The Catcher in the Rye: New Essays

by J.P. Steed (Editor)

J. D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye celebrated its fiftieth anniversary of publication in 2001. The Catcher in the New Essays presents a variety of new approaches to this extremely popular and intensely influential novel, ranging from the examination of the intertextual relationship between The Catcher in the Rye and Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses , to the evaluation of Salinger’s mythic place in American film and popular culture, to the interrogation of what it means for a reader to claim that a novel such as The Catcher in the Rye has changed his or her life. These essays provide new commentary and new insights, and demonstrate the continuing relevance of Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye , and Holden Caulfield to American culture and literature and, in turn, to American cultural and literary studies.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Literature

152 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Dr. E · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one will likely stay with me forever! Long live Holden Cauffield, jerk or not.

[Lynn Lutomski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic, honest, felt like i was 16 again

[Samantha Rose]

The Catcher in the Rye was a very good book! I enjoyed the story line very much, although the profanity in the book did not make me happy. Holden (the main character) is the protagonist and narrator of the novel. Holden is a sixteen year old who has just been expelled for academic failure from a school called Pencey Prep. Holden is very intelligent and sensitive boy. He narrates the book like the world around him is unbearable, and like he can't take it much longer. The aspects that Holden doesn't like about the people around him is just a way for him to show what he does not like about himself. He is very hypocritical and that is why I did not like him at all. He is unhappy with himself, and he displays himself as mean and fake. He is on the verge of emotional collapse, and is very unstable. Even though the character in the book is very unlikeable, I definitely recommend this book. Holden keeps it interesting! My favorite quote from the book is "I am always saying "Glad to've met you" to somebody I'm not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though.” The reason why I am including this quote because it is true; if you don't make others feel happy or safe they may hurt you. I recommend this book to anybody who has a crude sense of humor or who likes books with psycho people.

[AMF · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a part if every man that can relate to this novel and the the time of their life at which they relate to a given part is what makes the story worth reading again and again.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in high school and just read it again...couldn't stop reading it to see what Holden ended up doing...felt for him. A coming of age classic.

[Tracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still love this book even at my age. Just read it last month and the re-visit had me laughing out loud at moments.

[Anthony Mayor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a pretty wild kid during junior high and high school. My saving grace was that I was a voracious reader. This story hit many cords at the time.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the story Catcher in the Rye the main character is a 16 year old boy named Holden. The book takes place when Holden is in a mental hospital and starts talking about his life before. I found the book to be a little frustrating because of the little amount of motivation Holden would put into nearly anything especially school. Holden had already been kicked out of three private school due to failing almost every class. Something I found interesting about the book was how little Holden's parents were mention in the story especially with how poorly he was doing in almost everything. I would have thought the parents would become more strict about his life especially since they were paying lots of money for Holden to attend the school. As Holden grew older he became more rebellious due to the fact that he didn't know what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. By the end of the story Holden is walking on the streets and sees a boy on the streets listening to music reminding him of himself. Holden then immediately felt the need to protect kids from filling into the same trap as him and not being successful with their lives. So, when Holden met up with his younger sister Phoebe and she told him she wanted to run away with him he brought her to an amusement park where she was able to realize how good her life was and that she should stick to school if she wanted to be successful.

[JessiBPunkt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy what a disturbing young man this Holden is. He really has some problems with purpose and meaning in life and with a path to follow in his thoughts as well as in his life.
It seems to end well at the finish line but you keep wondering if the death of his brother was some trigger why he gets so confused, or the very confusing adults around hom or just the hormones.
Some part of me really wonders. The other part was more or less annoyed due to the fact of overly usage of word repitition and thoughts.
But well it’s a classic one and i guess it should be read. So fine, it‘s done…

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first i thought was a lame book,even stared wondering why it was so popular .its a good book,its a kind of book your english teacher gives you to read and write essays about not a book for all ag3s.

[nare 🍸 · Rating 3 out of 5]

maybe i just didn’t understand this book, don’t get me wrong it was a nice read. but it mostly just felt like a book of some teenagers random thoughts in a somewhat chronological order. still pleasant to read.

[Alex Vesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this as a teenager and then again just recently and thought that it is essential reading for pre-teen or teenage boys. And their Dads.
Superb classic!

[Heather Halbur-Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW

[Lindsay Madigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I hate to admit it, I liked this book…

[Lillian Swagerty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot. Read it back in high school sophomore year about when I probably related to Holden a lot more, but I still liked it a lot this time around.

[Dragonlhapla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that when I first heard of this book it did not catch my interest. It instead, in fact, made me turn up my nose. But after having read the book I can honestly admit that it was a much better read than I had intended for it to be and I for the most part enjoyed it. While the book held meaning and had an interesting way of sharing that meaning through its use of grammar, I found that the actual reading of the book came off as enjoyable and easy to do. The story in itself was interesting enough to capture my attention was i satrted reading it. I can't say that I would count this as a new favorite of mine though. While I did enjoy it, it was hard for me to actually pick up the book unless in the right mind set. Other than that, I found it to hold a good enough story and unique characters that would make my blood boil with anger. Holden being the main character, I learned more about him. Throughout the reading you learn more about his brother who since passed away and of his younger sister and parents along with others. Certain characters such as Ackley, are described-to say the least- as disgusting. He doesn't hold many friends and is described to never brush his teeth and so on, Holden stating that he is irritating and holds disgusting personal habits and poor hygiene. I will fairly admit I was disgusted with Ackley at first and hated the thought of him. But as the story progessed I found that I had started to like him more as a character and that he wasnt nearly as bad as I had pegged him to be. When speaking of religion I thought he started to show some real, geniune character and it caught on with me. Holden, being the main character, I saw the insight to him and I must say that while I do have my own personal disagreements with him and his actions and such, I still find him to be a very interesting character in himself, despite holding the lead role within the story. I noticed the real inner turmoil that he faced througtout the story and I really saw some of his character. While this is not my favorite book, I can most definitely appreciate its uniquness and use of language along with its characters. I can say without a doubt in my mind, that in my opinion, this book deserves a high rating.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son is going to be reading this for sophomore English this year, so I decided to "reread" my copy of it. As I got into the book, I realized I had never actually read it the first time! So, I've probably owned the book for about 20 years but this was the first time I cracked it open. Overall I thought it was a good book and many of Holden Caulfield's thoughts/experiences/struggles/quirks reminded me of kids his age TODAY, so in that sense the book is timeless. I had a difficult time identifying any type of climax in the book, but it was a very interesting read, nonetheless, and I'm glad I can finally count this classic on my "already read" list.

[Rachael Mcclain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Before you interpret my one star for this book, you should know that I was unable to finish reading it. I have no problem reading certain kinds of books, especially those who make me feel something, but with The Catcher in the Rye the feelings that were stoked in me made it impossible to get passed them.

I hope that if you have ever thought about reading it you will at least give it a chance. That is why I attempted to do so. That being said, if you do choose to read it, good luck!

[Amanda B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this novel almost 10 times. Each time finding so much more of myself in Holden and society. Our jaded nature towards this classic. I imagine reading this in the form of a young adult 50 years ago and the grip of impact it must have had on it's readers at that time. How now, it is merely nothing to today's society. A cherished book by an even more brilliant writer in his own right.

[David J]

I thought this book was well written the first chapters were hard to understand the middle became gramatical the end was about understanding the meanings of the words not just dragging your eye through the word.

[Hope Wiltfong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viewed as a classic 'coming-of-age' book.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Undoubtedly one of my favorite reads. I am sorry I did not read it sooner than I did.

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

2nd time around really didn't alter my opinion

[Cynthiaj · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I am just not into angst. Holden has issues and not very many answers. And while I realize that is mostly the point, I just can't get into it.

[Diana Neckles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting recollection of childhood memory. A well written piece

[Veronica Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't like high school, this was my favorite book and I got an A on the paper.

[Kevin Kehoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot.

[Jami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Holden's ability to call himself a madman!

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

liked this one a lot a good classic

[Jabez]

I thought this book was really interesting because the main character holden is a very very interesting character that people may or may not dislike.