Summary Of The Catcher in the Rye || J.D. Salinger

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.