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The Catcher in the
Rye by J.D. Salinger
About Author:
Jerome David
Salinger (January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American
writer best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher
in the Rye. Before its publication, Salinger published
several short stories in Story magazine and served in World
War II. In 1948, his critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for
Bannerfish" appeared in The New Yorker, which published much
of his later work.
Summary:
This is a story about a boy named Holden Caulfield. He just
got kicked out of another all-boy's school called Pencey. He comes from a
wealthy family with a lawyer father, nagging mother, a brother who is a
Hollywood writer, a brother who died, and an intelligent sister. Holden really
doesn't like phonies, which is basically all types of people that annoy him. So,
he leaves Pencey hating most, if not all, of the people there. He can't go home
because he doesn't want to tell his parents that he got kicked out so he goes
to New York. In New York, he stays at a hotel and meets more phonies.
He takes a cab to various bars where he meets more phonies.
He meets an old girlfriend, but scares her with his plans of running away. Finally,
he goes home, but sneaks in to see his sister. They talk and she misses him.
Unfortunately, he can't stay long and goes to visit an old teacher of his. The
teacher makes him a bed and gives him advice on life. When asked what he wants
to be when he grows up, Holden says he wants to watch children play in a field
of rye and catch them if they fall off the edge of the field.
Holden goes to sleep, but wakes up to find that the teacher
is patting his head. Holden freaks out and sleeps in a terminal. He thinks
about running away, but wants to see his sister one more time. They spend the
day together and as she is riding the carousel; he decides not to run away. The
Catcher in the Rye has a bad reputation in the literary world, but it really
isn't so bad. A lot of the frustration that Holden expresses is what young men
often experience.
His opinions of the world are honest, but can be a little
burdening at times. He is extremely negative and pretty much gets irritated by
everything and everyone.
The narrative style of the novel is interesting as it uses
second-person. The references to "you" as the reader make it feel
like Holden is speaking to you, making the story more personable. Looking at
the story arc, not a lot happens in terms of real-life events. But what fills
in the gap between or during these events are the stories that Holden shares.
He refers to a lot of the people from his past, including old teachers,
students, and family.
I'm sure all guys can relate to Holden a little. So if you
think you're a smart aleck that hates how fake people are and you have life all
figured out before you're 25, sorry, but Holden probably thinks you're a phony.
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