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An Introduction to
The Catcher in the Rye
English III
Ms. Shasho
J.D. Salinger
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Alienation from society
is a major theme of
Jerome David Salinger’s
work and no less a
force in his own life. He
seems determined to
retreat from society and
has succeeded in
obscuring most of his
private life.
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Born January 1, 1919 to the family of a
prosperous Manhattan food dealer, Salinger had
one older sister. He was educated in New York
City except for the last two years of high school.
These final years were spent at Valley Forge
Military Academy in Pennsylvania.
Information about his first six years after
graduation is vague. Salinger may have visited
Europe and is known to have studied
sporadically at New York University, Ursinus
College, and Columbia University, concentrating
on writing courses. During this time, Salinger
published several short stories in popular
magazines.
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Drafted in 1942 and
trained in England,
Salinger participated in
the D-Day invasion. He
continued to write during
this period and more
stories appeared in print.
There was also an alleged
marriage to a
Frenchwoman, which
supposedly ended in
divorce in 1947.
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Salinger moved to rural
New Hampshire and lived
as a recluse. He only saw
local youngsters, whose
company he enjoyed.
Although the success of
his one novel, The
Catcher in the Rye
(1951), brought him
unwanted attention, he
kept the public eye at bay
by refusing all visitors.
However, whenever he
was trapped, he offered
conflicting information
and often totally false
biographical data.
The Philosopher:
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In Salinger’s work, contemporary society is
permeated by hypocrisy, injustice, and a lack of
love. In this world of artificiality and indifference,
Salinger’s sensitive characters invariably suffer.
One of the few saving graces in Salinger’s
corrupt world is the purity of childhood. Yet this
beautiful, desirable, pristine innocence is short
lived. And since childhood innocence is
corrupted by passage into adulthood, Salinger
offers little hope for a meaningful existence.
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Some readers object that
Salinger’s message is
based on negative,
reactionary attitudes. For
example, Holden’s ideals
are defined by his disgust
with evil, rather than his
reverence for good. Yet,
when faced with such
overwhelming corruption
and such varied reasons
for despair, even cautious
optimism and the chance
for salvation is cheering.
The Technician:
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Salinger is a writer, first and last. He adamantly
rejects the role of a public figure. He also rejects
the position of teacher, refusing to talk about his
writing or instruct others on his methods.
Although Salinger has retreated from the world,
his work offers great immediacy and reality. This
is partly due to his stylistic gift for recreating
idiomatic expression. In addition, his ability to
capture the motivations and desires of the soul
show that he has an intuitive grasp of the
human character.
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Salinger works like a
sculptor, obsessing
himself with a single
character or theme
and reshaping it in a
number of ways. He
continues to approach
the character or
theme from various
angles until the final
forms emerge. Holden
Caulfield evolved in
this manner.
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At present, Catcher is Salinger’s only novel. He
considers himself a short story writer. He has
written one collection entitled Nine Stories
(1953) and three novelettes—Franny and Zooey,
Seymour: An Introduction, and Raise High the
Roofbeam, Carpenters—issued as a single work
in 1963. He also published approximately twenty
other magazine stories.
Although his output seems meager, Salinger’s
widespread popular and critical acclaim make
every effort seem more valuable.
The fact that The Catcher in the Rye continues
to sell over a quarter of a million copies annually
in the U.S. alone testifies to Salinger’s continuing
popularity.
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The novel offers realism
in its use of language, its
use of social criticism
where it is due, and its
presentation of real
problems which
adolescents face in the
process of achieving
maturity. The book also
offers romanticism in its
view of the innocence of
childhood, its quest for
truth, idealizing the past,
and its emphasis on
individual discovery and
growth.
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Salinger borrows traditional structures for telling
Holden’s story. As in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
or Welles’ Time Machine, he utilizes a frame
story structure. The outside frame is Holden’s
talking to a psychoanalyst: the inside story is
Holden’s own narrative, with flashbacks of the
events, the “madman stuff” that has led to his
arrival at a rest home in California.
The narrative is in first
It is psychological in that the events narrated
are accompanied by Holden’s thoughts. It is also
a quest narrative in which Holden seeks to
discover truth, values, and, ultimately, himself
and his place in the world.
Criticism & Controversy:
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The Catcher in the Rye is not without its
detractors and critics. They attack the book’s use
of colloquial slang, its cynical central character
as an inappropriate role model, its use of
profanity and seedy scenes and its lack of
didacticism.
While these are points to consider, a thorough
and objective analysis of the book as a whole
can lea to the conclusion that the book is a
balance between realism and romanticism that is
designed to encourage readers to form their
own opinions in relation to, in juxtaposition with,
Holden’s opinions.
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Until 2006, The Catcher in the
Rye was one of the most
frequently banned books.
It is in the sense that it teaches
without preaching that Catcher
is perhaps the best book in the
20th century to address the
adolescent stage of human
development and may explain
its enduring popularity and
controversy.
Holden Caulfield is such a
composite sketch of an
American teenager that nearly
all readers identify with or see
some of their friends reflected
in different aspects of Holden’s
character.
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Young readers see in
Holden Caulfield a little
bit of what they are,
while older readers see
in Holden a bit of what
they once were.
Ultimately, we all know
that in some way,
Holden is one of us.
Catcher & John Lennon:
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On December 8, 1980 Mark David Chapman killed John Lennon
outside his Dakota apartment building.
He was carrying a copy of The Catcher in the Rye with him at the
time of the murder and even sat down and read a few pages
following the shooting, while waiting for the police to arrive.
He was obsessed with the book and Holden Caulfield and believed
that the book expressed who he was. He thought of himself as a
catcher in the rye and thought he needed to kill John Lennon, who
he saw as a “phony”.
Part of his statement following the murder is as follows:
Then this morning I went to the bookstore and bought The
Catcher in the Rye. I’m sure the large part of me is Holden
Caulfield, who is the main person in the book. The small part of me
must be the Devil.
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Creepy, huh?
Some Values & Themes in Catcher:
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The need for inner direction and commitment to action
A sensitive awareness of life’s compensations: a
necessary balance of sympathy and rejection, joy and
sorrow
The recognition of superficial standards of behavior; the
challenge of seeking positive change in one’s moral
environment
The ability to feel compassion and to expect justice for
all
The therapeutic worth of honesty in communication with
others; the treatment of every person as an individual
The learning of universal love and empathy in one’s
individual struggle against hypocrisy and worldly
corruption
Dominant Symbols in Catcher :
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The carousel
The red hunting cap
The catcher’s mitt
The ducks in Central Park pond
The Museum of Natural History
Pencey Prep
Sources:
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Perfection Learning Corporation Curriculum Unit:
The Catcher in the Rye.
Center for Learning Curriculum Unit: The
Catcher in the Rye.
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Contemporary Classics Curriculum Unit: The
Catcher in the Rye.
Dr. Cornel Bonca: “He Just Wants to Make Us
Happy: Salinger’s Holden Caulfield at 50.”