Catcher in the Rye Study Guide
1. Will Holden Caulfield go on to a successful life in a worthy career? Or will he continue to
fail?
2. Will Phoebe grow up like Holden, isolated and lonely, or will she continue to be a good
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
student who looks forward to a promising career? When preparing an answer to this
question, consider the following information that Holden discloses about Phoebe: (1) She
writes books (the girl detective stories) but never finishes them. (2) She is very emotional.
(3) She impulsively decides to run away with Holden.
Why do Holden's parents keep sending him away to boarding schools?
Using passages from the novel–and your interpretations of these passages–write a
profile of the Caulfield family as it was when Holden was growing up with Allie and
Phoebe. Among the questions you might address in your essay are the following: Was
the Caulfield home a happy one? Did Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield devote enough attention to
their children? Did they attempt to instill in their children strong moral values?
To what extent did Holden's New York environment shape his character when he was a
child. Keep in mind that his home was an apartment on the 12th floor of a building in New
York City. Keep in mind, too, the kinds of material advantages (or disadvantages) to
which he had access. The novel is full of clues about the financial status of Holden's
parents. An example of a clue is this sentence: "The week before that, somebody'd stolen
my camel's-hair coat right out of my room, with my fur-lined gloves right in the pocket and
all." Holden also points out that his father is a corporation lawyer.
To what extent did author J.D. Salinger base Holden Caulfield's experiences on his own?
While researching this question, you will discover that Salinger grew up in New York City
(as did Holden), graduated from a boarding school (Valley Forge Military Academy, in the
same part of Pennsylvania as fictional Agerstown), and attended several colleges but did
not graduate from any of them. (Holden, of course, attends several boarding schools
without graduating.) Salinger's background is similar in other respects to Holden's. Find
as many of these similarities as you can. (See the table above to get a start.) Then
discuss whether Holden Caulfield is actually J.D. Salinger–or write an essay on this
subject.
The Catcher in the Rye was published in the middle of the 20th Century. Is the novel still
relevant today? Do some teenagers continue to face the kinds of problems Holden
faces?