The Catcher in the Rye: Adaptation by Sungjin Lee

The Catcher in the Rye: adaptation

Sungjin Lee(이성진)

Introduction: In chapter 8, we learn about Holden’s personality and his habit of lying. After leaving Pencey, Holden takes a train to Penn Station and meets a lady on the train. The lady turns out to be the mother of Ernest Morrow, one of Holden’s classmates from Pencey. She and Holden have a conversation, during which all he tells are lies. I found this chapter very interesting because Holden lies to the lady even though he finds her likable. How Holden became such a dexterous liar is not revealed in this chapter or even the entire book. After reading this part of the book, I felt sorry for Holden because his habit of lying seems to have kept him from establishing meaningful connections with other people (the only exception being Pheobe).

I also thought it would be interesting to take this chapter and modernize it into a Korean version because I wanted to see what I could do with Salinger’s voice and style. I focused on the description at first, and later the dialogue between the two characters. (P.S.: I left out Holden’s own musings about women because I found it too difficult to weave it into the story.)

*            *            *

            In case you didn’t know, Seoul has a great subway system. Absolutely fantastic. Nine lines and an infinite number of transfer stations can get you about anywhere you want. Some people even post fan videos about it on YouTube. 

            Then again, taking the subway isn’t my favorite means of travel. I mean, it’s a nice system, but it makes me depressed to see so phonies at once. Subways are often crowded, which means they’re often crowded with phonies. I wanted to call a cab instead, but it was too late.

            When I got to the station I only had to wait two minutes for a train. I was lucky because it was almost the last train of the day, and because it wasn’t crowded, either. In fact it was almost empty. Usually if a subway train is empty I like to sit in one of those seats for the elderly, but I didn’t feel like it this time. So I sat by myself on the far end of a long metal bench. After a while I got bored and started to hold my breath just to see how long I could.

             I’d counted to thirty-seven when a lady got on at Euljiro. For some reason, she sat down next to me even though the whole train was empty. She placed her fake Gucci bag on the seat next to her and dusted it very carefully. She was definitely an ajumma – she’d used too much makeup, and her neck was wrinkled. But she was very good-looking. She had nice hair, not an ajumma perm, and she smelled nice, too. I mean, I can’t help but like people who smell nice.

             Anyway, I started holding my breath again. This time I counted to sixty. I guess my record’s not bad, especially for a heavy smoker. I was about to hold my breath again when, all of a sudden, the lady said to me, “Excuse me, dear, but isn’t that the Korean Minjok Leadership Academy logo?” She was looking at my lousy backpack, up on the rack.

             “Yes, it is,” I said. She was right. I did have a KMLA logo and the school motto sewn on my CaseLogic backpack. It was a school rule, and one of the few things I did right at the school.  

             “Oh, so you go to KMLA?” she said.

             “Yes, I do,” I said.

             “What a coincidence! My daughter goes there, too. Do you happen to know Sungjin Lee, by any chance?”

             “Yes, I do. She’s in my class.”

             Sungjin. She was the biggest phony I had seen in my entire life. I mean it. My opinion would remain the same after attending a hundred other boarding schools. Why did I think she was a phony? To put it in the nicest way possible, she was a teachers’ pet. She was very good at kissing ass. She never spent a penny on any of the school fundraisers, but bought every teacher two boxes of “exquisite” Italian chocolates as a Christmas present. She flashed phony smiles at the teachers and seniors (they were phonies too, so they bought the whole thing,) and always raised her hand to ask questions in class. Even when she knew the answer, she’d ask a question, just to leave a good impression.

             “Oh, what a coincidence!” The lady said. “I must tell Sungjin we met,” she said. “Could you tell me your name?”

             There’s a name tag attached to my bag, right above the school logo, where everyone can see. But I was sort of glad that the lady didn’t see my name, because I didn’t feel like telling her my real name. I felt like using an alias. Traveling incognito and all. So I told her, “Jungil Yoon.” Jungil Yoon was the name of the principal of our school.

             “Jungil Yoon. What a nice name. I must ask, do you like KMLA?” she asked me.

             “KMLA? It’s not bad. It’s not the best school in the universe or anything, but it certainly is a nice school.” I said. “But to be fair, not everyone likes it. Some people make the most of it, others don’t.”

             “I guess that goes for any school. Fortunately, Sungjin seems to have picked the right school, because she just loves it,” the lady said. 

             “I know she does. She does terrifically in all the classes. If I were a freshman, I’d certainly want to be like her,” I lied.

             “That’s nice of you to say.”

             Her iPhone started ringing, and our conversation was interrupted. It seemed like her husband had called. I tried not to look too nosy, but I couldn’t help myself. I mean, other people’s phone conversations are so damn interesting. This conversation, for instance, was not about anything funny – the lady and her husband were talking about getting their car engine checked – but I still thought it was interesting. Anyway, the phone call was over soon enough.

             “Oh, I’m sorry. That was Sungjin’s father on the other end” she said. “He and I sometimes worry about her,” she said. “We worry that she’s too shy.”

             “Oh, really?”

             “Yes. Active participation matters, you know, and Sungjin is very shy, so we’re concerned that she might not get the attention she deserves in class.”

             Now that was about the funniest thing I had ever heard. But I didn’t laugh because Mrs. Lee looked so serious. All mothers are serious when they talk about their children.

             “If I were you, I wouldn’t worry. Didn’t Sungjin tell you that she got an entire page to herself in the school yearbook?” Boy, you had to see her expression when I said that. Her whole face lit up.

             “Hmm? She never told me about that.” She was interested, all right.

             “Well, that’s Sungjin. She’s always modest. But just so you know, she was voted ‘Most Liked’ and ‘Best Student’, so she got a whole page to herself, with her pictures and all. You should really see it.” I said. “I mean, she studies really hard and all the teachers and students like her.”

             “Why, thank you for telling me. I should ask her to bring the yearbook with her when she comes home for winter vacation.” Mrs. Lee looked really pleased. “By the way, doesn’t vacation start on Wednesday? I hope you’re not going home early because of a family emergency.”

That I didn’t expect, but I managed to answer. “No, fortunately it’s not an emergency. I’m going home to take part in the 2012 Korea Memory Championship.”

“A memory championship?”

“Yes. I have to memorize the order of a random deck of cards in less than two minutes. Then I have to match a hundred random faces with their names, and memorize an unpublished poem as fast as I can. It’s not a popular sport, but I guess you could think of it as an academic decathlon.” What a lie. I have the memory of a goldfish. But what I told her about memory championships is true. I once read about it in the papers.

“Wow, that’s very impressive.” She said.

“Oh no, it’s not a big deal. Anyone can do it with practice. Would you care for a cigarette?” I forced myself to change the topic to stop lying. Once I start, I can go on for hours, but I didn’t feel like it this time.

“I believe it’s against the law to smoke in the subway, Jungil. And dear, aren’t you sixteen years old?” At least she didn’t say that she was a nonsmoker.

“Well yes, but I can usually buy cigarettes on account of my gray hair… I’ve got a pack here. People seem to take me for twenty-four or something. They don’t even bother to ask.”

“Smoking is a very bad habit. You should really think of quitting.” She frowned when she said that.

Our conversation got quite boring afterwards, so I don’t think I need to tell the whole crappy story. After a while it became so awkward that I took out my history book – my history book, I mean – and read it. There was a whole chapter about Roman history that talked about Vestal Virgins, gladiators, and mad emperors. The book was boring. Nero seemed like an interesting guy, but the rest of it was so boring that it made me nauseous. But soon enough, the lady, Mrs. Lee, got off at Jamsil. When she said goodbye, she wished me good luck on the Memory Championship. She even invited me to visit Sungjin during the winter, at their villa in Jejudo. I thanked her for her invitation, and told her that I would be in Germany in the winter, for the Global Memory Championship. The Global Memory Championship. That just about killed me. I wanted to roll on the floor laughing when she got off, but I didn’t.