Major Works Data Sheet

Title: The Catcher in the Rye

Author: J. D. Salinger
Date of Publication: July 16, 1951
Genre: Fiction; a Bildungsroman
Historical information about the period of publications:
The first Holden Caulfield story was sold to the New Yorker magazine in 1941, which was published in
1946. Fragments of this story were published separately until the full book is finally published on July 16,
1951, changing Americas views on fiction literature.
Biographical information about the author:
Jerome David Salinger was born on January 1, 1919 in NYC. He is the second and last child of Sol and
Miriam Salinger, with a sister, Doris, who is 8 years older. He first aspired to be an actor when he was
younger, though he was described as a quite, solitary boy. He went to McBurney School in Manhattan in
1932, but struggled in the private school with grades. Seeing this, his parents sent him to Valley Forge
Military Academy in Pennsylvania where he took up drama and singing at age 15. He went through several
colleges before discovering his interest in writing at a short-story writing course at Columbia University in
1939. Through many rejections, Salinger continued to write and submit stories. He enlisting in the army and
taking part in the Normandy Beach raid on D-Day. He marries his wife Claire Douglas on February 17,
1955, and has a daughter, Margaret Ann, and a son, Matthew, but divorces in 1967.
Summary:
The Catcher in the Rye is told by Holden Caufield, the protagonist, while he is in a mental institution. He
narrates a few days in December starting from when he left Pencey Prep, which he was expelled from. He
visits his history teacher, Mr. Spencer, to say goodbye, then returns to his dorm, only to be bothered by
Ackley, his neighbor, and Stradlater, his roommate. He is extremely disgusted by Stradlater, especially after
he finds out about Stradlaters date with Jane Gallagher, his old friend. Holden ends up taking a train home,
to New York City, even though he wasnt due to leave for another few days. After he arrives in New York,
He takes a taxicab to the Edmont Hotel. His room allows him to see into the rooms of others, he sees a
transvestite, and a couple spitting at each other and becomes both stirred up and confused by his sexuality. In
the downstairs Lavender Room, he meets three women in their thirties and he tries to act mature and older,
but ends up having to pay their check. He thinks about Jane Gallagher and then goes to Ernies in Greenwich
Village but son leaves. Back at the Edmont, he has a prostitute sent for him. She, too, leaves soon, though
her boss, Maurice, comes to beat up Holden for more money. The next morning, he phones Sally Hayes to
see her, then checks his bags at Grand Central and had breakfast, during which he meets two nuns.
Afterwards, he looks for a record for his younger sister, Phoebe and hears a boy singing about a body
coming through the rye. Holden goes to a play with Sally the ice skates, but their date ends up in a fight. He
goes to a movie, then gets drunk, while trying to talk to his former student advisor about sexuality. He goes
to the duck lagoon in Central Park, then home to see Phoebe, where he talks about being the catcher in the
rye. He leaves without his parents finding out and visits Mr. Antolini, a former teacher, but ends up
sleeping there for the night and waking up to the man stroking his head. He has lunch with Phoebe and
agrees not to leave so she will not follow him. He takes her to the carousel and watches her ride. The book
ends with him in the institution, missing everyone. He is to start school again in September.
Characteristics of the Genre:
It is a Realistic Fiction book and a classic, but most notably, it is a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age novel.
The protagonist goes through many changes, especially psychological, to become an adult. They try to learn

through their experiences and the novel itself is their journey to maturity. Often, the protagonist struggles
with societys ideas, even though he or she reaches out to particular characters.
Authors Style:
Salinger writes in a colloquial, informal style with simple language. He speaks very frankly and to the point,
but so much so that it comes off as ridiculous or humorous. His sentences are generally short and his
descriptions are also, but occasionally we encounter some long explanations.
Example that demonstrates the style:
What I liked about her, she didnt give you a lot of horse manure about what a great guy her father was. She
probably knew what a phony slob he was.
- It is written in Salingers casual and honest style, and it comes off as humorous. Each sentence is very to
the point.
Memorable Quotes:
Quotation

Significance

You remember I said before that Ackley was a slob in his personal
habits? Well, so was Stradlater, but in a different way. Stradlater was
moreof a secret slob. He always looked all right, Stradlater, but for
instance, you shouldve seen the razor he shaved himself with. It was
always rusty as hell and full of lather and hairs and crap. He never
cleaned it or anything. He always looked good when he was finished
fixing himself up, but he was a secret slob anyway, if you knew the way I
did.

It shows how much Holden

cant stand phonies. He cant
stand how neat Stradlater
comes off as to others when he
personally has seen how big a
slob he actually is.

At the end of the first act we went out with all the other jerks for a
cigarette. What a deal that was. You never saw so many phonies in all
your life, everybody smoking their ears off and talking about the play so
that everybody could hear and know how sharp they were. Some dopey
movie actor was standing near us, having a cigarette. I dont know his
name but he always plays the part of a guy in a war movie that gets
yellow before its time to go over the top. He was with some gorgeous
blonde, and the two of them were trying to be very blas and all, like as if
he didn't even know people were looking at him. Modest as hell. I got a
big bang out of it.

This is another example of how

Holden cant stand artificiality.
He considers it just as bad to
purposefully try to act a certain
way as to act modest while
feeling smug.

It was a funny thing to say. It sounded like a real kid. You'd think a
prostitute and all would say "Like hell you are" or "Cut the crap" instead
of "Like fun you are."

Holden sees Sunnys

innocence, even though shes a
prostitute and he compares her
youth to his own.

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.

This shows Holden is afraid of

change.

What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of
good-by. I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was
leaving them. I hate that. I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad goodby, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you
feel even worse.

Holden feels the need for

emotion. He is afraid that hell
be gone from Pencey and
realize that it gave him
nothing.

"You ought to go to a boys' school sometime. Try it sometime," I said.

He hated school because

"It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough
to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac someday, and
you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team
loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and
everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques."

everything there was pointless

to him- he doesnt care to be
rich enough to buy a Cadillac,
and as for the people, they all
do those stereotypical high
school things. Hed rather be
apart from it than pretend to be
a part of it.

Characters:
Name, role in story, significance, adjectives
Holden Caulfield- The seventeen-year-old protagonist of the novel; He is the narrator of the story.
Throughout the novel, he travels around New York City, resenting the world of phonies. He is lost and does
not feel belonged anywhere. Through his experience as he travels he starts to realize that not everything is
the way he sees it from his perspective. He is judgmental and immature at first, but in the end he matures,
developing a genuine heart for the people important to him.
Jean Stradlater- Holdens roommate at Pencey Prep; He fits Holdens label of a phony as he appears to be
a well-groomed, handsome boy, Holden sees his unclean sides in the dorm. He angers Holden by
disrespecting Holdens brothers poems on his sacred baseball glove, and also by going out with Jane
Gallagher. Holden describes him as a sexy bastard; he is superficial and unappreciative.
Jane Gallagher- She shares a past with Holden; they were neighbors one summer and used to hang out
together. She is one of the few people who Holden considers very important to him. Being unable to protect
her from Stradlater and her alcoholic father, just as he was unable to protect his beloved brother from death,
makes him frustrated. She is a sweet, innocent, and idiosyncratic girl.
Phoebe Caulfield- Holdens ten year old younger sister; Holden feels the closet to her and from observing
her he does not find the usual phoniness that he finds in other people, but rather the true, optimistic spirit of
an innocent child. Phoebe is the only one who Holden feels true affection and appreciation from. She is
smart, imaginative, innocent, and compassionate.
Allie Caulfield- Holdens younger brother who died four years ago from leukemia (in narrative present). He
also is a source of hope and comfort for Holden, who talks to him from time to time when he is going
through rough time. While Phoebe is alive, she is too innocent to see the dark sides of Holden, so Allie is the
one Holden reveals his complications to. Holden keeps Allies old baseball glove as a reminder of their
connection. Holden describes Allie as being the most intelligent, and the nicest person in the family.
D.B.- Holdens older brother; Holden used to look up to him, describing his short-stories as terrific before
he went to Hollywood as a scriptwriter. Holden feels that he has sold himself out for the rewards of writing
popular but artificial movies. He is included in the group of people in the world Holden labels as phonies.
Sally Hays- A girl Holden has been dating for a while; Despite Holdens hatred for phony people, she
represents one of the extreme phonies who say and do things they dont feel. After their ice-skating date,
Holden realizes that she does not share the passions he has and that he is too different from her
unimaginative, insensitive, and stupid ways.
Mr. Spencer- A history teacher at Pencey Prep; He is one of the few people who Holden acknowledges
actually cares for him. He tries to convince Holden to get out of his slump and try hard in school, but Holden
just feels sorry for the old man. Holden realizes that they cannot understand each other and leaves. Mr.
Spencer is very old, dirty, and sad.
Mr. Antolini- Holdens favorite teacher who taught him at Elkton Hills, before becoming an English
professor at NYU; Holden respects him not only as an intelligent teacher but also as a person with a genuine
heart, after observing him carry the bloody body of a suicidal student. He is the only adult Holden does not
categorize as phony. When Holden makes a rash judgment on Mr. Antolinis affection, he begins to reflect
on his actions, seeing that people are more complex than what he makes them out to be. He is

Setting: Holden begins his narration in Pennsylvania, at his former school, Pencey Prep. The rest of his
experiences take place in New York City.

Symbols:
Catcher in the rye- Holden wants to catch children to prevent them from leaving innocence and emerging
into the adult world. He imagines a field of rye where he catches the children from stumbling off the edge of
the cliff.
Red hunting hat: The hat symbolizes Holdens uniqueness and separation from everyone else. It represents
Holdens desire to be different from everyone. He usually wears it unless hes near people he knows. This
portrays Holdens conflict between isolation and companionship. The color of the hat is also red which the
color of his sister Phoebes hair is. Holden associates Phoebe with innocence and purity.
The museum of Natural History: The museum symbolizes a world that Holden would like to inhabit. He
mentions how everything there is frozen and unchanging. Holden feels that every time he goes there, hes
the one who has changed. The museum represents Holdens desire to live in a world where nothing changes
and is simple. This is because Holden is terrified by the unpredictable challenges of the adult world.
The ducks: These ducks symbolize perseverance even in the most inhospitable conditions which is similar
to Holdens situation. The ducks verify that change is temporary. Although the ducks leave every winter,
they come back in the spring thus representing change that isnt permanent. The partly frozen and partly
not frozen part also symbolizes Holden stuck between childhood and adulthood.
Carousel: Life at its best possibilities. The carousel is a representation of the innocence and happiness of
childhood. It is an instance in which Holden could 'catch a body' and 'rescue' her too. It moves and continues
in motion, but the journey of a carousel is an illusion.. It's the play of childhood and Holden's fantasy vision
of the world.

Possible Themes:
Reluctance to grow up
Isolation as means of self protection
Loneliness
Phoniness of the adult world
Innocence
Youth
Sexuality and sexual identity

Lies and deceit

Depression
Mortality
Cynicism

Significance of opening scene: At the beginning of the novel, Holden insinuates that he has been
hospitalized for a nervous breakdown, the story of which is revealed over the course of the novel. Holden
Caulfield writes his story from a rest home to which he has been sent for therapy.
Significance of closing scene: Holden is truly happy at the end of the story. He sees Phoebe on the carousel
which nearly makes him bawl from joy. At the conclusion of the novel, Holden has returned to childhood,
away from the threats of adult intimacy and sexuality.