrote about. great fan fic (if you could call it that). you captured his personality and stream of consciousness exactly. well done!

[Mockingbird]

great piece of writing. an exact replica of diction salinger's prose. this was a creative and successful endeavor. there were surprises as well, but you really filled him out and turned him into a three dimensional character. great job!