The Catcher in
the Rye
J.D. Salinger
-Keara Miley
Jerome David Salinger was
born in New York City in 1919.
Throughout is youth, he was moved
from prep school to prep school until
his parents sent him to a military
academy. He also attended a few
colleges, including Columbia
University, but never graduated from
any of them. Salinger loved to write
and continued writing while he was a soldier in World War II. Upon returning
from the war, he published many stories in published magazines. The Catcher in
the Rye was the only full-length novel that Salinger published. Events that
happened in The Catcher in the Rye happened to Salinger in his early life. For
example, both Salinger and the main character, Holden, were shuttled from prep
school to prep school and Holden was threatened with military school. This
novel was published post-World War II and the use of profanity and teenage
sexuality was controversial. Though controversial, many people loved the book.
In the early 1960s, Salinger began to publish less and he removed himself from
society. After 1965, Salinger stopped publishing almost completely, which
ironically made him more famous. Salinger died in January of 2010.
Point of View “If you really want to hear
about it, the first thing you'll probably
want to know is where I was born, and
what my lousy childhood was like, and
how my parents were occupied and all
before they had me, and all that David
Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel
like going into it, if you want to know the
truth” (Salinger 1).
The point of view throughout the story
is from the main character, Holden
Caulfield. He is speaking in first
person and the reader can see into
his mind and his thoughts on many
different things, places, and people.
This makes the story more interesting
from his point of view.
Figure of Speech “I got the ax. They
give guys the ax quite frequently at
Pencey. It has a very good academic
rating, Pencey. It really does”
(Salinger 2).
Holden says he “got the ax” from his
private school. This is an idiom for
getting expelled, or kicked out, of his
school. This figure of speech makes
the action harsher.
Holden used the word “phony” which
he uses a lot throughout the story.
He uses “phony” to describe anything
that could be fake, too superficial, or
sometimes too typical. This
expresses Holden’s own view of
people is actually superficial.
Irony "I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot" This quote is ironic because Holden
(Salinger 18).
says that he reads a lot, but he is
illiterate, which means he can’t read.
It is also ironic due to the fact that
Holden is acting somewhat “phony”
because he reads a lot, though he
cannot read. It is contradictory
because he calls everyone else
phony and looks down on them, when
he is being phony himself at times.
Imagery “My brother Allie had this leftIn this quote, Holden explains in
handed fielder's mitt. He was leftdetail his dead brother Allie’s baseball
handed. The thing that was descriptive
mitt. Holden cared a lot about Allie
about it, though, was that he had poems and was extremely upset after he
written all over the fingers and the pocket died. The reason he explains his mitt
and everywhere. In green ink. He wrote
in such detail because he loved his
them on it so that he'd have something to brother and he didn’t think he was
read when he was in the field and
phony.
nobody was up at bat” (Salinger 39).
Diction "Grand. There's a word I really
hate. It's a phony. I could puke every
time I hear it" (Salinger 16).
Irony "You never saw such gore in your
life....It partly scared me and it partly
fascinated me. All that blood and all sort
of made me look tough. I'd only been in
about two fights in my life, and I
lost both of them. I'm not too tough. I'm a
pacifist, if you want to know the truth"
(Salinger 45-46).
This quote is ironic because Holden
was talking about fighting and gore,
but then he says he is a pacifist. He
says he has been in two fights, but
then says he doesn’t agree with
fighting and violence. Holden could
be acting phony again and only
saying that he is a pacifist because
he lost both of the fights he has ever
been in.
Symbolism "'You know those ducks in
that lagoon right near Central Park
South? That little lake? By any chance,
do you happen to know where they go,
the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?
Do you happen to know, by any
chance?'" (Salinger 60).
Holden’s curiosity about the ducks
makes him seem more childlike,
which is the opposite of his attitude
throughout the rest of the book where
Holden seems grumpy and rude.
Also, the ducks prove that some
things that vanish are only temporary.
This comforts Holden because the
idea of change and disappearance
frightens him because of the death of
his brother. The ducks return every
spring which symbolizes that change
isn’t permanent.
Tone "I hate actors. They never act like
people. They just think they do" (Salinger
117).
This quote expressed Holden’s view
on actors, and people in general. His
view on people in cynical and
“phony.” His tone when he talks about
people is always judgmental and
rude. This is the tone of Holden
throughout most of the book.
Theme "God, I love it when a kid's nice
and polite when you tighten their skate
for them or something. Most kids are.
They really are" (Salinger 119).
This quote relates to the theme about
the painfulness of growing up.
Holden loves kids and acting like a
kid. He is scared of change
becoming an adult. Holden wont
admit that he is scared of adulthood
so he just makes it seem like all
adults are superficial and “phony.”
Symbolism "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" (Salinger 122).
Holden says this quote when he is at
the museum. He loves the museum
there because everything there is
always the same and it never
changes. He wishes life could be like
this and that he could never change
and never become and adult.
Theme "'It's full of phonies, and all you
This quote relates to the theme of
do is study so that you can learn enough phoniness. Holden calls everyone a
to be smart enough to be able to buy a
phony and the adult life as phony. He
goddam Cadillac some day, and you
describes people as fake,
have to keep making believe you give a
hypocritical, and shallow. He calls all
damn if thefootball team loses, and all
adults phony, and they don’t even
you do is talk about girls and liquor and
know that they are phony. Phoniness
sex all day, and everybody sticks
stands for everything that is wrong
together in these dirty little goddam
with the world. But even Holden is
cliques'" (Salinger 131).
phony himself, and calls himself a
liar.
Symbolism "Anyway, I keep picturing all This is the symbol for the title of the
these little kids playing some game in
book “The Catcher in the Rye.” He
this big field of rye and all. Thousands of wants to catch the kids and make
little kids, and nobody's around-nobody
sure they don’t fall over the edge, or
big, I mean-except me. And I'm standing to stop kids from growing into adults.
on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I
He doesn’t want them to change and
have to do, I have to catch everybody if
he doesn’t want to change himself.
they start to go over the cliff-I mean if
He doesn’t want the kids to lose their
they're running and they don't look where innocence and gain knowledge of the
they're going I have to come out from
cruel world.
somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd
do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the
rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's
the only thing I'd really like to be. I know
it's crazy" (Salinger 173).
Diction "I kept walking and walking up
Fifth Avenue, without any tie on or
anything. Then all of a sudden,
something very spooky started
happening. Every time I came to the end
of a block and stepped off the goddam
curb, I had this feeling that I'd never get
to the other side of the street. I thought
I'd just go down, down, down, and
nobody'd ever see me again"
(Salinger 197).
The word “spooky” is used in this
quote. Spooky shows that Holden is
scared, and maybe even terrified of
stepping off the curb. This could
represent Holden being scared to be
an adult. The word spooky adds to
the quote because it is more of a
childish word than “scary” or
“terrifying” and Holden still wants to
be a kid.
Characterization "I thought what I'd do
was, I'd pretend I was one of those deafmutes. That way I wouldn't have to have
any goddam stupid useless
conversations with anybody. If anybody
wanted to tell me something, they'd have
to write it on a piece of paper and shove
it over to me. They'd get bored as hell
doing that after a while, and then I'd be
through with having conversations for the
rest of my life" (Salinger 198).
This quote describes Holden as a
character. He doesn’t like talking to
anybody and he doesn’t want people
talking to him. He is rude and has a
bad attitude towards everyone else.
He is really judgmental towards
everybody too.
Style "All the kids kept trying to grab for
the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe,
and I was sort of afraid she'd fall off the
goddam horse, but I didn't say anything
or do anything” (Salinger 211).
In the story, Salinger used quite a few
swear words like “goddam” and he
also talked about sex. This was
published post WWII, so it was
controversial for that time period. This
also made people want to read the
book because it was so controversial.
Characterization ““Life is a game, boy.
Life is a game that one plays according
to the rules.”
“Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it.”
Game, my ass. Some game. If you get
on the side where all the hot-shots are,
then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that.
But if you get on the other side, where
there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a
game about it? Nothing. No game”
(Salinger 8).
This quote shows Holden’s outlook
on life through indirect
characterization. He sees himself on
the other side of life where it is not a
game. He does not see life as a
game at all for him because he is not
some hot-shot and will never be.
Symbolism “[Ackley] took another look
at my hat… “Up home we wear a hat to
shoot dear in, for Chrissake,” he said.
“That’s a deer shooting hat.”
“Like hell it is.” I took it off and looked at
it. I sort of closed one eye, like I was
taking aim at it. “This is a people
shooting hat,” I said. “I shoot people in
this hat”” (Salinger 18).
Holden’s hat is a symbol of his
individualism. He wants to be
different from everyone else. And he
always mentions when he wears it.
But, he usually does not wear his hat
when he is around people that he
knows. This represents that Holden
needs isolation from everyone he
doesn’t know.
Setting “The best thing, though, in that
museum was that everything always
stayed right where it was. Nobody’d
move…. Nobody’d be different. The only
thing that would be different would be
you” (Salinger 135).
This setting is when Holden is at the
museum. This is one of Holden’s
favorite places because it never
changes and he always used to go on
field trips there as a kid. He likes that
nothing changes there, but it makes
him upset that he changes every time
he goes there because he doesn’t
want to change.
Diction "Anyway, I keep picturing all
This is the quote from earlier about
these little kids playing some game in
the catcher in the rye. He uses the
this big field of rye and all. Thousands of word “crazy” a few times it. He
little kids, and nobody's around-nobody
describes the cliff as crazy, and him
big, I mean-except me. And I'm standing wanting to be the catcher in the rye is
on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I
crazy also. He describes the cliff as
have to do, I have to catch everybody if
crazy because it represents the line
they start to go over the cliff-I mean if
between childhood and adulthood. He
they're running and they don't look where also describes being the catcher in
they're going I have to come out from
the rye as crazy because he knows
somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd he cannot stop kids from growing up
do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the
and he cannot stop himself from
rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's
growing up either, no matter how
the only thing I'd really like to be. I know
much he wants to.
it's crazy" (Salinger 173).
Style “"You don't like anything that's
Salinger uses italics to emphasize
happening. . . . You don't like any
certain words to make a point. This is
schools. You don't like a million things.
Holden’s sister talking to him and
You don't"” (Salinger 169).
she’s telling him that she doesn’t like
anything. The emphasis on the last
“don’t” really shows that Holden has
somewhat of a hatred for everything.
I really like this book. I feel that Holden is really easy to connect to
because he is a teenager who simply does not want to grow up. He sees the rest
of the world as fake, which I can relate to. Growing up can be a scary thing at
times and it may seem that a lot of people in the world are superficial, or phony. I
also feel that this book is timeless. Even though it was written decades ago, it is
easy to read and easily relatable to today. One of the main themes in this book is
being scared to grow up. I feel that almost all teenagers are terrified to become
adults and be out in the cruel world all on their own. Holden feels this way, too.
He also does not want any of the other kids to grow up and lose their innocence
and become phony like everybody else.