THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

Laura Williams

J.D. SALINGER Jerome David Salinger was born in

1919 and was raised in New York The Catcher in the Rye was

published in 1951 Struggled with the popular success

and unwanted attention Became reclusive and published less

frequently, rarely leaving his home and almost never doing interviews

Tended to focus on young people and was known for his energetic and “realistically sparse” dialogue

Died January 7th 2010 at 91 years old

LANGUAGE

Told first person from the view of the main character, Holden Caulfield

Often addresses the reader directly “If you want to know” or “I wish you could see”

Holden speaks informally and colloquially as a teen in the 1950’s would talk to a friend “What really knocks me out…”

Holden speaks sincerely to the reader and honestly shares his emotions and thoughts about the world around him

SETTING

The novel consists of short scenes in a variety of locations and with a variety of characters

Takes place in 1950’s New York

HOLDEN CAULFIELD

16 year old junior recently kicked out of his fourth boarding school

Holden is our cynical narrator that tells about his emotions and feelings toward the world around him

As he leaves the innocence of his youth he is forced to face the adult world which he finds ugly, hypocritical and most of all “phony”

SYMBOLS

Where do the ducks go in the Winter?

“If a body catch a body coming through the rye”

The Museum of Natural History

Holden’s red hunting hat

THEMES

Fear of change Holden is afraid of growing up and wants

everything to stay the same like in a museum Pain of growing up

Example of bildungsroman- a novel dealing with one person's formative years

Isolation and loneliness Holden alienates himself from those around him

as a form of self protection. He uses his “cynical sense of superiority” to drive people away and to justify the resulting loneliness

HOLDEN’S FAMILY Parents are not really present in the book or

in his life His brother, D.B., has moved to Hollywood

and started writing “phony” movies His brother, Allie, died of leukemia three

years earlier. He is still tormented by his death

His ten year old sister, Phoebe, is one of Holden’s only sources of happiness throughout the novel. She represents the childish innocence he has lost.

MINOR CHARACTERS

Sally Hayes Attractive, young but Holden believes she is

“stupid”

Stadlater Attractive, strong and neat, but only so others

would think what a neat guy he is, a “secret slob” Asked how you were but never really cared to

know the answer

Ackley Tall, pimply, didn’t brush his teeth enough “always picked up your personal stuff and looked

at it”

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Most of the characters are present to bring out characteristics in Holden rather than form their own subplots

Holden tends to notice the worst in others

His own cynicism tends to cloud his descriptions and attitude toward others

QUOTES

“I can’t explain what I mean. And even if I could, I’m not sure I feel like it.”

“I think one of these days” he said “you’re going to have to find out where you want to go and then you’ve got to start going there”

“Don’t tell anybody anything. If you do you start missing everybody.”

NOT SO FUN FACTS

After John Lennon’s murderer was caught, a copy of The Catcher in the Rye was found on him in which he had written “This is my statement” signed Holden Caulfield

After the police caught the man that attempted to assassinate Ronald Regan, they found a copy in his room

Rebecca Schaeffer was killed by a stalker who was carrying the book when he visited her apartment in Hollywood and murdered her

Why?

PERSONAL REFLECTION

I really liked the book. The descriptions of the characters made them seem very real and their personalities were developed even in just a few sentences.

It is a great book to read in high school. Holden’s character at times can be very relatable and his struggle to navigate between youth and adulthood is a familiar one.