The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Between laser dogfights in space and apocalyptic car chases across the desert, it seems unlikely that the story of a mundane and particularly uninteresting week in New York has any relevance to our culture. It seems even more improbable that it can turn a teenager that hates everyone into the sympathetic and relatable character of a literary classic, but J.D. Salinger gets away with this in his novel “The Catcher of the Rye”. The protagonist and narrator, Holden Caulfield, is characterized by his sympathetic nature, whether it be towards his sister Phoebe, his late brother, Allie or his acquaintance, Ackley. Holden uses his sensitivity and insightfulness to cope with his transition into adulthood by Firstly, Holden demonstrates a lot of affection towards his sister, Phoebe. Of all the plain and simple characters in the story, Phoebe stands out as she is the one that Holden cares the most for.

Phoebe really influenced Holden throughout the entire book. When he takes her to the movies Phoebe is able to differentiate and tell if Holden is taking her for a good or bad movie. Yet she does not mind if the movie is bad or good. “You'd like her...she knows it's a pretty good movie” (67). Holden talks a lot about about his sister in this part. Since he is talking a lot about her it shows how important she is to Holden. By doing this it displays how great Phoebe is. Phoebe is this super smart person and Holden likes to compare her to Alie. Through Holden's dialogue it seems that he really emphasizes on how he loved the red of hair of both Phoebe and Alie. Both of them did have red hair that Holden liked a lot and both are really young when Holden describes them. This shows that Holden likes them being young and Salinger emphasizes on how Holden loves kids because of their innocence. Holden wants to try to preserve this innocence in

In J. D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield struggles with finding his place in the world, and entering a new, and more mature viewpoint on how to live his life. Since The Catcher in the Rye is a bildungsroman, it tracks the psychological and moral development of the protagonist. Though Holden encounters many opportunities to mature, it is not until he sees his kid sister Phoebe coming to meet him with her bags in hand that he realizes his absurd plan to run from his problems, and move west, is not only immature, but also letting down his family; this pivotal moment allows Holden to let go of his past, and grow psychologically as well as change his moral standing.

For my book talk I read The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. It is a fictional novel that is 277 pages long. I choose this book because it is a classic and because I heard that it appeals to an array of different audiences.

The way Holden explains the things he finds interesting and uninteresting gives the reader a good sense of his personality (Page 2 “If there’s one thing I hate, it is the movies. Do not even mention them to me.”) Holden’s use of phrasing lets the reader understand his changing emotions easily. Another example is in chapter 14: Holden feels depressed after Sunny leaves and thinks about his dead brother Allie. “It was not that I didn’t used to take him with me when I went somewhere. I did. But that one day, I didn’t.” From this, it is clear that Holden has regrets about things he said or did to his younger brother before he died; thus showing that Holden is not only an angry teenage boy who is flunking school but he can be sweet and has a soft spot for his siblings. It is clear that the author has taken some time to develop Holden’s personality in depth and to show him feeling a variety of emotions. To further prove this, on page 211, Holden says “I was sort-of afraid she’d fall off the goddam horse […] if they want to grab the gold ring, you have to let them do it and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off.” This shows character growth (from angry at life to a beginning of acceptance) which is crucial in this type of novel. J.D. Salinger goes past creating a complex character, he makes the character grow and

J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher In the Rye, has become one of the most criticized works of literature since its publication. In The Lost Shepherd An Essay on J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In the Rye by Chris Davidson, the argument that he makes about Salinger’s novel is that the title of the book is explained by Holden’s intent to protect the innocence of not just children, but of all the things around him. Davidson explains,”At this point it becomes apparent to the reader that the title The Catcher In the Rye reveals Holden’s desire to protect the innocence...which can be seen in his relationships with his family, children, Jane Gallagher, and other complete strangers and even his observations of inhuman things”. Davidson’s thesis is agreeable

J.D. Salinger is well known for his works. His most famous being The Catcher in the Rye. Two other of his famous works include Nine stories and Franny and Zooey. J.D Salinger is also well known for his sense of humor that he includes inside of his books.

J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye recounts protagonist Holden Caulfield’s journey after he becomes expelled from his boarding school, Pencey Preparatory, due to his inability to improve his grades. Before leaving Pencey, Holden visits Mr. Spencer to say goodbye, but Mr. Spencer confronts him with his lousy exam essay— causing Holden to make up an excuse to avoid Mr. Spencer’s persistent sermon. Holden does not go home; instead he wanders through New York City avoiding his awaiting parents at home. Salinger’s representation of Holden’s adolescence as a time graced by innocence and curiosity, yet terror and tribulation highlights that innocence eventually diminishes.

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, consists of many minor characters. There are more than about sixty characters in the novel in which only three of them are major characters (Holden, Allie, and Phoebe) and the rest minor. Many of these characters are just mentioned with no lasting impact on either the novel itself or Holden. Salinger uses minor characters in the Catcher in the Rye to tell the readers about Holden and his views about the world.

Our beliefs shape our perception of the world around us and the people in it. These beliefs have shaped Holden Caulfield’s perception greatly of the world around him, the protagonist from J.D. Salinger’s novel ''Catcher in the Rye''. In this case, these beliefs begin to force Holden into having a disillusioned perspective of his surroundings. He is unwilling to accept many of life’s realities including; change, dishonesty, and conformity. Thus by him not being able to accept this, he is ultimately unable to find happiness in life.

Holden Caufield, a college kid who goes to Pencey he especially hates phonies and dislike adult, Ackley, strathader and Mr Spencer, he also likes to comment on a lot of people especially is friends and teachers. Holden is denying his maturity and his loss of his brother by acting if he was there around him every day.

J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye provides a provocative inquiry into the crude life of a depressed adolescent, Holden Caulfield. Without intensive analysis and study, Holden appears to be a clearly heterosexual, vulgar yet virtuous, typical youth who chastises phoniness and decries adult evils. However, this is a fallacy. The finest manner to judge and analyze Holden is by his statements and actions, which can be irrefutably presented. Holden Caulfield condemns adult corruption and phoniness but consistently misrepresents himself and is a phony as well as a hypocrite.

As Holden’s story comes to a close, he accompanies his younger sister, Phoebe, to the

J. D. Salinger 's novel is often called, " . . . the forbidden fruit in the garden of literature" ("The Catcher" 116). J. D. Salinger is a writer from the 1950s, a time where literature has questioned the ideas of traditions placed in a community. Through his life and through his characters Holden Caulfield and Phoebe Caulfield in the 1950s realistic fictional bildungsroman The Catcher in the Rye, the postmodernist author J. D. Salinger focuses on the theme of self isolation in society in order to create independent opinions.

This time period was from around after WWII/1950 to present day. One of the major events at the beginning of this time period was the Korean War. This war actually began before the time period, but ended in 1953. Two years before the Korean War ended J.D. Salinger published “The Catcher in the Rye”, Its main themes were to show teenage angst and isolation against certain groups. This wasn’t just a theme for the novel, but for the entire time period too. This time period was also a time for people to try and make change and stress equality. In 1963, Martin Luther King made his famous I have a Dream Speech. This was the important speech that stressed civil rights and led to the civil rights movement. That same year, very popular president,