Bibliographic Information

Salinger, J. D. (1991). Catcher in the rye. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company.

ISBN: 0316769487

 

Plot Summary

Catcher in the Rye by Jerome David Salinger is about 16 year old Holden Caulfield. Holden is cynical, pessimistic and dissatisfied with life. He sees the worst in everyone and everything. He only believes in the purity and genuineness of young children. He worries that his younger sister Phoebe, who is just a child, will grow up to become like every adult he knows. Holden believes that adults are phony, fake, and disingenuous human beings. His views on life and adulthood makes Holden feel separated from the world around. He begins to internally feel alienated from his peers and the adults in his life. Holden is about to be expelled from Pensey Prep three days before Christmas break. Knowing that he can’t come home early, he takes off from school and embarks on a three-day trip down memory lane in New York City. He visits old friends, teachers, girlfriends, and places of importance to him. Each day and every encounter only reinforces his pessimistic views on adulthood. After his three-day trip through New York City he heads home. His sister Phoebe gives him hope and eagerly welcomes him home, but that is were the good news ends for Holden.

 

Critical Evaluation

Salinger captures the feeling of being a teenager and all the emotional turmoil of understanding life and your place in life. Holden depicts someone who is lonely, depressed, and disillusioned with life. I think Holden represents the feeling of not fitting in as a teenager. He has been kicked out of four schools and is about to be kicked out of Pensey Prep. Holden’s character doesn’t feel like he belongs and heads to New York City for a three-day trip. He hopes the trip will provide him with adventure, fun, clarity, and a sense of belonging. However, in New York City all he does is aimlessly bounce around, never feeling comfortable. He is anxious at the hotel, at the club, at the movies, at the bar, at the park, and even while visiting friends. He doesn’t even fit in at his own home and when he returns he has to sneak into it. I think this story was really well written, because I did not see the ending coming. I found it so sad that all this time he had been writing his story from the asylum. As well that he still felt lost and didn’t know where he belonged in the world. I felt like his character represented a fear of growing up that many teens face as they grow into adulthood.

 

Reader’s Annotation

Holden Caulfied is a cynical and pessimistic teenager who finds the worse in everyone. Knowing that he is about to be expelled from school he takes off on a three-day journey of self-discovery.

 

Author Information

The following information was taken from the author’s biography, https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/819789.J_D_Salinger.

 

“Jerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980. Raised in Manhattan, Salinger began writing short stories while in secondary school, and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II.

 

In 1948 he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" in The New Yorker magazine, which became home to much of his subsequent work. In 1951 Salinger released his novel The Catcher in the Rye, an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield was influential, especially among adolescent readers. The novel remains widely read and controversial, selling around 250,000 copies a year.”

 

Genre

Fiction, Realistic, Coming of age

 

Curriculum Ties

Could be used for lessons on classic literature and coming of age stories.

 

Booktalking Ideas

• Do you agree with why Holden calls everyone a Phony? Why or Why not?

• How does Holden’s character change throughout the story?

 

Reading Level/ Interest Age

Grades 9-12

 

Challenge Issues

Sexual Content, Language

 

Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation)

• Active Listening

• Explanation of why it was chosen for the collection (Rational)

• Awards

• Reader Advisory Reviews (Students, Parents, Educators)

• Positive and Negative Reviews

• National Council of Teachers “Right to Read”

• ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials

• ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom

• Library Selection Policy & Library District Reconsideration Form

 

Why I choose it

I choose to read this book because it is a classic literary piece. I think it is important that teens are introduced to all types of literary works from the past and present.