Summary | Author | Reviews | Discussion Questions


Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger, 1951
224 pp.

In Brief
The novel covers 48 hours in the life of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield, who has just flunked out of his expensive boarding school in eastern Pennsylvania. This makes the fourth school from which he's been expelled from. Holden heads to New York City, his home, and puts himself up in the Edmont Hotel. Over the next two days, through a series of encounters, Holden experiences the cynicism and phoniness of adult life— his narrative voice capturing the essence of teenage angst and alienation. The novel begins:

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. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them.

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About the Author

• Birth—January 01, 1919
• Where—New York, New York
• Education—Valley Forge Military Academy; attended New
   York University, Ursinus College, Columbia University
• Currently—lives in Cornish, New Hampshire, USA

Jerome David Salinger, was born in New York City on Jan. 1, 1919, and established his reputation on the basis of a single novel, The Catcher in the Rye (1951), whose principal character, Holden Caulfield, epitomized the growing pains of a generation of high school and college students. The public attention that followed the success of the book led Salinger to move from New York to the remote hills of Cornish, New Hampshire. Before that he had published only a few short stories; one of them, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," which appeared in The New Yorker in 1949, introduced readers to Seymour Glass, a character who subsequently figured in Franny and Zooey (1961) and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenter and Seymour: An Introduction (1963), Salinger's only other published books. Of his 35 published short stories, those which Salinger wishes to preserve are collected in Nine Stories (1953).

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Critics Say. . .
Mr. Salinger's rendering of teen-age speech is wonderful: the unconscious humor, the repetitions, the slang and profanity, the emphasis, all are just right. Holden's mercurial changes of mood, his stubborn refusal to admit his own sensitiveness and emotions, his cheerful disregard of what is sometimes known as reality are typically and heart breakingly adolescent.
    In New York Holden's nightmarish efforts to escape from himself by liquor, sex, night clubs, movies, sociability--anything and everything--are fruitless. Misadventure piles on misadventure, but he bears it all with a grim cheerfulness and stubborn courage. He is finally saved as a result of his meeting with his little sister Phoebe, like Holden a wonderful creation. She is the single person who supplies and just in time--the affection that Holden needs.
    Certainly you'll look a long time before you'll meet another youngster like Holden Caulfield, as likable and, in spite of his failings, as sound. And though he's still not out of the woods entirely, there at the end, still we think he's going to turn out all right.
Nash K. Burger - New York Times


Readers Say...
(Occasionally, when few critical reviews are available, we include helpful reviews by Barnes & Noble customers.)

In The Catcher In The Rye Holden changes dramatically. Throughout the first half of the novel Holden was a lying, negative person and then he becomes a mature, caring, young "adult," the one thing he was tying to avoid! And he takes responsability for his actions and gets help. All around great read.
Reviewer - a high school student, 02/06/08


I would recommend this book because I find it to be an enjoyable read.... At first I thought it was lacking direction, organization, but afterwards it dawned on me that it wasn’’t about what had happened to Holden, but about Caulfield himself, as a young distraught boy trying to find his place in life. Simplicity is what makes this novel. The character of Holden Caulfield a representation of our lives at some point, either fighting depression, facing the sting of loneliness, or merely having an urge or need to belong in a society where it seems as though there is no place for you to fit into. Though Holden and I are nearly complete opposites in character, this book resonated with me. What Holden says, and thinks, is what we wish we were able to say. He taps into the idea throughout the novel of being "phony" and addresses the irony and hypocrisy of youth. In conclusion, this is a remarkable book which depicts the struggles of many teenagers today. I recommend this novel to teens and young adults because it teaches you values and helps you have a different perspective on life itself.
Gian Torres — a student 01/25/08



Are people really as fake, dishonest, and downright nasty as Holden seems to think they are? I suppose the answer lies in the eye of the beholder, but Holden sure uses a lot of cuss words in telling you his opinion! Basically, the book is a long diatribe of an angst-filled teenager against the perceived woes of the world, and I actually agree with a good deal of what Holden has to say. Holden is an especially insightful and perceptive teenager as well, adding to the story and making it relevant to readers of all ages. An obvious point is that the book is most likely autobiographical in many ways, as most novels are. Many people are indeed phonies, Holden, especially through your eyes.
Paul J. Fitzgerald, author of Adjust Your Brain, 12/01/07

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Book Club Discussion Questions

Sorry, the publisher hasn't made questions available for this book.

But don't despair. Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

   • Generic Discussion Questions
   • Read-Think-Talk About a Book

Also, consider the following discussion points:

1. Discuss Holden's observations about the carousel's gold ring at the end of the novel. What is the significance of the ring? What do his observations reveal about his state of maturity? How has his character changed--or developed--by the end of the story? (See LitCourse 5 on characterization.)

2. Do Holden's encounters of hypocrisy within the adult world ring true to you? Or are they more a reflection of his own deteriorating mental stability? Or both?

3. Holden seems to be reaching out for genuine intimacy in his encounters. Is he himself capable of intimacy? Are others capable of providing it? In fact, what is intimacy, sexual or non-sexual?

4. What role does Phoebe play in the novel?

5. What is the significance of the title—especially the fact that Holden gets Burns's poem wrong?