Salinger's Short Story Analysis

It is the consensus of most critics that Seymour Glass is the most important character and the leader of the Glass family. This is a point that is obvious from the stories that Salinger has written about the Glass family. Seymour is looked up to and revered by all the children in the family and is his mothers “favorite, most intricately calibrated, her kindest son”(Franny 89). When catastrophe strikes in Franny and Zooey, the only person Franny wants to talk to is Seymour. Why is Seymour the most important person in the Glass family?

There is no character that stands out against the society’s ideals and best represent for teenagers like Holden Caulfield. Like some teens, Holden does not do well in school and eventually gets kick out from one of the most prestigious schools in Agerstown, Pennsylvania: Pencey Prep. He gets so feed up with the school that he decides to leave earlier and travels to New York to have some lone times. During this period, the interactions that he has with the people he meets change his behavior and mind set, especially with Phoebe. In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, Holden indeed is still a relatable character through his actions, feelings, and concerns to his family members, especially Phoebe.

"Do not be mislead by what you see around you, or be influenced by what you see. You live a world which is a playground of illusion, full of false paths, false values and false ideals. But you are not part of that world" (Sai Baba). A world of illusion is an alluring, yet perilous place to enter. It can deceive the mind only to cause damage and distress. Holden Caulfield's life has led to. an atrophy through his struggle of conceiving illusions as reality. In J.D. Salinger's novel, "The Catcher in the Rye", Holden Caulfield battles the constant reminder of his brother, Allie's, death while he roams the streets of New York. Preceding his futile adventures, he is expelled from his fourth school, Pencey Prep. During his extent at

During the next few weeks Donny had been talking on the phone with this girl Miriam for hours upon hours. She had invited Her over for dinner but Donny said no, Cal let Miriam over for one for the “studying” sessions, They were both always with cal and it started to seem weird to daisy. She “This Miriam was an unappealing girl with blurry lipstick and masses of rough red hair. She wore a short, Bulky jacket that would not have been out of place on a motorcycle. During this trip to Cals she was silent, but coming back, she was more talkative. “What a neat guy and what house. All those kids hanging out, like a club. And the stern playing rock… gosh, he's not like a grown up at all! Married and divorced and everything, but you'd think he was our age.” Miriam had said.” This is the daisy has gotten to think it was all bad and weird for Donny, It had all gone down hill Cal wasn't helping and they were just partying and this girlfriend wasn't the best for him she has thought. She didn't know what to do she didn't think any of this was helping. She should have come out and mentioned it too him about her not loving this girl and not thinking she was the best influence to keep him on track and get his grades up. With them always at Cals partying nothing was getting better, The girl didn't seem like she was all this serious and Daisy knows

Many novels cannot be fully understood and appreciated if only read for face value, and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is no exception. The abundant use of symbolism in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is of such significance that it “proclaims itself in the very title of the novel” (Trowbridge par. 1). If the symbolism in this novel is studied closely, there should be no astonishment in learning that The Catcher in the Rye took approximately ten years to write and was originally twice its present length. J.D. Salinger uses copious amounts

All though it has taken a lot to build up the initial break down, the trigger was two books. “She got both books out of Seymour and Buddy’s old room” (101) The books over look a Pilgrim going on a spiritual journey, but it is not about the context of the books as to where she found them. “I want to talk to Seymour” (150) Franny says after her brother, Zooey offers to contact their brother Buddy. Through all of the religions in the pilgrim book it is about Franny missing her brother who she loves, and wanting to connect with him somehow through this

Books that are unique to their time period are memorable and often kept throughout the ages. A typical “coming of age” novel, which is a story that shows the development of a character throughout the novel, can carry characteristics that make it still stand the test of time today. Like the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger uses distinctive characterization techniques that include specific symbols making the novel stand the test of time from its publishing date, to present day, and more years to come.

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is portrayed as a young, troubled individual. He tells us his story from the mental institution where he is currently residing. Holden is a 16 year old going through many different adolescent changes. He is expelled from his prep school for flunking too many subjects. He drinks, smokes, sees a prostitute, is punched by her pimp, goes on dates, spends a great deal of time in the park, and really does not do a great deal else. Holden is a very hard person to figure out and analyze. Throughout the whole book, Holden constantly changes his mind about things and has various conflicting thoughts. The experiences that Holden goes through illustrate the divide between adults and

J. D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey is about a twenty-year-old college student named Franny, who is seeking spirituality in her life. She is a member of the intelligent Glass family, whose children struggle with conforming to society after appearing on the television quiz show called It’s a Wise Child. Salinger’s novel is composed of two sections. The first section, Franny, deals with Franny explaining to her boyfriend her distaste for the college environment. In the second section, Zooey, Franny discusses with her brother Zooey about feeling isolated from the people around her and finding spirituality in her life. In Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger, the main protagonist, Franny, undergoes a change in perspective as she tries to cope with her dissatisfaction with the world through her spiritual beliefs. In the beginning, Franny is experiencing a deterioration in mental health due to her severe judgemental attitude and harsh criticism of her college experience; with little thought, she turns to prayer in an attempt to resolve her difficulties, but her problems grow worse due to her lack of understanding of religion. Eventually, she comes to a greater understanding of her relationship with others as she realizes the genuine meaning of her spiritual beliefs through listening to Zooey’s consoling advice.

Have you ever read a novel in which a character is talked about often but never appears or appears but for a brief moment? At times you may think nothing of that character, you could assume they add nothing to the context of the novel and are placed to fill up a couple pages, but on the contrary. In some works of literature a character who does not appear at all can have a significance presence. In J.D Salinger’s novel “ The Catcher in the Rye”Holden the main character’s brother, Allie never appears but is mentioned multiple times. The lack of Allies presence is vital to the key aspects of Salinger’s novel. Often this lack of presence from a character is done on purpose. It can be done to signify something, make the novel multi dimensional or to enhance the writing. Ally’s absence affects the main character, the theme of the book, and a development of characters.

Written in 1951, J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye continues to be a popular book amongst Americans. Although The Catcher in the Rye has been banned in many public school settings in the United States it continues to stay atop some of the greatest books of all time lists. Whether people are in their teens or in their fifties they find themselves drawn to Holden Caulfield. At some point in their life they could relate to a sense of alienation, caused by money and wealth. Humans are wired to be jealous and want what others have. Holden Caulfield has the opposite problem, he has money and wealth which he inherited from his hard working parents. However, he himself is not motivated to work hard, graduate prep school and earn his own wealth. Instead he despises hard working students at the many prep schools he drops out of. Holden also has a big number of family complications. An area to explore is how wealth can contribute to feelings of alienation and despair. Holden Caulfield has a complex relationship with money, not wanting to associate from it, but benefiting from it. A further look into the 1950’s may give an insight into the troubled mind of Holden Caulfield.

In J.D. Salinger’s “Nine Stories”, there are two stories that indicate a death, and, remarkably, these two short stories are what begin and end this captivating piece of literature. The first story is called “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and introduces a man who has been through the hell of World War II, which allows him to see things from a different perspective. The latter is called “Teddy” and revolves around a young, ingenious boy that seems to have a speculative mindset and very deep insight into life. In both stories the reader is introduced to a “genius”, but the geniuses, with all the potentials at hand, end up going mad and killing themselves. However, this proves to be Salinger’s point. It demonstrates a fine line that

Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye has been pronounced a literary classic for its atypical portrayal of adolescence, to effectively convey the protagonist’s alienation and confusion. The introduction of The Catcher in the Rye is underpinned by disorder and confusion through a stream-of-consciousness narration, which digresses from one subject to another. Consequently, Holden’s multitudinous thoughts and feelings appear to lack a cohesive pattern. Additionally, Holden’s prevalent ascription of other students as “phony” (Salinger, p.3) alludes to his alienation and isolation as a form of self-protection; he rejects those he does not understand. Furthermore, the vocabulary encapsulates typical adolescence dialect of the 1940s, and resultantly, alienates contemporary reader. This is typified through Holden’s use of colloquial speech, in particular, his exclamation “that killed me” (Salinger, p.42) to express his amusement. Therefore, the introduction of Holden’s disjointed monologue in The Catcher in the Rye foreshadows Salinger’s unique interpretation of adolescence.

When Zooey goes to Seymour and Buddy’s room he reads the quotes on the bulletin board of favorite books. In this room there are many quotes from the spiritual classics the children thrived on. Books of literature and spirituality become a metaphor for the higher life of imagination and seeking that the children shared. Zooey claims that Franny did not get The Way of a Pilgrim from the library, but from Seymour’s desk. This makes Franny upset because these books containing a beautiful world that sustained her and her siblings at home are destroyed in college by academic analysis. The telephone on Buddy’s desk that belonged to

In the novel, Franny and Zooey by J.D Salinger, it is overwhelmed with many themes; the novel also reveals an important message on finding ones self and dealing with the difficulties and struggles of life; these themes consist of religion, egos, and culture. Franny Glass struggles with the phoniness and egotism that spreads through society. She longs to escape her problems and decides to get away from it by withdrawing into spirituality religious values through the Jesus Prayer. She soon realizes the down fall of her solution and through her pains and challenges; she learns how to deal with social unpleasantness. Franny learns that she needs to shed her egotism and act unselfishly. The novel also has many different symbols with