PlotOverview

16yearoldHoldenCaulfieldhasflunkedallofhis
classesbutone,English,andwithallthewarning
Penceyhasgivenhim,thiswashisfinalstraw,the
expelhim.Hehasbeenorderedtonotreturnafter
break.TheweekendcomesandHoldenbecomes
fedupwithjuststayingatPenceyandwaitinguntil
wednesday,heseesnopoint,sohepackshisbags
andtakesatraintoNewYork.Uponarrival,he
checkshimselfinatacrumbyhotel,helikestocall
itthatisfilledwithpervertsandvomitlooking
chairs.Atthefirstbar,heclaimstobeovertheage,
butthewaiterdoesn'tbuyit,soHoldenordersa
cokeinstead.Atthefirstbar,hedanceswith3
differentgirls.AfterwardshegoestoaJazzclub
whereheendsupseeingaguyheknewfrom
school.Holdenbeginstointerrogatetheguyand
theonlythingheseemstobeaskingisabouthis
sexlife.WhenHoldenheadsbacktothehotel,
whileintheelevator,theelevatoroperatoratthe
Edmont,thehotelheisstayingat,offerstosenda
prostituteuptoHoldensroomforonly5dollars,so
Holdenaccepts.Holden,beingthevirginthathe
his,thinksheisabouttolosehisvirginitytoa
prostitutebutwhensheactuallystartstoapproach
himandsitsonhislap,Holdenbecomes
immediatelynervousandtellsthewoman,Sunny
thatthedonthavetohavesex,buthewillstillpay
her.Thenextmorningafterthebadencounterwith
Maurice,theelevatoroperator,hegoesonadate
witholdsally,afriendofhis,heendsupinsulting
herandpracticallyruinstheentiredate.Laterthat
night,afterHoldengetscompletelydrunk,hegoes
tocentralparktocheckouttheducksinthelagoon
andwhiledoingthat,hedropstheCDhewas
supposedtogivetophoebe,hisyoungersister,
speakingoflittlesister,Holdensecretlygoeshome
thatnightbecausehewantstospeaktophoebe,
luckilyhisparentsarenthome.Afterwardslateron,
holdenleavesaletterforphoebeatherschool
claimingthatheisleavingtownandforhertomeet
himatcentralparktosaytheirfinalgoodbyes,but

AbouttheAuthor

AlthoughtheCatcherintheRyewasSalingers
firstandlastfulllengthnovel,hewroteother
littlestoriesthatwerepublishedinmagazines.
HewassimilartoHoldenCaulfieldinasense,
hebouncedfromschooltoschool.Hegrewup
inManhattan,justlikeHolden.TheCatcherin
theRyewasPublishedin1951.

NovelNotes

TheCatcherinthe
Rye

J.D.Salinger

BrianaAyala

5/20/16

EssentialQuotes

HistoricalContext

Ididntevenlikehermuch,andyetallofasudden

IfeltlikeIwasinlovewithherandwantedtomarry
IthadbeenaroundthetimeWW2,andthe
her.IsweartogodImcrazy.Iadmitit(138
Salinger).
greatdepression.Holdensfamilyisntpoor,

theyarequitewealthyinfact,heclaimsthathis
Idontgethardlyanythingoutofanything.Imin
dadmakesalotofdough.Alongwiththeother
badshape.Iminlousyshape(146).
boysattheprepschoolheattends,themand
theirfamiliesdonthaveanyfinancialworries.

AddWorkCitedHere:
Salinger,J.D.
TheCatcherin
theRye
.Boston:Little,Brown,1991.Print.

doesholdenreallyleavetown?Whoknows

CharacterAnalysis

Themes

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

HoldenCaulfieldThemaincharacterofthestoryis
quiteinterestingandamusesme.Theentiretime
throughoutthenovelhedescribeshowphony
peopleareinsociety,butyetheisaphonyhimself.
Holdentendstospendhismoneyfartooquick.
Althoughitmaynotseemlikeit,butHoldenisvery
intelligent,hejustchoosesnottoshowit,especially
inenglish,whichhappenedtobetheonlysubject
hedidnotflunkinPencey.Althoughattimesitmay
seemhesalwaysannoyedandgrumpywiththe
world,Holdenislonelyanddepressed,heeven
admitsitinthestory.Holdenishisworstenemy.

PhoebeCaulfieldshemayonlybe10,butsheis
extremelyintelligentandcanseerightthrough
Holdenandrecognizethingsrightaway.She'ddo
anythingforHolden,andHoldenwoulddoanything
forher.Throughoutthenovel,itseemsasthough
thehappiestmomentsofHoldenswerewhen
Phoebewasaroundhim,shetrulydoesbring
HoldenHappinessandevenwantstorunawaywith
himattheendofthestorywhenHoldenissaying
goodbyetoher.

PhoniesThedifferencebetweenrealandfake
people.Holdenisthetypeofpersonthatsees
rightthroughpeople.Henoticesthelittlethings
aboutthem.Heseesthefakenessinthekids
athisschoolandtheadultsheencountersin
NewYork.

TheconceptofbeingaloneHolden
experiencesdepressionandwouldcomplain
wheneverhewasalone.Mostofthetimehe
wouldalwaysbearoundpeopleorwhenhe
wasalone,hewouldthinkofgivingoldSallyor
Janeacall.

Girls,Relationship,sex,etcHoldenbeingthe
16yearoldboyheis,doesindeedtalkand
thinkaboutlifeinthestory.Theideaofsexto
Holdenexciteshim,butwhentheopportunity
doesarise,hebecomesverynervous,scared
even,andhebacksout.Healwaysregretsit
after.Thisisademonstrationacertainwalls
beingbrokendownbyHoldenbecauseheisso
guardedup,thistypeofthingshowsthatheis
onlyhumanandisafraidofsomethingsjust
likeeveryoneelse.

MotifsandSymbols

TelephonewhenHoldenisinNewYork,the
lonelinessanddepressionhefeels,therefore,
heusesthetelephonetogetconnectedwith
theworldandhegoesandmeetsupwith
people,heevengoesonadatethefollowing
sundaywithOldSally.

ThehuntinghatthishatiswithHoldenthe
entiretimeheisonhisown,thissymbolizes
hisuniquenessbecauseitstandsoutlikea
sorethumb

AlcoholisasymbolofescapeforHolden,it
makeshimforgetabouttherealityofhislife,in
awayit'sabreathoffreshairforhim.