PlotOverview

AbouttheAuthor

Briefly,butusingtheentirespace,discusstheplot,
conflict,andrisingactiontosummarizetheplot.
Useyourownwords.

HoldenCaulfieldisarebelliousteenager,getting
kickedoutofanotherprestigiousschool,Pencey
Prep,inPennsylvania.Hedoesn'tcareabout
anything,especiallyeducation,boredandfeeling
neglectedbyhiswealthy,NewYorkCityfamily.
Holdenhasnorealfriendsinschool,orliking
anyonethere,everythingis"phony",whichhe
speaksandthinksconstantly.WhenHolden's
youngerbrotherAlliediedthreeyearsago,it
markedhim,forever,afterwardstheboywas
changedandstopsbelieving.Gettingintoafight
withamuchstrongeropponent,hisroommate
Stradlater.TakingthetraintoNewYorkCity,his
hometown,butHoldendoesn'tgobacktohis
uncaringfamily,hisfather,alawyer,toobusyfor
Holden,nervousmother,shewantsquiet,older
brotherD.B.aHollywoodwriter,andyoungersister
Phoebe,hisonlyconfidantandpersonheloves.
CheckingintotheEdmontHotel,arathershabby
place,andthentheelevatoroperator,Maurice,gets
himaprostitute,Sunny,she'sHolden'sageandhe
kindoffeelssorryforher.Givestheladyofthe
night,fivedollarsjustfortalkingandsendsher
away.Chainsmokingwithgustoanddelight,
drinkinginbars,likeaman,wherepeoplearen'ttoo
concernedaboutacustomer'sage,justthecolorof
hisdough,goingtoaBroadwayplaywithavery
accommodatinggirlfriend,attendingtheloathsome
movies,andseeingallthosephonies,theactors,
fightingwithunsmilingcabdrivers,thekidishaving
agoodtime,livinglikeagrownup,aslongasthe
cashlasts.

Includeimportantinformationabouttheauthor.You
maywanttoincludewhatinspiredthem,other
workstheyhavewritten,significantlifeevents,what
timeperiodheorshewrotein,andhowthetime
periodinfluencedthewriting.

AfterflunkingoutoftheMcBurneySchool,J.D.
SalingerwasshippedofftoValleyForge
MilitaryAcademyinWayne,Pennsylvania.
AftergraduatingValleyForge,Salinger
returnedtohishometowntoattendNewYork
University.There,SalingermetaProfessor
WhitBurnett,whowouldchangehislife.
Burnettwastheeditorof
Story
magazine,an
influentialpublicationthatshowcasedshort
stories.BurnettinspiredSalingertobecomea
writer.

HistoricalContext

NovelNotes

TheCatcherinthe
Rye

J.D.Salinger

SabrinaSheffer

1/11/16

EssentialQuotes

Includeinformationonthetimeperiod,social,
economical,cultural,andothersignificant
influencesthatcharacterizethisnovel.

Idon'tcareifit'sasadgoodbyeorabad
goodbye,butwhenIleaveaplaceIliketo
knowI'mleavingit.Ifyoudon't,youfeeleven
TheNewDealprogramsofPresident
worse(Salinger4).
FranklinD.Rooseveltcombinedwiththe
enormousfinancialboostofWorldWar OneofthebiggestreasonsIleftElktonHills
IItopulltheUnitedStatesoutofthe
wasbecauseIwassurroundedbyphonies
nightmareoftheGreatDepression.
(46).
WorldWarIIhasjustended.

"CliffsNotesStudyGuides|BookSummaries,TestPreparation
&HomeworkHelp|WrittenbyTeachers."
CliffsNotesStudy
Guides|BookSummaries,TestPreparation&HomeworkHelp
|WrittenbyTeachers
.N.p.,n.d.Web.06Jan.2016.

Salinger,J.D.,E.MichaelMitchell,andLotteJacobi.
The
CatcherintheRye
.N.p.:n.p.,n.d.Print.

CharacterAnalysis

Themes

Identifyeachmajorcharacterinthenovel.
Describethemostimporttraitsthatcharacterize
thisperson.(
S
peech,
T
houghts,
E
ffectsonother,
A
ction,
L
ooks)

HoldenCaulfield:
theprotagonist,butseemstobetroubledand
unreliableperson.Heisalsoextremelyjudgmental
ofalmosteverythingandeverybody.

AllieCaulfield
:
Holden'syoungerbrotherdiedonJuly18,1946.He
diedofleukemia.

PhoebeCaulfield:
Holden's10yearoldsisterishismosttrustedlink
tofamily.

JaneGallagher:
HoldenlikestorememberJaneasasensitive,
innocentgirlwithauniqueapproachtocheckers.

Mr.Spencer:
HewasHoldenshistoryteacheratPenceyPrep.

WardStradlater:
Holden'sroommateatPenceyishandsomebut
vainandaboorishwomanizer.

Identifyandanalyzesomeofthesignificantthemes
inthenovel.

Phoniness:
Holdenexplainsthatadultsareinevitablyphonies,
andtheycantseetheirownphoniness.Phoniness,
forHolden,standsasanemblemofeverything
thatswrongintheworldaroundhimandprovides
anexcuseforhimtowithdrawintohisisolation.

SelfProtection:
Hewearshishuntinghattoadvertisehis
uniqueness,heuseshisisolationasproofthatheis
betterthaneveryoneelsearoundhimandtherefore
aboveinteractingwiththem.Forexample,his
lonelinesspropelshimintohisdatewithSally
Hayes,buthisneedforisolationcauseshimto
insultheranddriveheraway.Similarly,helongsfor
themeaningfulconnectionheoncehadwithJane
Gallagher,butheistoofrightenedtomakeanyreal
efforttocontacther.

GrowingUp:
Holdenfearschangeandisoverwhelmedby
complexity.Hewantseverythingtobeeasily
understandableandeternallyfixed,likethestatues
ofEskimosandIndiansinthemuseum.Heis
frightenedbecauseheisguiltyofthesinshe
criticizesinothers,andbecausehecant
understandeverythingaroundhim.Butherefuses
toacknowledgethisfear.

Mr.Antolini:
Holden'sfavoriteteacherwhileatElktonHills.

MotifsandSymbols

Identifyandinterpretsomeofthemajormotifsand
symbolsinthenovel.

Loneliness:
emotionalmanifestationofthealienationHolden
experiencesitisbothasourceofgreatpainanda
sourceofhissecurity.
Relationships,Intimacy,andSexuality:
offerHoldenopportunitytobreakoutofhisisolated
shell.Theyalsorepresentwhathefearsmostabout
theadultworld:complexity,unpredictability,and
potentialforconflictandchange.

LyingandDeception:
Holdensdefinitionofphoninessreliesmostlyona
kindofselfdeception:heseemstoreservethe
mostscornforpeoplewhothinkthattheyare
somethingtheyarenotorwhorefuseto
acknowledgetheirownweaknesses.Butlyingto
othersisalsoakindofphoniness,atypeof
deceptionthatindicatesinsensitivity,callousness,
orevencruelty.

RedHuntingHat:
itisasymbolofhisuniquenessandindividuality.
Thehatisoutlandish,anditshowsthatHolden
desirestobedifferentfromeveryonearoundhim.
TheMuseumofNaturalHistory:
ThemuseumrepresentstheworldHoldenwishes
hecouldlivein:itstheworldofhiscatcherinthe
ryefantasy,aworldwherenothingeverchanges,
whereeverythingissimple,understandable,and
infinite.