#number one member of the daisy buchanan defense squad

[spirograffe]

was talking with andrew yesterday about the two most misunderstood books widely read by american high schoolers (the great gatsby, catcher in the rye) and how sad that is bc they're both beautiful books that kids would get a lot out of i think?

i hate ppl treating daisy as a materialistic dumb bitch, kids widely misunderstand the scene with her crying over gatsby's shirts as if she actually thinks the shirts are beautiful instead of it being the moment the realization dawns on her that everything he has done has been for her, but she's trapped, she's powerless, she cannot give him what she wants and she cannot imagine even having the luxury of being able to make a decision based on what she wants. what teenager doesn't relate to the feeling of being increasingly aware of the cage that you're trapped in and the precise ways in which your existence is restricted on a daily basis?

and then Holden Caulfield, my poor sweet baby boy, "he's so whiny what's his problem he's so weird!!!" his Problem, in fact, is that he's a child, a sexual assault victim, and his roommate (also a sexual assault victim) just killed himself! he feels broken and alone in a world with no place for him, he's coping with severe trauma in the context of 1950s american toxic masculinity, having attended an all-boys boarding school, sent away by his parents who don't give a shit about him. he can't go back to school but he's fucking. 15? 16? and he doesn't know where to go, he doesn't know how to keep living. he loves his little sister. he's hurt!

idk it's just so sad to me, these aren't shitty asshole white guy novels, they're poignant stories about like. the human condition. if ur gonna have to read them, you might as well try to get something out of them!