Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
Publisher: Penguin books
Year of publication: 1994
A small biography of J.D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger was born on January 1, 1919 in New York City. He earned average grades in grade school, but was dismissed from a prestigious prep school for failing grades. He graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy. This school was the model for The Catcher in the Rye's Pencey Prep. In 1942, he was drafted into the army. He was a member of the Fourth Army Division that made D-Day famous. After WW2, he was hospitalized in Germany for psychiatric treatment. Today, Salinger supposedly lives in New Hampshire in a cottage by himself. He still refuses to be interviewed, but rumors say he may break his silence by allowing a story of his to be published after about 30 years.
Summary of the book
The book starts at Holden’s last night at Pencey, which is the boarding school he is at. He has been kicked out of school because he didn't have good marks. It's almost Christmas and he supposed to go home in the vacation on Wednesday.
He decides to go a few days earlier to New York, because his parents live there, but he doesn’t go home, because he doesn't want his parents to know he has been flunked out of school again. He checks in in a hotel and goes to Ernie’s, a night-club. He has been there before with his brother D.B. He dances the whole evening with a blond girl, but she’s only interested in celebrities, and that’s the reason he goes back to the hotel. At the hotel, the elevator-boy says that he’s a pimp and that he can arrange him a five-dollar whore. He agrees and a few minutes later the whore, named Sunny, arrives at his room. He was excited because he thought that he could loose his virginity that night, but when she takes her sweater off, he realizes that he doesn’t feel sexy or something so he sends her away after he had paid her. She wants ten dollar instead of the five dollar he had arranged with the elevator-boy. He doesn’t give her the ten dollars and a few minutes later, she comes back with Maurice (the elevator-boy). He still doesn’t pay and Maurice punches Holden in his face. Then Holden starts to cry. He pays now and Maurice and Sunny go away.
The next morning he gives Sally, his formal girlfriend, a call and they go see a theatre-show at two o’clock. They spend the whole afternoon together and after that, they go ice-skating. Later, in a bar, he tells her he wants to go to the woods with her ant get a job so that they can marry each other. He was really serious. Sally didn’t want to go and he called her a ‘serious pain in the ass’. She ran away and he felt really lonely. He phoned an old friend of his , Carl Luce, to get a drink together that night. They meet in some bar downtown. It isn’t going well between them and after a while, and some drinks, Carl Luce leaves. Holden stays and he drinks a lot that night and he gets really drunk. When he’s drunk, he calls Sally to apologize for his behaviour that afternoon. Then he decides to go and visit his little sister Phoebe and he goes to his parents’ home. His parents aren’t home, so he talks to Phoebe for a long time. Suddenly his parents come home and he goes to the closet. When his parents are in bed, he leaves and goes to Mr. Antolini, a one of his formal teachers who is a very good friend of his.
Holden tells him the whole story. Mr. Antolini allows Holden to sleep there that night, but when he suddenly wakes up, he feels mister Antolini touching him, so he gets out of his house as soon as possible. He goes to the station and stays there for the rest of the night. He decides to run away and he writes Phoebe a letter. It says that he will run away to the west and that she has to come to the park after school. When she comes she is carrying a suitcases with her; she wants to go with him. He tells her it isn't possible and they got an argument. It causes him to let go off the idea and they make up their mind: Holden comes home with Phoebe.
When he comes home he gets tuberculosis and he goes to a sanatorium, where he tells his story to a therapist. And that's the story that we read today.
The characters in the book
Holden Caulfield: he is the main character. He is a sixteen-year old boy who had just been flunked out of Pencey prep school. He talks big, keeps calling people names, and doesn’t want to belong to a group. He also hates people with an attitude. His father is a Jewish lawyer in New York. He keeps trying to prove himself by exaggerating, especially to his fellow students. During the story he smokes a lot and drinks a big amount of alcohol.
Ward Stradlater: he is Holden’s roommate at Pencey. He is a senior and is eighteen years old. He always dresses well and thinks he is the most handsome young man at Pencey.
Robert Ackley: he is another of Holden’s roommates at Pencey. Robert Ackley is very untidy. Everyone calls him simply Ackley.
Jane Callagher: she is his Holden’s ex-girlfriend. She is funny, and she and Holden get along very well.
Sally Hayes: she is another of Holden’s former girlfriends. Although Holden doesn’t want to admit it, he is very fond of her.
D.B. Caulfield: he is Holden’s older brother. He is a writer living in New York.
Phoebe Caulfield: she is Holden’s ten-year-old sister. Holden believes his sister understands him.
Theme, time, social setting and place
One possible theme of the Catcher in the Rye is the experience he gains, standing in his point of view, and living his way of life. Another possible theme is just the society, because actually Holden is constantly describing the society. I don’t know why J.D. Salinger has chosen these themes, maybe he’s just telling some parts of his own life.
The events in the story take place in December in 1950. Holden has been kicked out of school because of his bad marks. He goes home but he doesn’t want his parents to know that he flunked out of school, so he goes to a hotel. Holden tells the story, and we see things happening through his eyes. The book has 192 pages and the told time is about four days. The book has no flashbacks, although Holden sometimes tells things about the past, but the reader doesn’t really witness them.
The story takes place in New York City, in which Holden’s apartment is the central point.
Explanation of the title
Holden wants to be the catcher in the rye. He wants to be there for children who have the same problem as he had. He wants to help children who will fall from their innocent 'kids-life' into the world of the adults. He doesn't want that they make the same mistake(s) as he did. The title is explained on page 104.
Techniques being used in the book
The diction of the book is colloquial American, with many expressions like ‘goddam’, ‘damn’ and ‘helluva’. There is quite a lot of descriptive language: old, bad, phony, swell, suave, sexy. Repetition is used really often, using expressions like ‘I really do’. There are also some symbols used, like the colour yellow, which symbolizes cowardice. There are also quite a lot of similes used: ‘it smelled like fifty million dead cigars’ or ‘apologize like a madman’.
My evaluation
I thought the book was pretty boring, but yet interesting to read. Nothing really happens in the book, en because of that there really is no excitement, but still the Catcher in the Rye succeeded to hold my attention. I think it’s interesting to ‘read someone else’s mind’. Holden starts thinking about really normal things, and he thinks about them as if they aren’t normal. That’s what I like, just like that Holden he a very different opinion on things than other people.
Author: J.D. Salinger
Publisher: Penguin books
Year of publication: 1994
A small biography of J.D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger was born on January 1, 1919 in New York City. He earned average grades in grade school, but was dismissed from a prestigious prep school for failing grades. He graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy. This school was the model for The Catcher in the Rye's Pencey Prep. In 1942, he was drafted into the army. He was a member of the Fourth Army Division that made D-Day famous. After WW2, he was hospitalized in Germany for psychiatric treatment. Today, Salinger supposedly lives in New Hampshire in a cottage by himself. He still refuses to be interviewed, but rumors say he may break his silence by allowing a story of his to be published after about 30 years.
Summary of the book
The book starts at Holden’s last night at Pencey, which is the boarding school he is at. He has been kicked out of school because he didn't have good marks. It's almost Christmas and he supposed to go home in the vacation on Wednesday.
The next morning he gives Sally, his formal girlfriend, a call and they go see a theatre-show at two o’clock. They spend the whole afternoon together and after that, they go ice-skating. Later, in a bar, he tells her he wants to go to the woods with her ant get a job so that they can marry each other. He was really serious. Sally didn’t want to go and he called her a ‘serious pain in the ass’. She ran away and he felt really lonely. He phoned an old friend of his , Carl Luce, to get a drink together that night. They meet in some bar downtown. It isn’t going well between them and after a while, and some drinks, Carl Luce leaves. Holden stays and he drinks a lot that night and he gets really drunk. When he’s drunk, he calls Sally to apologize for his behaviour that afternoon. Then he decides to go and visit his little sister Phoebe and he goes to his parents’ home. His parents aren’t home, so he talks to Phoebe for a long time. Suddenly his parents come home and he goes to the closet. When his parents are in bed, he leaves and goes to Mr. Antolini, a one of his formal teachers who is a very good friend of his.
Holden tells him the whole story. Mr. Antolini allows Holden to sleep there that night, but when he suddenly wakes up, he feels mister Antolini touching him, so he gets out of his house as soon as possible. He goes to the station and stays there for the rest of the night. He decides to run away and he writes Phoebe a letter. It says that he will run away to the west and that she has to come to the park after school. When she comes she is carrying a suitcases with her; she wants to go with him. He tells her it isn't possible and they got an argument. It causes him to let go off the idea and they make up their mind: Holden comes home with Phoebe.
When he comes home he gets tuberculosis and he goes to a sanatorium, where he tells his story to a therapist. And that's the story that we read today.
The characters in the book
Holden Caulfield: he is the main character. He is a sixteen-year old boy who had just been flunked out of Pencey prep school. He talks big, keeps calling people names, and doesn’t want to belong to a group. He also hates people with an attitude. His father is a Jewish lawyer in New York. He keeps trying to prove himself by exaggerating, especially to his fellow students. During the story he smokes a lot and drinks a big amount of alcohol.
Ward Stradlater: he is Holden’s roommate at Pencey. He is a senior and is eighteen years old. He always dresses well and thinks he is the most handsome young man at Pencey.
Robert Ackley: he is another of Holden’s roommates at Pencey. Robert Ackley is very untidy. Everyone calls him simply Ackley.
Jane Callagher: she is his Holden’s ex-girlfriend. She is funny, and she and Holden get along very well.
Sally Hayes: she is another of Holden’s former girlfriends. Although Holden doesn’t want to admit it, he is very fond of her.
D.B. Caulfield: he is Holden’s older brother. He is a writer living in New York.
Phoebe Caulfield: she is Holden’s ten-year-old sister. Holden believes his sister understands him.
One possible theme of the Catcher in the Rye is the experience he gains, standing in his point of view, and living his way of life. Another possible theme is just the society, because actually Holden is constantly describing the society. I don’t know why J.D. Salinger has chosen these themes, maybe he’s just telling some parts of his own life.
The events in the story take place in December in 1950. Holden has been kicked out of school because of his bad marks. He goes home but he doesn’t want his parents to know that he flunked out of school, so he goes to a hotel. Holden tells the story, and we see things happening through his eyes. The book has 192 pages and the told time is about four days. The book has no flashbacks, although Holden sometimes tells things about the past, but the reader doesn’t really witness them.
The story takes place in New York City, in which Holden’s apartment is the central point.
Explanation of the title
Holden wants to be the catcher in the rye. He wants to be there for children who have the same problem as he had. He wants to help children who will fall from their innocent 'kids-life' into the world of the adults. He doesn't want that they make the same mistake(s) as he did. The title is explained on page 104.
Techniques being used in the book
The diction of the book is colloquial American, with many expressions like ‘goddam’, ‘damn’ and ‘helluva’. There is quite a lot of descriptive language: old, bad, phony, swell, suave, sexy. Repetition is used really often, using expressions like ‘I really do’. There are also some symbols used, like the colour yellow, which symbolizes cowardice. There are also quite a lot of similes used: ‘it smelled like fifty million dead cigars’ or ‘apologize like a madman’.
My evaluation
I thought the book was pretty boring, but yet interesting to read. Nothing really happens in the book, en because of that there really is no excitement, but still the Catcher in the Rye succeeded to hold my attention. I think it’s interesting to ‘read someone else’s mind’. Holden starts thinking about really normal things, and he thinks about them as if they aren’t normal. That’s what I like, just like that Holden he a very different opinion on things than other people.
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