Catcher in the Rye Catcher in the Rye is a novel written in 1951 by J.D. Salinger. J.D. Salinger was an American novelist who is widely known for writing Catcher in the Rye. I know of a quote from him, which I really think is inspiring. “An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's.” This says a lot about his writing, because it certainly isn’t like anyone else’s! As an artist, his author’s craft was perfect according to his guidelines, so he didn’t need to be compared to other writers. J.D. Salinger wrote other books like Franny and Zooey and A Perfect Day for Bananafish, though I have not read them. His other stories go mainly unnoticed because of the attention centered on Catcher in the Rye. The story takes place in New York in the late 1940s at Pencey Prep School and New York City. The main character, Holden Caulfield, tells the story while in California. An interesting note here is that the story takes place in only three days, from Saturday afternoon to Monday afternoon, even though it seems much longer. The …show more content…
There are instances of Man vs Man, Man vs Self, and Man vs Society found in the story. There was an instance of Man vs Man where Stradlater and Holden got in a fight over a date with Jane Gallagher and a composition Holden had written. Man vs Self occurred frequently throughout the novel, however a memorable instance was when Holden felt guilty about Allie’s death, and how he treated Allie. The story has many sub-plots, and focusses less on one large plot. It could be said, however, that the main conflict was Holden isolating himself from his family and his schoolmates. Holden wants to be treated as an adult and have adult experiences (like sex), but is caught up in the memories of his childhood and repeatedly rejects the adult world. In this case, the rising action would be trying and failing to connect with the adults he
The book is narrated by the main character, Holden Caulfield, while he is in a mental hospital or a sanitarium of an unspecified location. The book is set around the 1950's while Holden is sixteen years old. The narration begins on Saturday after classes end in the school, Pencey Prep school, in which Holden attends. Pencey is Agerstown, Pennsylvania and Holden has failed four out of five classes leading to his expulsion. Pencey is the fourth school that Holden has been expelled out of because of him failing classes. Currently watching a sporting event on top of a nearby hill that is overlooking the field of play, Holden decides to visit his history teacher, Spencer, that he is fond of. While he does go there, Holden does not stay long because
Holden starts his story from a mental hospital. “Im not going to tell you my whole goddamn autobiography or anything. Just this madman stuff that happened to me last christmas” says Holden. Holden is a sixteen-year-old junior who has just been expelled for academic failure from a school called Pencey Prep. After being expelled from your school every kid in america must feel pretty bad about themselves he was like all. Holden dint really fit in well with the other kids. He always though of the world as a bunch of phonies. The amount of criticism he gave the school was high class. He hated everyone except a handful of people. Holden's condition starts of alright, somewhere in the middle he hits rockbottom but fortunately by the end everything is good for him. Holden is literally about to crash. Near the beginning as well as the end of the novel, he feels that he will disappear or fall into an abyss when he steps off a curb to cross a street. Sometimes when this happens, he calls on his dead brother, Allie, for help. Part of Holden’s collapse is due to his inability to come to get over his brothers death.
J.D. Salinger was most known for The Catcher in the Rye but he also composed other short stories. He officially began his writing career when he took a short story course at Columbia University, where he had an opportunity in publish in Story magazine (Telgen 117). After that, his literary career became increasingly more popular, appearing in numerous
A popular read for teenagers, The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, follows Holden Caulfield during his time alone in New York City. During this time he faces many challenges and makes difficult choices that help him mature. Although The Catcher in the Rye was written in the 1940s, the novel still continues to be relevant to today’s adolescents.
The Catcher in the Rye, was a novel unlike any other I had ever read. The way J.D Salinger wrote told the story of Holden Caulfield was honestly genius! I was always on my toes about what he was going to do the entire time. A lot of this came from the author’s style. The Catcher in the Rye had a sense of mystery throughout the novel.
The main character, Holden Caulfield, tells about his life before and after he was kicked out from Pencey Prep. The novel was told in first person through the eyes of the narrator, Holden. He recalls the events as a series of flashbacks placing the setting of the story in his mind.
Holden's constantly telling that he is different from everyone else, who he defines as "phonies", wearing his hunting cap to make him standout in society, and inability to make a social contact with a Jane Gallagher, who he constantly brings up, are just a few lucid examples of his self-alienation of society. Holden feels and uses this alienation to protect himself from the harshness of society is this constant defense mechanism eventually leads to his
The author has put in plenty of themes, messages, ideas, issues, and motifs. The character, Holden Caulfield is alienated from society, is experiencing the painfulness of growing up, thinks that the adult world is full of phoniness, and is sick of hearing about the American Dream from his teachers. JD Salinger has created a book that has raised plenty of questions and controversy towards the readers. The Catcher in the Rye shows how a teenage mind works. JD Salinger has used a stream of consciousness writing style where the character (Holden Caulfield) talks in first person as he presents his thoughts and feelings to the readers. The setting has taken place in the early fifties and the book uses a lot of profane words. The New York
“I just kept laying there on Ely’s bed... I felt like jumping out the window” (Salinger 48). One conflict is Holden against man because he doesn’t like the way Stradlater treats girls. However, this could also be man versus society because many men do this to women. Another conflict is Holden against himself.
J.D. Salinger published Catcher in The Rye in 1951. The main protagonist in the novel, Holden Caulfield experiences many conflicts and predicaments. It is common for Holden to hold opinions on characters throughout the book. His opinionated nature shows that human interactions mean a lot to him. Holden generally likes genuine people opposed to phony people. The comparison of genuine and phony is shown throughout the novel, especially when Holden meets new people. His true personality is shown to the reader when we see whom he respects and despises.
Jerome David Salinger, also known as J. D. Salinger, is a fascinating author best known for his novel, Catcher in the Rye. Although Salinger only published one novel, he wrote several short stories for magazines like The New Yorker and Story. A large number of these stories went on to be compiled into books such as Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey, and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction. Despite the fact Salinger has not published any stories in over 45 years, his reputation is still quite popular. Salinger's stories are studied in high schools and colleges, introducing thousands of individuals to his writing and ultimately increasing his fan base. Catcher in the Rye continues to sale 250,000 copies a year
The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J.D. Salinger. It is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a cynical teenager who recently got expelled from his fourth school. Though Holden is the narrator and main character of the story, the focus of Salinger’s tale is not on Caulfield, but of the world in which we live. The Catcher in the Rye is an insatiable account of the realities we face daily seen through the eyes of a bright young man whose visions of the world are painfully truthful, if not a bit jaded. Salinger’s book is a must-read because its relatable symbolism draws on the reader’s emotions and can easily keep the attention of anyone.
Salinger was born in New York in 1919 and wrote The Catcher in the Rye in 1951, and the values in the book reflected values in America at that time. A major value which society followed during that era
The Catcher in the Rye can be read as a coming-of-age story. How does Holden’s Character change or mature during the course of the novel? To what extent are there TWO Holden Caulfields in the book, and what is the difference between them?
The Catcher in the Rye was written by J.D. Salinger, an American author. The book was published in 1951. The Catcher in the Rye takes place in an unspecified location in 1951, starting out in a mental hospital. The story follows the main character, sixteen year-old Holden Caulfield. The Catcher in the Rye is pretty much him just talking about the events during and after his being kicked out of his school for flunking four out of five classes. His perspective as a teenage boy makes the book rather enjoyable, as you get to read about his wandering thoughts and it just feels very real.