Goodreads | The Catcher in the Rye

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Big rated it:

05/08/08

Read in March, 2008

J.D. Salinger’s ‘Catcher in the Rye’ was published on July 16, 1951. It was his first novel. It became very popular among young adolescents yet not so popular with older generations. I personally thoroughly enjoyed every part of this book. I felt very close to Holden Caulfield, the main character in the story, as I read it.
Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year old boy from New York, was quite unlike kids his age. He had no interest in being popular or social. From the very beginning he lets ...more J.D. Salinger’s ‘Catcher in the Rye’ was published on July 16, 1951. It was his first novel. It became very popular among young adolescents yet not so popular with older generations. I personally thoroughly enjoyed every part of this book. I felt very close to Holden Caulfield, the main character in the story, as I read it.
Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year old boy from New York, was quite unlike kids his age. He had no interest in being popular or social. From the very beginning he lets us into part of his personal life. His parents are very touchy and his mother is especially protective. It becomes clear very quickly where Holden’s interests lie and where they start to veer off. He tends to lean away from the fake in the world and is a teller of what is real.
Holden is not a fan of the movies at all. He saw his brother, D.B., throw away his natural writing talent all for a large Hollywood check. Any other boy Holden’s age would have been absolutely ecstatic to have a sibling working amongst the stats in Hollywood, but not Holden. It was all far too “phony” for him; and phony is his worst enemy.
Salinger’s use of sarcasm and irony is beautiful and hilarious. As I read through each chapter I found myself highlighting funny, sarcastic things Holden would say or think (and trust me, there are DOZENS of time where this occurs.) One specific time in Chapter 8 he is talking to a cab driver who is acting like a real fool. Holden says to the readers, “He certainly was good company. Terrific personality.”
Salinger’s character Holden is actually a lot like Salinger in his real life. Like Holden, Salinger was known for his reclusive nature. Uninterested with the fakeness of the world, Holden keeps his distance from phony people. After Salinger’s success of ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, he slowed down his publishing and slowly but surely drifted out of the public eye. To this day Salinger refuses any offers to have ‘The Catcher’ put on the big Hollywood screen. Salinger’s ex lover, Joyce Maynard, even once said that, “The only person who might ever have played Holden Caulfield would have been J.D. Salinger.” It seems to me that it is no coincidence that Holden is no fan of Hollywood and that Salinger in real life and doesn’t want anything to do with turning his popular novel into a movie. Holden says, “If there’s one thing I hate, it’s the movies, Don’t even mention them to me.”
Since I have learned more about Salinger’s personal life, I recognize a lot of Salinger’s personality in Holden. In the story, Holden has overbearing parents much like Salinger’s parents. Salinger said his mother was over protective. Salinger has one sibling, a sister, which is ironic because it is Holden’s sister Phoebe who has a profound influence on Holden. He often talks about her with very high regards.
Holden is not a character who tried to sugarcoat the way he sees the fakeness around him. Holden, making fun of the people around him, often says things like “you would’ve puked” and “it was very phony”. I think that is another one of the reasons I like his character so much. For example, he is quite upset with the fact that his brother D.B. is selling his work to Hollywood instead of using his talents for his own pleasure. Holden even says that his brother is his favorite author. Salinger himself is a man who wrote for his own pleasure and likeness.
I made a similar connection to a girl named Sally that Holden likes in the book, to a real life lover of Salinger’s named Oona. Oona O’Neil was self-absorbed and stuck up, according to Salinger, yet he still phoned and wrote her letters quite often. Holden’s “Oona” in the story was a girl named Sally Hayes. Though he found her extremely irritating he thought she was very attractive as well. After spending a day with her, he pointed out about a dozen instances where he thought she was being “phone as hell”. By the end of their only meeting in the book, Holden says to Sally, “You give me a royal pain in the ass if you want to know the truth.” The real life Oona O’Neil ended up breaking it off with Salinger and married the famous actor, Charlie Chaplin.
Despite Holden being a sixteen year old teenage boy he acts much older than his age. One time in the story he has the chance to be with a prostitute but instead of acting like a pig, he starts to feel sorry for her and instead tried to have a conversation with her. He even offers to pay her for good conversation instead of for sex. He also stays alone in hotels randomly, drinks at bars and clubs often, and even tells people he’s older than he really is. But the reason I find his character mature and intellectual is for other reasons.
Holden does not hold money or material things to be really important. He is more excited to hang out with his kid sister than he is any other time in the entire book. He is content with something that would probably be boring to other guys his age.
Like many teenagers, Holden is often depressed. The way he deals with it most times actually breaks my heart in a way. He likes to talk to his deceased kid brother, Allie. He will take a real event that he can remember where he was talking with him and pretend he is talking to him again. He says, “I started talking out loud to Allie. I do that sometimes when I get very depressed.” It is really very heart wrenching to hear Holden talk about his brother. One of my favorite moments in the book is when Holden and Phoebe are talking in Phoebe’s room and she points out that Holden doesn’t like anything. Holden responds quickly by saying, “I like Allie. And I like doing what I’m doing right now. Sitting here with you and talking and thinking about stuff…” Phoebe says to Holden, “Allie’s dead-you always say that! If somebody’s dead and everything, and in heaven then it isn’t really--”. Holden interrupts her with his final comeback, “I know he’s dead! Don’t you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can’t I? just because somebody’s dead, you don’t just stop liking them, for God’s sake- especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that’re alive and all.”
One of the most beautiful things about ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is the way Salinger uses symbolism. From Holden’s red hunting hat, to Jane Gallagher’s checker playing technique, Salinger wrapped up more than meets the eye into things you never would have dreamed. The main thing that drew me into this story is the realness of Holden’s character. He is a teenage boy with a teenage boy’s mind but seems to have far more common sense than anyone else around him. He is not a jock. He is not a math whiz or a science whiz. He is not really interested in sports. He sort of makes up his own category; a category that I call ‘the genuine’. He is on his own a lot and loves it at first, but happiness and love are meant to be shared with others. It has a much less meaning when by itself and he realizes it by the end of the novel. He is growing intellectually little by little throughout the whole book. He realizes what really makes him happy. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone who would like to read a story that could possibly change the way they view the world. I have honestly laughed outloud to myself as I read this story. Yes, there is talk about drinking, sex, and lots of cussing, but if you are going to avoid reading this story because of that then your missing out on a beautiful masterpiece.
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Jason rated it:

03/21/08

Read in March, 2008

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read a hundred so-called "classics" for the first time, then write reports on whether they deserve the label
Review #10: The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger (1951)

The story in a nutshell:
Not so much of a traditional plot-based stor...more

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The Romanov Bride's Pimp rated it:

02/02/08

Okay, I need to review this book. Like your standard-issue pill-popping, prostitute-bonking televangelist, I need to spread the Word. And the Word is that this is the best book of all time, and--um, well, all you haters can just step the fuck off. (With all due respect, & etc.)

Imagine that you are in the Maury Povich show audience, if you dare. You're sandwiched between an obese women wearing a t-shirt with air-brushed running horses on the front and a tall, oily man who sm...more Okay, I need to review this book. Like your standard-issue pill-popping, prostitute-bonking televangelist, I need to spread the Word. And the Word is that this is the best book of all time, and--um, well, all you haters can just step the fuck off. (With all due respect, & etc.)

Imagine that you are in the Maury Povich show audience, if you dare. You're sandwiched between an obese women wearing a t-shirt with air-brushed running horses on the front and a tall, oily man who smells oddly like canned cat food. Out comes one of those notoriously slutty, out-of-control teenage girls who are sentenced to one of those ubiquitous slutty girl boot camps. Miss Thang makes her entrance in a tight pink midriff-bearing shirt with the word "Pussycat" sequinned right over her nascent hoo-hahs. You, the audience member, as well as your equine-celebrating neighbor (and also, less passionately, Mr. Fancy Feast) stand up and boo the living heck of this little strumpet. Who does she think she is? Doesn't she realize she's have wanton sex when she's thirteen and you didn't get any until you were seventeen-and-a-half, and even then it wasn't very wanton?

What was I talking about again? Oh, yeah, Catcher in the Rye. With respect to this novel, I, David, am that thirteen-year-old strumpet. All of you are going to stand up and boo me because I am having hot young sex all the time. But, in the case of this metaphor, having hot young sex all the time is really reading this novel all the time. And I will continue having this metaphorical hot young sex all the time no matter what any of you think.

I think Catcher in the Rye becomes passe to many an adult reader because Holden Caulfield is symbolic to them of a set of adolescent complexes and neuroses. But the search for authenticity and sincerity, as opposed to pomposity and posture, is viewed as adolescent only by the hopelessly cynical. (Disclaimer: I am an admitted cynic myself, but not to such an extent that I never experience disappointment about Life As It Is.)

You think I'm defensive? You think I'm huffy? Well, shucks, it's mainly because... well, Holden Caulfield is me. Many people might view this sort of affiliation by an adult as juvenile, and I'm okay with that. When I first read this novel in high school, I realized that J.D. Salinger had written a novel about me. Yeah, yeah, I know a lot of "misunderstood" teens felt the same thing, but I never stopped thinking that. I never grew out of him, and he never grew out of me. That's unfortunate, you might claim; haven't I "evolved" at all since my sophomore year in high school? It's a difference in paradigm, I suppose, but I never really understood why acquiescing to the absurd social conventions of day-to-day life might be seen as an evolution. (Likewise, if a culture grows used to war, for example, do we say this is a positive adaptation?)

I've really meandered around here, but this is some important shit. I thank you, as any good evangelist should, for humoring me. If you're still one of the booers at the Maury Povich show, picture that I'm flashing my business at you, waving my arms, and yelling: "Sit down, sit down! Y'all ain't nothin' but hatahs! You jus' jealous you ain't gettin' this!"

I'm one touchy sonuvabitch about this, aren't I? (Isn't it great that people can feel so strongly about literature? I think so.) But before I'm sent off to that slutty girl boot camp in the woods, I think it bears mentioning that perhaps if you don't like this book, then you don't like me. And while you are very much free not to like me, I really wouldn't recommend it. ...less

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Kathy rated it:

03/25/08

I read the end of The Catcher in the Rye the other day and found myself wanting to take Holden Caulfield by the collar and shake him really, really hard and shout at him to grow up. I suppose I've understood for some time now that The Catcher in the Rye -- a favorite of mine when I was sixteen -- was a favorite precisely because I was sixteen. At sixteen, I found Holden Caulfield's crisis profoundly moving; I admired his searing indictment of society, his acute understanding of human nature, his...more I read the end of The Catcher in the Rye the other day and found myself wanting to take Holden Caulfield by the collar and shake him really, really hard and shout at him to grow up. I suppose I've understood for some time now that The Catcher in the Rye -- a favorite of mine when I was sixteen -- was a favorite precisely because I was sixteen. At sixteen, I found Holden Caulfield's crisis profoundly moving; I admired his searing indictment of society, his acute understanding of human nature, his extraordinary sensitivity (I mean, come on, he had a nervous breakdown for God's sake, he had to be sensitive). At sixteen, I wanted to marry Holden Caulfield. At forty, I want to spank him. After all, Holden's indictment of society boils down to the "insight" that everybody is a phony. That's the kind of insight a sixteen year old considers deep. A forty year old of the grown-up variety recognizes Holden's insight as superficial and banal, indulging in the cheapest kind of adolescent posturing. It suggests a grasp of society and of human nature that's about as complex as an episode of Dawson's Creek. Holden and his adolescent peers typically behave as though the fate they have suffered (disillusionment and the end of innocence) is unique in human history. He can't see beyond the spectacle of his own disillusionment (and neither can J. D. Salinger); for all his painful self-consciousness, Holden Caulfield is not really self-aware. He can't see that he himself is a phony.

Compare Salinger's novel of arrested development, for instance, with a real bildungsroman, Great Expectations. Holden Caulfield is an adolescent reflecting on childhood and adolescence; Pip Pirrip is an adult reflecting on childhood and adolescence. Holden Caulfield has the tunnel vision of teendom, and he depicts events with an immediacy and absorption in the experience that blocks out the broader context, the larger view. Pip Pirrip has the wonderful double vision of a sensitive adult recollecting the sensitive child he used to be; he conveys at the same time the child's compelling perspective and the adult's thoughtful revision of events. While Holden Caulfield litters his narrative with indignant exposes of phonies and frauds, Pip Pirrip skillfully concentrates on "the spurious coin of his own make" -- that is, without letting the child Pip and the adolescent Pip in on the joke, he exposes himself as a phony. Pip Pirrip grows up. Holden Caulfield has a nervous breakdown.

I suppose the only reason I begrudge him his breakdown is that so many in our culture -- many more, unfortunately, than just the legitimate adolescents among us -- seem fixated on Holden as a symbol of honesty and socially-liberating rebellion. We view nervous collapse and dysfunction as a badge of honor, a sign -- to put it in Caulfieldian terms -- that we are discerning enough to see through all the crap. Our celebration of overwrought disaffection reminds me of the last sentence of Joyce’s Araby: “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.” Here is the adolescent pose non-pareil. Equally self-accusing and self-aggrandizing, it captures the adolescent at the precise moment when his own disillusionment becomes the object of his grandiose and self-dramatizing vision. That’s the kind of crap that Holden Caulfield (and J. D. Salinger) cannot see through. And it is often the kind of crap that we “adults” like to slosh around in.

The Barney beating of several years ago is another symptom of our arrested adolescence, our inability to ride the wave of disillusion into the relatively calm harbor of adulthood -- as though flailing around in the storm and raging at the wind were in themselves marks of distinction and a superior sensibility. I remember a news story about a woman in a Barney costume being seriously injured when a rabid (and probably drunken) anti-Barney fanatic attacked the big purple dinosaur at some public event. Now, I don’t know the age of the Barney-beater, but the act itself is a supremely adolescent one, in which the impulsive response to disillusionment is to lash out at those symbols of childhood which made the biggest dupes of us. At the dawn of adolescence, when Barney begins to appear cloying and false, it seems natural to want to beat up on him, as though it was Barney himself who pulled one over on us instead of our own poignant and necessary misapprehension of the nature of things. I could see Holden Caulfield beating up on Barney (at least rhetorically), and I could see Holden Caulfield missing Barney (as he misses all the “phonies” at the end of the book), but I cannot see Holden Caulfield accepting the postlapsarian Barney on new terms, as a figure who is meant for children and not for him. For all his touching poses about wanting to be the “catcher in the rye,” what Holden really wants is not to save children but to be a child again....less

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Melanie rated it:

06/19/07

bookshelves: classics

Read in November, 2006

As a child, we are protected from life. There really aren’t many choices available, and we are certainly sheltered from a lot of the harder parts of life. It seems like children don’t feel the need for meaning quite like adults do- maybe because they aren’t forced to face the daily grind. There’s boredom, but that is not what I am talking about. Kids don’t really have to compromise like adults do. As you enter adulthood you could start to see things and people as phony or fake. Maybe n...more As a child, we are protected from life. There really aren’t many choices available, and we are certainly sheltered from a lot of the harder parts of life. It seems like children don’t feel the need for meaning quite like adults do- maybe because they aren’t forced to face the daily grind. There’s boredom, but that is not what I am talking about. Kids don’t really have to compromise like adults do. As you enter adulthood you could start to see things and people as phony or fake. Maybe not people, but certain tasks or events certainly are. There’s a constant struggle in all of us between the meaningful and the mundane; the temporary and the eternal. There is a conflict, simply of time and energy. We desire the intentional and struggle towards spirituality; all while trying to earn a paycheck, wash our dishes, and sleep each night. It kind of reminds me of what I picture an AA meeting to look like. I think, rarely could someone find a place where people are more vulnerable, open, and honest with each other. Even if they win over addiction… how could life ever feel as full after that brief moment shared with others who completely understand? At the same time, the point of those meetings is to help people live- not just free from drugs, but maybe free to live in the mundane? Free to enjoy the dance of life, the needs of the soul balanced with the chores too. This doesn’t have to be depressing, but it does require compromise- or a sense of a time and place for everything- including the day-to-day.

Catcher in the rye touches on some of these questions. Holden struggles with growing up. He sees everything as meaningless and adults as predictable and fake. I think he is mourning the loss of his innocence… maybe not just right from wrong, but the loss of dreams growing up seems to require. Holden, while at the museum that is exactly the same as it was when he was a kid says he likes it, because each time you visit "the only thing that would be different would be you…" and goes on to say "certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone. I know that's impossible, but it’s too bad anyway." One thing I thought of to help explain Holden's struggle with growing up is this: Coffee. When I was a kid, I used to smell my dad's coffee- that strong sugary-sweet smell of roasted beans. You wait for your chance to be let in on this excellent secret. Thinking it is just the caffeine that is preventing your parents from giving you a taste. Finally, they do and then all your dreams of that sweet flavor come crashing down! It's wrecked! Coffee isn't at all what you thought it was! That is, until the day you give it another chance, you start to be able to smell and taste the different tones coffee has. You can appreciate it for its varied, and almost living flavors. You see… Coffee isn't bad- it just wasn't what you always thought. The key is in finding the hidden flavors and getting over the fact that it will never taste as sweet as it smells. I think Holden struggled with the initial shock, that although life is more bitter than it "smells", or than you think it will be, there are the hidden joys and sweet flavors that make it almost better!

This book doesn’t really set out to answer any of the questions it raises. Holden experiences the extremes of entering into adulthood and relates it in a way everyone, maybe especially, teenagers can understand. He is a flawed character who is desperate and depressed. As the reader, you can see why he feels the way he does, as he explains it so well you almost feel it with him. However, you can also see the flaws in his thinking. The author doesn't romanticize Holden's life, you don't read it thinking he has some special key to life that we all need. You simply feel his struggle to fit in and hope eventually he can learn to play the game and see the beauty that is there, hidden a little....less

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Kaitlin rated it:

05/08/08

Catcher in the Rye
By J.D. Salinger
Reviewed by Kaitlin Westfall

Rebellious teenage years can be tough, but author J.D. Salinger gives a little insight on what they were like for Holden Caulfield. Holden is a troubled teen who is once again kicked out of school. Holden, the narrator of the book, takes you on his journey through rebellion. In this story, Holden allows you to “witness” drunken phone calls, awkward train rides and uncomfortable dates. To Holden life in Agerstown Pennsylv...more Catcher in the Rye
By J.D. Salinger
Reviewed by Kaitlin Westfall

Rebellious teenage years can be tough, but author J.D. Salinger gives a little insight on what they were like for Holden Caulfield. Holden is a troubled teen who is once again kicked out of school. Holden, the narrator of the book, takes you on his journey through rebellion. In this story, Holden allows you to “witness” drunken phone calls, awkward train rides and uncomfortable dates. To Holden life in Agerstown Pennsylvania does not seem so exciting, but to the reader, an adventure has been taken on.
J.D. Salinger has a different style of writing than most authors you may read. At first is can come across as shocking as you read about Holden and Carl Luce talking about their sex lives, but as you continue, it comes across as humorous and it shows the characters true personalities. The style of writing allows the teens or even the adults reading it, to relate to the characters. Not everybody speaks proper English, so the diction in the story is that of real life to most.
The characters in the story are just as exciting as the plot. J.D. Salinger was seen as a recluse by many people. He also had a true passion for drama and continued to do it even though his father did not like it. Holden’s character may come from some of Salinger’s own experiences. J.D. Salinger does an excellent job of describing each character in a thorough manner. Salinger goes into enough detail to allow the character to be understood, but not to an overwhelming extreme. Ackley kid, a classmate of Holden’s is described as an annoying, nosy, pimply and unhygienic boy. Salinger is very good at having all characteristics consistent throughout the story. At one point in the story, Ackley kid comes into Holden’s room and rummages around his dresser. Salinger drops subtle hits about each character, which allows the reader to really get to know each character.
Holden tells the story from his point of view, but the story can also be seen through other characters eyes as well. The dialogue in the story allows the other characters opinions to leak out. The story’s main emphasis is on Holden, but the lives of other characters are shown. The book even goes as far as to describe the lives of some of his teachers. The amazing detail the book really allows the reader to enjoy the story. You can form your own opinion on certain adventures that Holden embarks on, but the detail also allows you to sit back and enjoy your read. The detail does the thinking for you. There are not many gaps to be filled in the story!
Holden, the main character and in my opinion, the life of the book, is the whole reason for the book. He can been seen as funny but at the same time a little troubled. Holden is not afraid to say what he is thinking. When he decides to leave Pencey Prep (his high school) early, he yells out loud “Sleep tight ya morons”. Holden even goes as far as calling people a royal pain in the ass or even a bastard. Holden speaks his mind.
Phoebe, Holden’s younger sister, helps the reader understand the true “lesson” of the book. Phoebe looks up to Holden and would do anything for him. She even gives up her Christmas dough, so that Holden will have some money. Phoebe does not see the troubled and rebellious Holden, she sees her big brother who at times can mess up. In the story it is easy to see, that Phoebe looks up to and cares about Holden, but the same can be said for Holden. Phoebe is the one person Holden can count on. Phoebe calms his rebellious side down. She is the one person he feels he can be real with and that truly understands him. Holden wants to protect Phoebe, and does not want her to go down the same path he did.
This novel would not be classified as a romance novel, but there is a little romance and love in the story. In the story, there are two “love interests”, Jane Gallagher and Sally Hayes. Jane was a girl that used to live right next door to Holden that he would play Checkers with. Then there was Sally Hayes. Holden really liked her. Holden told Sally that they should run away and get married and live in the mountains. When he was with Sally he always seemed to be very spontaneous.
From the outside, the book can be seen as a story about a teenager who can not seem to do the right thing, but once you read it; a new meaning can be uncovered. To discover the true and exciting meaning of the book and to understand where the title came from you need to read the book yourself! Read the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger! I highly recommend it!
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Talmadge rated it:

05/08/08

recommends it for: everyone

“Catcher in the Rye”
By: J.D. Salinger
Review by Talmadge Irvin

J.D. Salinger did not grow up in the same time period as I am in now, but through his character Holden Caulfield I could really identify with the problems that frustrated him on a daily basis while he was in or outside of school. “Catcher in the Rye” is the story of Holden Caulfield telling of his past experiences while preparing to make his journey back home from the school he is being expelled from. Holden Caulfiel...more

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Cody rated it:

(review of isbn 0316769487)

10/17/07

The Catcher and the Rye is a struggle between ending your teenage years and starting adulthood. Holden Caulfeild is struggling with just this problem. When the story first begins, he has just been kicked out of another school. Finding himself alone on a friday night Holden gets nervous becuase his roomate is on a date with a childhood friend of his. He can't help himself but wonder what his roomate and Jane are doing. Getting agitated by that and his dormatory roomate he decides to go to New...more The Catcher and the Rye is a struggle between ending your teenage years and starting adulthood. Holden Caulfeild is struggling with just this problem. When the story first begins, he has just been kicked out of another school. Finding himself alone on a friday night Holden gets nervous becuase his roomate is on a date with a childhood friend of his. He can't help himself but wonder what his roomate and Jane are doing. Getting agitated by that and his dormatory roomate he decides to go to New York Manhatten for the weekend. Once on the train he meets a lady, a mother of a classmate. He despises the student, but he can't help himself but to lie to her. Once off the train he goes to a motel and watches people from his widow. Next, he calls a lady that is said to be "easy". He tries to meet up with her that night, but she refuses and asks if he'd like to meet tomorrow. He doesn't want to so he hangs up. Now bored he decides to go down the the motels bar to get a drink, but the waiter finds out that he's not of age and doesn't serve him anything. While sitting at the bar he meets three ladies in their thirties. He flirts with them for awhile, then they make fun of his age and leave him. Stuck with all of the tabs. Once he leaves he starts to think about Jane and about their summer together. So, he decides to leave and take a cab to a jazz club where he runs into his older brothers ex girlfriend. She invites him to sit with her and her date, but he refuses by making up the excuse of having to meet someone and leaves to walk back to his motel. Once back to the motel he gets an offer of a hooker from the elevator attendent. He agrees and awhile later a girl named Sunny apears at his door. He lets her in but he doesn't want to sleep with her, so he pays her and before she leaves she demands five more dollars. Holden says no and the elavator attendent punches him and takes five dollars from his wallet. The next morning he decides to call up a past girlfriend, Sally. They decide to meet up for a broadway showing. While waiting for the date, Holden goofs off and tries to call Jane but her mother answers so he hangs up. When he does meet up with Sally he gets annoyed becuase she keeps talking to another boy at the show. He offers to take her the ice rink, but they both suck and decide to get a table. In a deep converstion about school Holden asks Sally to run away with him, but she Refuses and he replies iwth "pain in the ass". Not accepting his apology, she leaves. Later that night, drunk, Holden calls Sally and just rambles about meaningless things. Later, he sneaks into his apartment and sees his sister. He has to admit that he's been kicked out of school, and she's angry. He tells her that he wants to be "the catcher and the rye" a person who catches children as they fall off of clifs, and pheobe tell him that he's crazy and he's confused the poem. Once leaving he calls a former english teacher. He goes to his apartment, and his teacher tries to talk to him about his future, but HOlden is sleepy and falls asleep on the couch. He awakes to the teacher stroking his head, thinking the teacher is homosexual he leaves quickly and goes and sleeps on a bench. He decides he's not going back home and sends a note to Pheobe telling her so and to meethim for lunch, she comes and wants to leave with him. But, he says no and she gets upset, and follows him around. The book ends with him watching her on the ride, and telling us that he's not going to go any further withthe story.

This book was an interesting mixtures of emotions, i enjoyed it more than I thought i would in the begining. I think I might look into more books by this authur in the future....less

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Lauren rated it:

05/09/08

recommended to Lauren by: Chad Barwick
recommends it for: Anyone! Whether you've read it or not

Lauren Allen
American Rebel I
May 9, 2008
J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye has easily become a personal favorite. It often seems the story of the teenage rebel becomes predictable and mundane, but Salinger’s work remains unique in a world of phonies. It is a story that, at its heart, is truly more about coming of age rather then a boy going against the system. It is easily relatable in his search to find exactly how a little self proclaimed outcast can find where he belongs in such a d...more Lauren Allen
American Rebel I
May 9, 2008
J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye has easily become a personal favorite. It often seems the story of the teenage rebel becomes predictable and mundane, but Salinger’s work remains unique in a world of phonies. It is a story that, at its heart, is truly more about coming of age rather then a boy going against the system. It is easily relatable in his search to find exactly how a little self proclaimed outcast can find where he belongs in such a disagreeable world.
The story is told through the main character Holden Caulfield. This causes the writing to become slightly less structured. It often feels like you are sitting down and listening to Holden’s long story in person rather than reading the book. Holden’s speech habits and favorite words become quite evident early on which gives his character much more depth. The believability is one of the many things that sets this story apart in a league of its own. Salinger never claims an innocent world in which teenagers are good and wholesome, but rather embraces the faults of society and its people.
Holden’s interaction with the other characters is also quite unique. His opinions of the people he knows are constantly changing and evolving. But even more important is his awareness of the change. Early on Holden introduces Sally Hayes, a girl he used to go out with. Throughout the story we find Holden seeking company and comfort from her despite the fact that he does not care much for her personality. There is even a moment in which he tells her he loves her and knows he means it- at the time at least. However she is simply a stand in for the elusive Jane Gallagher that Holden always wants to call but never ‘feels like it’.
Although the story takes place in the past it remains timeless, except for the occasional outdated word reference and lingo. Except for his brief stay at his old school Pencey Prep, the bulk of the story takes place in New York. Several famous places are mentioned and visited that remind you where Holden is. The setting is a very key factor in understanding why Holden feels the way he does. He makes several references that let the reader know his family is well off- such as his attending boarding school or being fitted for suits at Brooks- but he never directly refers to his money. It is understood that he is slightly spoiled, but it is obvious he does not care to maintain such a lifestyle. He even shows signs of feeling insignificant in the big city, taking refuge in a museum because ‘it never changes’.
The most important character is Holden’s late little brother Allie. He is easily one of the most inspiring characters to Holden, next to his little sister Phoebe. In Holden’s everyday life he constantly finds things he does not like or agree with, but whenever he thinks of Allie he calms down and is reminded of innocence. This wish to maintain innocence in the young is one of the more interesting themes of the story, directing many of Holden’s actions later on.
One of the most important symbols in the story is a red hunting hat Holden purchased for a buck. How different characters react to the hat is almost parallel to how Holden feels about them. For example; one of his friends from Pencey, Robert Ackley, makes fun of the way Holden wears the hat. The moment before when introducing Ackley, we find Holden considers him strange and a bit annoying. Later on Holden’s sister quite enjoys the hat as a gift from her big brother and she is the most respected character in the entire story.
Another reoccurring theme is Holden’s search for odd knowledge. He asks questions like where the ducks in the park go during winter. Unfortunately, no one ever seems to take Holden seriously or give the question much consideration. However it is unclear if he asks the questions through curiosity or simply to spike people’s interest. Either way, Holden is always accusing himself of being crazy or strange when he thinks up these questions.
Overall it is a fun, truthful read that may inspire the rebel at heart. It is up to each person to decide whether Holden is a hidden hero or simply an annoyance. Perhaps, in truth he is a little bit of both, but after all, we are just crummy phonies anyway.
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Monica added it

05/08/08

Monica Waller
period 2
5/ 09/ 08
Catcher in the Rye Review
The book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a terrific read. The novel is narrated in first person through the main character Holden Caulfield. This gives the book a very personal feel. It is told as if a very rebellious teen were personally dictating the events to each individual reader.
Throughout the story Holden partakes in several sorts of lewd speech and behavior. This is well evidenced in the excerpt on page 44, �...more Monica Waller
period 2
5/ 09/ 08
Catcher in the Rye Review
The book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a terrific read. The novel is narrated in first person through the main character Holden Caulfield. This gives the book a very personal feel. It is told as if a very rebellious teen were personally dictating the events to each individual reader.
Throughout the story Holden partakes in several sorts of lewd speech and behavior. This is well evidenced in the excerpt on page 44, “I kept calling him a sonuvabitch and all, for around 10 hours. I can hardly even remember what all I said to him. I told him he thought he could he could give the time to anybody he felt like. I told him he didn’t even care if a girl kept all her kings in the back row or not, and the reason he didn’t even care was because he was a goddam stupid moron. He hated it when you called him a moron. All morons hate it when you call them a moron.” It’s this type of writing that really adds appeal to the book.
This is an especially fine point of the work and one of the biggest draws to the book as very authentic feeling diction is used throughout. This factor, being Holden Caulfield’s diction, in and of itself, has been the main point of debate on the appropriateness of this work for students and has developed the work, as a whole, as a piece of fiction to be either loved or hated. In numerous occasions teachers have been fired, forced to resign etc. over assigning this book. Much to the dismay of those who argue that this book isn’t suitable for children, the publicity prompted over these occasions merely seems to increase the popularity of the novel in teenagers looking to take a page from Salinger’s rebellious book as they hear of the book’s “offensive” word usage and “suggestive” and “inappropriate” content.
One such occurrence of a formal objection to the assignment of The Catcher in the Rye was reported of on September 3rd 1989 in The New York Times in a piece about the high school teacher, Shelley Keller-Gage. The challengers, ironically, were led by a distraught parent who in a public statement declared that she had never read the novel and had no intention ever to. In a corresponding statement from Shelley Keller-Gage of her challengers, she in-turn said that, “These people are being just like Holden, the ones who are trying to censor the book...They are trying to be catchers in the rye.”. The teacher was referring to the novel excerpt on page 173, ‘I was thinking about something else-something crazy.” “You know what I’d like to be? I mean if I had my goddam choice?” “What?...” “You know that song ‘If a body catch a body comin’ through the rye?’ I’d like-” “It’s ‘If a body meet a body coming through the rye’!” old Phoebe said. “It’s a poem. By Robert Burns.” “I know it’s a poem by Robert Burns.” ... “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going and I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be. I know it’s crazy.” What this shows is that he wants to save children from their future selves, the real world, and, most of all, adulthood, and, as Shelley Keller-Gage put it, that is precisely what this book’s attempted censors were trying to do.
Despite all the unsettling controversy stirred over this book it has a very fitting feel to it when you read it. Somehow without ever experiencing quite what Holden has or ever doing quite what he does it’s perfectly relatable to. Salinger really captures the essence of teenage feelings through Holden that despite being broad enough to be related to by such a large demographic it is specific enough to feel personalized to each individual....less

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Rachel rated it:

05/07/08

Rachel Merritt
May 6, 2008
Reviewing Catcher in the Rye

J.D Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” is a very good novel to read, especially in this day. Unlike many popular and best novels written, The Catcher in the Rye is more relatable for today’s teenagers that want to rebel, and find themselves at the very same time. Holden Claufield who is the main character and protagonist is brilliant but leads a lonely life. He finds the world to be phony, (phony is his favorite word) He find...more Rachel Merritt
May 6, 2008
Reviewing Catcher in the Rye

J.D Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” is a very good novel to read, especially in this day. Unlike many popular and best novels written, The Catcher in the Rye is more relatable for today’s teenagers that want to rebel, and find themselves at the very same time. Holden Claufield who is the main character and protagonist is brilliant but leads a lonely life. He finds the world to be phony, (phony is his favorite word) He finds refuge in his younger sister Pheobe but is constantly depressed over the death of his brother Allie.
Both of Holden’s siblings are very influential in his life, he is constantly thinking of them and wonders how Pheobe is and misses Allie. The school aspect of the book is Holden’s time spent at Pency Prep. He loathes this school and continuously wishes to leave. He hates many of the students, teachers, and most of all the government and rules of the prep school. Holdens need for alienation from the world serves as his way of protecting himself. He feels that if he keeps himself away from the world, then he does not have to be involved in the negativity and madness.
Holden has a next door neighbor named Ackley that he very much dislikes; he finds nothing to be acceptable in his world that has to do with Ackley. He has pimples all over his face and has horrific dental hygiene. Holden hates it when Ackley barges into his room and will not leave. Ackley is an obstacle that Holden must overcome, and although Holden talks about Ackley as if he is a dirty roach on the floor, he at one point does confide in Ackley because he feels he has no one else to turn to when he and Stradlater get into a fist fight.
Stradlater is Holdens roommate and can be compared to all the cocky, jocks that think they are larger than life. Holden, of course despises this about Stradlater and wishes nothing more but to be rid of him. Holden calls Stradlater a “sexy bastard” because he is sexually active, this is criticism toward Stradlater but also an act of jealousy, which can be a root of rebellion and mistreatment in Holdens life, though Holden would deny and idea of jealousy in that aspect.
Holden Claufield’s love interest is Jane Gallagher, she is not an actual character in “Catcher in the Rye” but Holden mentions Jane and wants only to be with her more than any of the silly girls he dates. Jane is the image of love for Holden, she seems to have no flaws, but he cannot seem to mister up the confidence to actually speak to her one on one seriously.
Pheobe, who is very important to Holden, he confides in her like she is his personal therapist. Holden believes he is very mature, just because of his looks. Truly Pheobe is much more mature in more than one aspect, Pheobe, who is younger, has to loan Holden money that she saved for Christmas. This is a very good example of Holden not being responsible, which is actually one aspect of him being phony for once, and not everyone around him that he claims are all phony. Pheobe always listens to what Holden sais and tries to give him advice, she is a very intelligent girl, and is a very good dancer. Pheobe is one of the only people that realizes that Holden is his own worst enemy.
Allie, Holdens brother who passed away due to leukemia played baseball, and played a position in the outfield. Because he spent much of his time not being extremely involved in the game Allie wrote poems on his baseball glove, and used green ink. Holden carries the glove around as a symbol and key to remember his loved brother.
A very dear item to Holden is his red hunting hat, like most people who carry around a special blanket or pillow when they were young as a protector, Holden carries his red hunting hat. It is a symbol of his individuality and whenever he is wearing it he needs companionship. He rarely wears it around people that he knows. A key moment in the book is when he gives Pheobe the hat to wear, this represents a very important connection that he has with her, that he can offer her his most comforting possession, he trusts her. When he puts this hat on he feels invisible, which is his goal to stay out of the world.
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Jason rated it:

(review of isbn 0316769487)

01/05/08

Read in December, 2007

Beautiful!

I had been somewhat hesitant to read "The Catcher in the Rye" after snoozing through Salinger's "Nine Stories," but I'm glad I finally came around. This book is a work of genius.

The book is a "coming of age" tale, but it certainly transcends the adolescent garbage that fills up most of the genre. The protagonist is 16 year old Holden Caulfield - depressed, aimless, and disillusioned. The entire story covers just one December weekend in which he seek...more Beautiful!

I had been somewhat hesitant to read "The Catcher in the Rye" after snoozing through Salinger's "Nine Stories," but I'm glad I finally came around. This book is a work of genius.

The book is a "coming of age" tale, but it certainly transcends the adolescent garbage that fills up most of the genre. The protagonist is 16 year old Holden Caulfield - depressed, aimless, and disillusioned. The entire story covers just one December weekend in which he seeks to find direction in his life after flunking out of another prep school. As Caulfield contemplates his transition from adolescence to adulthood, he becomes disgusted with the utter "phoniness" of society and longs for the innocence of youth.

Where Salinger's masterpieces surpasses other notable coming of age novels such as "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man" and "This Side of Paradise" is in the treatment of social mores. Where these other novels offer a one-dimensional treatment of sexuality and religious apostasy as the sum-all of maturation, Salinger offers a more complicated, more realistic picture.

Caulfield's narrative certainly deals with sexuality, but he goes beyond the stock material of young man bucking sexual conventions. After first boasting about past sexual encounters, Caulfield admits he's actually a virgin. At an age in which sexual experience is a badge of honor for most young men, Caulfied decides that sex should be as much spiritual as physical and ought to be shared only with someone he really cares about. When his sexually experienced roommate goes out with an innocent childhood friend, Caulfield throws it down with the young man in protest against the perceived assault on innocence. Later, Caulfield accepts a prostitute into his room only to become depressed, pay the girl, and turn her out without accepting her services. The following day, Caulfield donates $10 to two humble nuns, the same amount paid to the whore the night before.

Salinger's treatment of religion is equally nuanced and equally honest. While claiming to be "practically an atheist," Caulfield also admits that he has a desire to pray. While disclaiming a belief in God, he occasionally asks what Christ would think about people's actions. In Caulfield's conflict, the reader sees a certain disgust with the phoniness of organized religion set against a sincere acceptance of Christ's actual message.

So while this book shares with other novels a contempt for societal mores, it is not a simple repudiation of religion in favor of unrestrained sexuality. Caulfield does reject most of the adult world he encounters as utterly "phony," but he does not follow the stock pattern laid down by earlier modernists. Caulfield questions it all, perhaps despising Hollywood above everything else.

So what does Caulfield accept after rejecting all of adult society? Childhood innocence. The only thing that makes this young man happy is spending time with children, his young sister most of all. Indeed, the section giving rise to the title of the work is a poignant plea for saving innocent children from the phoniness and corruption of the world.

So for all the past scandal about the profanity and sexuality in this work, there is much to be admired by the modern and the Christian alike. That's difficult to do, but Salinger pulls it off marvelously. Though we can't all agree what influences in society are corrupting, I think most everyone can agree that there is initially some purity that is corrupted....less

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Amber rated it:

05/14/08

Has a copy to sell/swap

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, we see the untypical but typical teenager, Holden. The actions of our main character Holden Caulfield makes our mind wonder what he’s going to do next. The life of Holden is sure to draw your attention from the moment you pick this book up. This book tells you about all the experiences Holden face to his final destination home.

Holden and the way he continues to rebel is what made this a good read. Why he continues to rebel is undefined, but when...more In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, we see the untypical but typical teenager, Holden. The actions of our main character Holden Caulfield makes our mind wonder what he’s going to do next. The life of Holden is sure to draw your attention from the moment you pick this book up. This book tells you about all the experiences Holden face to his final destination home.

Holden and the way he continues to rebel is what made this a good read. Why he continues to rebel is undefined, but when he does he’s undeniably the true meaning of rebellion. Holden is a tell it like it is, whether you like it or not character. You may think that all Holden does is rebel, but its way more to this book than that.

There are many stand out characters other than Holden. You’ll get introduced to a lot of Holden’s “friends” that he doesn’t particularly care for. However, there are a few characters that he does have an interest in. You often catch Holden and Allie (his dead brother) talking. Holden realizes that Allie is his outlet to happiness in a world where no one seems to understand him.

A normal teen would find comfort in their parents. But Holden does not. Not only does he confide in Allie, but also in his ten year old sister Phoebe. They both share a good sense of imagination. Phoebe creates a girl detective by the name of Hazel Weatherfield. The point is that’s she younger than Holden. So how is it that he can find a place of peace with his younger siblings?

“Mr. Antolini was very nice.” One of the few characters Holden respects is Mr. Antolini. Antolini was Holden’s teacher at, one of his many schools, Elkton Hills. In my opinion, Mr. Antolini was a little peculiar. His wife was about “sixty years older than him,” as Holden recalls. I strongly recommend you to read about the type of relationship Mr. Antolini and Holden share.

Another character he seems to get along with is his old teacher, Mr. Spencer. Spencer is an important part of the book. He represents one of the many real people on Holden’s journey that he often mistakes for phony. Spencer tries to teach Holden lessons. But like you may expect, you know what Holden does in return.

You can assume that this young rebel will never grow up, but you could be wrong. Holden begins to take on a life of his own. While reading Catcher in the Rye, you can tell Holden is not the same Holden from page one. Holden is seventeen years old but he tells you some events that happened when he was younger. So as this book continues, you can only imagine the things Holden has to conquer. You’ll see a lot of growth in our main character after his encounters with teachers, friends, strangers, girls, and adult friends. Holden maybe young but he has experienced enough to know what it’s like to be an adult.

There is no doubt that the main theme is rebellion. Holden will rebel against any and everything if it does not add up to his desire. His rebellion is what makes him stand out through out the story. He is one heck of a main character. Salinger did a good job on creating Holden because most teens should be able to understand some of his actions. Other actions are unexplainable which add to the suspense of who Holden Caulfield really is. You just have to read it to understand why Holden behaves the way he does. There’s something behind Holden to make him treat people that way he does.

The Catcher in the Rye was first published in the U.S. in 1951. This book was originally published for adult readers. But as time passed, the rebellious Holden Caulfield caught the eyes of young readers as well. Teens should be able to relate to Holden more than adults would.

There are many secrets Holden will reveal to you. The story is told in first person which makes you feel more welcome into Holden’s life. The story was written so long ago but you’ll discover some things in the book that remind you of today. Holden has a lot of surprises in store, so I encourage all interested to read and see what I’m talking about. This book was well written, all who read will enjoy.
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Scotty rated it:

05/08/08

If there is one line from Catcher in the Rye that could epitomize the story as a whole, it is the last line of the very last page: “don’t ever tell anybody anything, if you do, you start missing everybody.” I found this to be true upon finishing Catcher in the Rye as I wished it were longer. By the end of the book, I had come to know and nearly appreciate Holden Caulfield as a person (albeit, a very cynical, narcissistic person).

Holden Caulfield is the main character and narrator of Ca...more

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