Novel Settings

Pencey Prep: Setting at the beginning of the novel

which was an all boys private school.
New York City: Where Holden travels after leaving
Pencey, includes hotels, a diner, bars, museum of
natural history, his house and cab rides.
Motifs
Red Hunting Hat: The red hunting hat is a
reoccurring assurance of comfort for Holden
which helps him throughout his journey.
Connections: Holden struggles with connecting
with others around himself and can never seem
to find how he is supposed to fit in throughout
the book. This leads to Holden feeling isolated
which he has to deal with on his journey in New
York.
Allusions
Out of Africa: A book that Holden is reading
throughout the novel. It's a book that he actually
enjoys. He relates to the main character Karen
because he wants to protect all the innocent
people in his life.
Romeo and Juliet: Holden discusses this book
with the nuns and feels uncomfortable about it
because it's such a sexy book.
Emily Dickinson: Holden talks about how much
his brother Allie liked Emily Dickinson. Holden
held a lot of respect for his brother, so Emily
Symbols
Red Hunting Hat: The red hunting hat is a
symbol of comfort for Holden. He uses it when
he needs to feel safe or when he wants to look
older.
Carousel: The carousel is a symbol of youth for
Holden. His parents used to take him there when
he was younger.
James Castle: James Castle is a symbol for the
loss of a childhood. James Castle was going
through a lot of the same things as Holden and
represents an alternative to what Holden could
have gone through.
Nuns at the Diner: The nuns represent the
conflicting feelings Holden holds over being able
to grow up and prove that being materialistic
and having money isn't the most important
things in life.
Mr. Antolini: Mr. Antolini is a symbol for the
connection that Holden struggles to achieve. Mr.
Antolini once again proves that Holden has no
one to turn to.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.

Salinger
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New
York: Back
Bay Books/Little, Brown
and Company, 1979. Print.

Quotes
"She wouldn't answer me. All she did was, she
took off the red hunting hat-the one I gave herand practically chucked it right in to my face"
(269).
"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do,
you start missing everybody." (277).
"You'd have liked him. He was two years
younger than I was, but he was about fifty
times as intelligent. He was terrifically
intelligent." (49).
"'Among other things, you'll find that you're not
the first person who has ever confused and
frightened and even sickened byt human
behavior."" (246).
Connections
J.D. Salinger was born in New York City and spent
his childhood there. Academics were never his
priority, just like Holden. Salinger failed out of
many prep schools before graduating from a
military academy. This novel was controversial
when it was released. It was after WWII and
reflected the teen angst of the baby boomer era.
Salinger himself fought in WWII. Salinger had
beliefs in Buddhism which are reflected in the
novel as death, old people and sickness which
are fundamental sufferings in Buddhism. Salinger
and Holden Both grew up wealthy.

Megan Blackburn.
1st pd.
Plot Points
Holden is expelled from his school, Pencey,
and goes to visit his history teacher Mr.
Spencer.

Back in his dorm, Holden gets in a fight

with his roommate Stradlater and decides
to leave for New York City.

At his hotel in New York, his elevator

operator, Maurice, offers him a prostitute
for $5 and he accepts. Leads to another
fight.

Holden wanders around town and looks for

his little sister Phoebe. Goes to the
Museum of Natural History.

Holden goes on a date with Sally Hayes

which does not end well. He wants Sally to
run away with him and Sally refuses.

Holden sneaks in to his family's apartment

to see his sister. His sister realizes that he
has been expelled.

Holden goes to visit Mr. Antolini, his old

teacher from Elkton, but leaves when Mr.
Antolini strokes Holden's face in his sleep.

Holden meets with his sister Phoebe at the

Museum of Art to say bye to her and
Phoebe insists on going with him.

Holden and Phoebe go to the zoo together

and he watches her ride the carousel. It
starts to rain and Phoebe gives Holden his
red hunting hat back.

Holden reflects on his story and wishes he

hadn't talked about so many people
Thematic
becauseSubjects
now he misses them.
Phoniness: Holden never approves of people.
He is constantly judging them by how phony
they are. He wants to go back to his childhood
where everyone is still innocent.
Love: Holden struggles to find love and seems
to force his affection especially through Sally
Hayes even though those aren't his true
feelings. It stems from the fact he can't find a
way to connect with people.
Coming of Age: Being on his own in New York
City, Holden has to stand up for himself and
learn how to grow up and find himself as a
person.
Isolation: Holden lacks true connections with
any other characters in the novel except for
his little sister Phoebe. Because of this, he