The Catcher in the Rye

An original Book Nook review of the novel Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger and reviewed by Annelise.

Catcher in the Rye is a classic, coming-of-age novel written by J.D. Salinger, published on July 16, 1921.

“Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You’re by no means alone on that score, you’ll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them—if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.”

- Mr. Antolini, Catcher In the Rye

"Catcher in the Rye" follows young, defiant teenager Holden Caulfield in the first-person perspective in what is technically a flash-back, but is truly narrated as if from the present moment, inclusive of thoughts, feelings, and emotions of Holden in the present tense. It is evident why this classic novel has been canonized and labeled as among the greatest literature of all time. Superficially, the story is about an angsty, rebellious teenage boy, Holden, who has been expelled from multiple schools due to reckless behavior and poor academic performance. Having received his most recent expulsion, Holden gathers his money and possessions and escapes to New York for three days, hoping to receive a gratifying vacation from all of the school "phoniness" and also to avoid facing his parents. But, internally the story explores themes of depression, grief, self-discovery, humanity, trauma, mental health, love, satisfaction, and happiness.

Age Recommendation: 13+

Sexual Content: Mild

(There are sexual references (some of them are extremely vague, especially to younger readers): Holden thinks, worries about, and talks about sex frequently and believes some of his teen friends to have had sex. In one scene, out of loneliness, he agrees to have a prostitute visit his hotel room but then only wants to talk to her and ends up humiliated. In another he sees a couple engaged in foreplay and a man dressing up in women's clothes.)

Profanity: Mildly-Severe

(Near constant mild to moderate swearing, with a few instances of f**k. Holden throws out the word "goddam" when referring to objects and events he feels strongly about.)

Violence/Gore: Mild

(Teen boys express themselves with violence at times. Holden is punched several times and remembers a boy at his boarding school who committed suicide by jumping out a window, there are details about his broken, bloody body.)

Representation: None

(there may have been a few background characters who were black, but honestly, the focal point of the story is on Holden, a white, straight, teen in the upper-middle class)

RATINGS

Overall Story: ★★★☆☆

Writing Style: ★★1/2

Enjoyment: ★★★☆☆

Main Character: ★★★★★

Side Characters: ★★★☆☆

OVERALL RATING: ★★★1/2

The plot of Catcher in the Rye is meandering, though it coincides with Holden's depression and indifference. We watch Holden jump from one activity to the next, searching for a sense of satisfaction and wholeness of his being that never truly comes. Anyone struggling with depression can sympathize with this flickering joy: when something brings the potential for happiness, an activity or a person or an idea, but when given the opportunity to actually participate the anticipated feeling still seems just out of reach as what you wanted to do previously falls short of expectations or loses all vigor. This ceaseless chasing is what drives the events of the book, though nothing ever truly gets followed through and finished which is especially difficult and frustrating to read, but realistic nonetheless.

Evidently, having been composed in the 1950s, Catcher in the Rye contains outdated language and phrases, so occurrences of the book can be a bit muddled and it is sometimes not clear what is happening, especially in the case of younger readers. The novel, being written in the first-person perspective from Holden, is also told through a highly opinionated lens and descriptions of people, places, and things are often contradictory due to Holden's fluctuating emotional states.

On the subject of Holden Caulfield, none can deny that he is wholly and well developed, if irritating and unlikeable. It is difficult to watch him go through his life, even only the three days of his life readers are witness to, unaccomplished, undetermined, and lost in every sense of himself. He constantly complains and blames others for his dissatisfaction with the world, wasting his time flunking school, getting drunk, smoking, and doing nothing of value while not enjoying a moment of it. But, underneath it all, Holden is truly sensitive, observant, and intelligent. He loves his family, especially his siblings Pheobe and Allie, and looked up to his older brother D.B. who used to write what Holden found to be the most meaningful stories. Holden has experienced true trauma in his life, having had his brother, Allie, who Holden was extremely close to and admired for his goodness die of leukemia at an early age, as well as having watched a boy at school commit suicide by jumping out a bathroom window as a result of being bullied by others. He didn't have the right mental support for his grief, which likely didn't even exist at the time, and the consequence was an intense battle with substance abuse, reckless behavior, apathy, and a rich loathing for the superficiality of others.

Throughout the book, Holden repetitively refers to people and things as "phony" which represents the superficialities within our society. Holden doesn't respect the things other people care about, such as their vanity or their want to simply go along with the system they were predestined to follow. Having experienced some of the horrific consequences inherent with life and having been exposed to true pain and sorrow and grief, he doesn't like thinking about or spending time on things that don't actually matter, which seems to be all anyone else ever wants to engage in around him. Nobody wants to have a "real" conversation with him about anything truly important, so Holden resorts to methods to forget, like drinking and smoking. In the end, he realizes that some things are worth staying around for, like the kindness of nuns, the pure joy and beauty of a kid in a blue coat on a carousel, a baseball glove covered in poems written in green ink, a story about a boy with a goldfish, unexpected generosity, and the opportunity to help others find themselves so that as they run unaware through life as if in a field of rye, they don't fall off of a cliff because Holden could be there to catch them as the Catcher in the Rye. Holden does not simply get better at the end of the story and yes, the world is ugly and cruel and unfair, but it is also beautiful.

Catcher in the Rye may not have been the best book I've ever read, nor was it perfect or even truly enjoyable for that matter. It was rough and messy, but also extremely meaningful. When you read it, because you definitely should, don't expect to find something cohesive and gorgeous like other classics such as Pride and Prejudice, Princess Bride, or The Great Gatsby, instead, look for what it means to you at a raw and unfiltered level and then you can find what the world sees and commemorates in the book.

**************************************************************************

The following section (separated by lines of *'s) is a COMPLETE SUMMARY of the novel "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger; there are MAJOR SPOILERS ahead. Skip this section if you intend to read the full book and were looking for a typical book review. Why include the summary? Part of our comprehensive book review format at The Book Nook includes a complete summary of the book in case someone doesn't have time to read the book (we'd classify this type of reading as TLDR, for Too Long Didn't Read), a reader is extremely impatient and wants the answers NOW to a plotline (we've all been there), if you wanted a little sneak peek into what happens in the book before you start reading, or because this is a classic if you didn't understand what was going on. Since this is such a renowned novel, I don't trust myself to accurately summarize the book, so the following summary is compliments of cliffsnotes.com.

**************************************************************************

Holden Caulfield speaks directly to the reader from a mental hospital or sanitarium in southern California. He says that he will tell us (the readers) of events occurring around Christmastime of the previous year. First, however, he mentions his older brother, D.B., a writer who now works in nearby Hollywood and visits Holden nearly every weekend.

Holden's story, in the form of a long flashback, begins around 3 p.m. on a Saturday in December, the day of the traditional season-ending football match between his old school, Pencey Prep (in Agerstown, Pennsylvania) and rival Saxon Hall. Holden, a junior at Pencey, can see the field from where he stands, high atop Thomsen Hill. He has been expelled and is on his way to say goodbye to Mr. Spencer, his history instructor. At the end of the chapter, Holden arrives at Mr. Spencer's house and is let in by his teacher's wife.

Spencer's farewell turns into a lecture on discipline, and Holden's mind drifts. He wonders about the ducks down at the lagoon near Central Park South in New York City. Where do they go when the lagoon freezes in the winter? Does someone take them to a zoo? Do they fly away? He reflects on Mr. Haas, the phony headmaster at Elkton Hills, one of Holden's previous schools. Haas was very charming to successful-looking parents, but if a boy's mother were fat or his father poorly dressed, the headmaster snubbed them cruelly.

Holden finally manages to escape from Mr. Spencer's lecture, claiming he needs to get to the gym to retrieve his equipment. He has second thoughts about leaving "old Spencer" but mainly wants out. Politely turning down a cup of Mrs. Spencer's renowned hot chocolate and promising to write, he gladly leaves.

Holden returns to Pencey where he lives in the Ossenburger Memorial Wing of the new dorms, reserved for juniors and seniors. Ossenburger is an alumnus who has made a fortune in the undertaking business. Pencey named a wing of the new dormitories after him in thanks for a large donation. Ossenburger attended the first home football game earlier in the fall and bored the students, especially Holden, with a long-winded, corny, cliché-filled oration at chapel the next morning. A flatulent student named Edgar Marsalla finally countered with a large fart, much to Holden's delight. The dorm room is empty and cozy. Holden tries on a red hunting cap, with a long bill, which he bought for a dollar in New York that morning. He relaxes with a good book, Isak Denisen's Out of Africa, until he is interrupted by Robert Ackley who rooms next door and enters through a shower that the two rooms share. Ackley is a nuisance and ruins the mood. Ward Stradlater, Holden's roommate, comes in from the football game and asks to borrow Holden's hound's-tooth jacket as he prepares to go out for the evening.

Although the dorms have showers separating rooms, the toilets and sinks are down the hall. Having nothing better to do, Holden accompanies his roommate, Stradlater, as he prepares for a Saturday night date. Holden is first shocked and then concerned when he learns that his roommate's date that night is Jane Gallagher, a friend of his from the summer before his sophomore year. Holden repeatedly says he should go downstairs to say hello to Jane, but he never does. Stradlater talks Holden into writing an English theme paper for him. Holden returns to his room and is joined by Ackley, whose company Holden doesn't mind because listening to Ackley distracts him from thinking about Jane.

After a lackluster trip to town with Ackley and another student, Holden settles in to compose the descriptive theme paper for Stradlater. He decides to write about his brother Allie's left-handed baseball glove. Allie died of leukemia on July 18, 1946, while the family was vacationing in Maine. Holden was 13 years old at the time, Allie two years younger. Holden finishes the essay around 10:30 p.m.

The events of the rest of the evening are a little blurred in Holden's memory. Stradlater returns around 11:00 or so and reads the theme paper Holden has written while unbuttoning his shirt and stroking his chest. Stradlater is in love with himself. Of course, he doesn't understand Holden's choice of a baseball glove for a descriptive essay and condemns it. Holden grabs the paper and tears it up. Holden becomes increasingly agitated about Stradlater's date with Jane. Although he can't know exactly what happened, his roommate's glib comments enrage him. Stradlater taunts him, and Holden misses with a wild punch. Stradlater holds him down but lets him up. Holden calls Stradlater a moron and gets a bloody nose for his trouble. Stradlater leaves. Holden decides to spend the night in Ackley's room, can't sleep, thinks of visiting Mal Brossard but changes his mind, and decides to "get the hell out of Pencey," instead of waiting until Wednesday to leave. He plans to rent an inexpensive hotel room in New York City and stay there until Wednesday when he can go home.

It is too late to get a taxi in Agerstown so Holden walks to the train station. He lowers the earflaps on his hunting cap to protect against the cold. En route to New York City, he is joined at Trenton by an attractive woman who turns out to be the mother of a classmate, Ernest Morrow. Holden introduces himself as Rudolf Schmidt, actually the name of the custodian at his dorm, and invents several flattering stories about the woman's son, "Old Ernie." When Mrs. Morrow asks why he's leaving school before the end of the semester, he tells her that he has to return home because he has a brain tumor and that he must have surgery. When he arrives at New York's Penn Station, Holden considers telephoning several people but ends up calling no one. He takes a cab to the Edmont Hotel where he observes unusual happenings from the window of his shabby room. His phone call to Miss Faith Cavendish, a young lady whose sexual reputation precedes her, ends without any plans to meet.

Holden claims that it is still early, but it is actually quite late. However, the Lavender Room, a lounge off the lobby of the Edmont Hotel, is still open. After providing a detailed recollection of his younger sister, Phoebe, Holden visits the Lavender Room and meets three women, tourists from Seattle.

Sitting in a "vomity-looking" chair in the lobby of the Edmont Hotel, Holden remembers how he and Jane met and what they did the summer before his sophomore year. He thinks he knows her "like a book." Despite the late hour, Holden still is not tired. He decides to visit Ernie's Nightclub in Greenwich Village.

On the way to Ernie's, Holden discusses ducks, fish, and winter with the cab driver. At the club, Holden expresses his opinions concerning the aesthetics of performance, Ernie, the crowd in general, and a nearby couple in particular. Lillian Simmons, a former girlfriend of D.B., pops by his table with her date, a Navy officer. Holden declines her invitation to join them, saying he was just leaving.

Holden is tired of taxis and walks the forty-one blocks back to the hotel, wearing his red hunting cap with the earflaps down, missing his pilfered gloves, and bemoaning his cowardice. The elevator man, Maurice, doubles as a pimp and offers to provide Holden with female companionship for "five bucks a throw" or fifteen dollars for the night. Holden agrees to go for "a throw" in his room, 1222, but almost immediately regrets it. The hooker calls herself Sunny; Holden tells her his name is Jim Steele. Although they do little more than talk, because Holden is more depressed than ready to have sex, Sunny says that her fee is ten dollars. Holden pays her only five, and she leaves, calling him a "crumb-bum."

It is dawn on Sunday by the time that Sunny exits. Holden smokes a couple of cigarettes and reflects on his relationship with his deceased brother, Allie, as well as his feelings about religion. He is summoned by a knock on the door. Sunny has returned with Maurice and demands the rest of the ten dollars. Holden resists and is roughed up by the pimp.

Holden awakens around 10:00 Sunday morning. He phones an old girlfriend, Sally Hayes, and makes a date to meet her at 2:00 p.m. to catch a theater matinee. Holden checks out of the hotel and leaves his bags at a lockbox in Grand Central Station. While eating a large breakfast (orange juice, bacon, and eggs, toast, and coffee) at a sandwich bar, he meets two nuns who are schoolteachers from Chicago, newly assigned to a convent "way the hell uptown," apparently near Washington Heights. They discuss Romeo and Juliet, and Holden gives them a donation of ten dollars.

When Holden finishes his conversation with the two nuns, it is almost noon. He has two hours until he is to meet Sally at the Biltmore Hotel so he goes for a walk toward Broadway. He wants to buy a recording, for Phoebe, of an old song called "Little Shirley Beans." Along the way, Holden notices an apparently underprivileged family walking home from church. The young son is walking in the street and singing. Fortunately, the first music store that he visits has a copy of the record. Holden tries to telephone Jane, but her mother answers so he hangs up. Still burdened with the responsibility of procuring theater tickets, he chooses a play, I Know My Love, that he thinks Sally will like because it stars the Lunts. He decides to visit Central Park in hopes of finding Phoebe who often skates there on Sundays. He almost visits the Museum of Natural History but decides not to go in. Although he doesn't feel like going through with the date, he catches a cab to meet Sally at the Biltmore Hotel as planned.

Sally is ten minutes late but looks terrific in her black coat and matching beret. She is thrilled that they will get to see the Lunts and is impressed by the performance. Holden is less than thrilled, first by the performance on stage and then by Sally's performance in the lobby. He dislikes the way she talks with an Andover student named George. After the show, they go ice skating at Radio City. Holden tries to talk with Sally about things of real importance to Holden. He asks her to run off to Massachusetts and Vermont with him. The date ends badly, and he walks out.

It is late afternoon or very early evening on Sunday. Holden telephones Carl Luce, whom he knew during his days at the Whooton School. Carl is three years older and was his student adviser. They agree to meet for a drink at the Wicker Bar in the Seton Hotel at 10:00 p.m. With time to kill, and since he is there already, he attends a stage show and movie at Radio City Music Hall. He sees the Rockettes, the Christmas pageant, and a war film. At the bar, Holden manages to get served, this time, even though he is underage. When Luce arrives, he reveals that he is dating an older woman, a Chinese sculptress in her late thirties who lives in Greenwich Village. He leaves for a date after having drinks with Holden.

Holden stays at the bar and gets quite drunk. He decides to telephone Jane Gallagher but calls Sally Hayes instead. She tells him to go home and go to bed. Holden strikes up a conversation with the piano player. He tells Holden to go home and go to bed. Holden asks the hatcheck girl for a date. She tells him to go home and go to bed. Ignoring the unanimous advice, Holden heads for Central Park to look for the ducks. The search is in vain, and he manages to break Phoebe's record in the process. Holden reflects on Allie's funeral, which he could not attend because he was in the hospital with his broken hand (and possibly for emotional evaluation). His memory of Allie's grave at the cemetery depresses him. Finally, he decides to sneak home and visit Phoebe in case he dies, too.

Holden wants to visit Phoebe at the family apartment, in the middle of the night, without his parents' knowledge. Fortunately, there is a new elevator operator on duty who does not recognize him. Holden pretends to be visiting the Dicksteins who have an apartment on the same floor as his parents. Using his key to enter, Holden sneaks to Phoebe's room only to realize that she now is sleeping in D.B.'s room because he is away in Hollywood; she likes the huge desk and bed. Holden peruses items on her desk, by lamplight, until he wakens Phoebe. She reveals that their parents are out for the evening and will return very late. The maid is in the apartment to care for the girl. As they talk, Phoebe guesses that Holden has been expelled and concludes that their father will kill him. Upset, she hides her head under a pillow. Holden goes to the living room for cigarettes.

Phoebe continues to be terribly upset over Holden's dismissal from Pencey Prep. She is sure that their father will be very upset with her brother. Holden says he'll merely be sent to a military school if he is still around; he plans to head for Colorado to work on a ranch. Holden tries to explain to Phoebe what a terrible place Pencey is. He doesn't like anything there. But she concludes that he doesn't like anything anywhere and challenges him to name one thing that he likes. Holden tries to focus on the issue, but his mind drifts. Phoebe interrupts and repeats the challenge to think of one thing that Holden likes. He says he likes Allie, but Phoebe counters that Allie is dead and doesn't count. He says he likes talking with her, but Phoebe answers, "That isn't anything really." Phoebe changes the topic and asks Holden to name something he would like to be. After some consideration, he says he would like to be the catcher in the rye and explains to her what that means to him.

On the telephone, Mr. Antolini tells Holden to come right over if he wants. Holden returns to D.B.'s room, now inhabited by Phoebe. She has the radio on, and they dance. Holden lights a cigarette, and Phoebe explains how she can fake a fever.

Suddenly, they hear their parents entering the apartment. Holden turns out the lamp, jams out the cigarette, and hides in the closet. His mother checks on Phoebe and, smelling the cigarette, scolds her for smoking. After the mother leaves, Phoebe loans Holden her Christmas money, which makes Holden cry. He gives her his treasured red hunting cap and exits down the building's back stairs.

It is very late when Holden arrives at the Antolinis' "swanky" apartment on Sutton Place. The couple hosted a party earlier in the evening, and Mr. Antolini is still drinking heavily. Mrs. Antolini (Lillian) makes coffee and goes to bed. Holden feels dizzy and has a headache. The coffee does not help Holden. Mr. Antolini ignores his coffee and fixes himself another highball. Holden discusses an Oral Expression course, taught by Mr. Vinson at Pencey, which Holden failed. Antolini defends the instructor. Mr. Antolini is about the same age as Holden's brother, D.B., and usually seems like a great guy. Tonight he wants to discuss pedagogy more than Holden cares to. He also offers long-winded theories concerning Holden that the boy could do without. Holden is very tired. He has slept only two or three hours since Saturday morning, two days ago. It has been an exhausting weekend. He and Antolini make up the couch, and Holden falls asleep. Suddenly, Holden is awakened. He is shocked to find Antolini sitting on the floor by the couch, patting Holden's head. Holden becomes very upset and insists on leaving. He decides that Mr. Antolini is a pervert.

It is dawn on Monday as Holden leaves the Antolinis' apartment. He sleeps on a bench at the waiting room in Grand Central Station until about 9 a.m. Having second thoughts about Mr. Antolini's intentions, he wonders if he should have returned and stayed there. Walking up on Fifth Avenue, searching for an inexpensive restaurant in which to eat breakfast, he suddenly feels very anxious. Every time he steps down off the curb to cross a street, he thinks he may just keep falling and disappear. He asks his dead brother, Allie, to help him. Holden is physically and emotionally exhausted, sweating profusely despite the cold. He is near collapse. In a final, awkward attempt to save himself, Holden decides to go "way out West" and live as a deaf-mute so he won't have to talk with people. Before leaving, he arranges to say good-bye to Phoebe. While he is with her, he decides to stop running and return home. In a brief final chapter, Holden concludes the story, telling us that he doesn't know what he thinks about everything that has happened, except that he misses the people he has told us about.

**************************************************************************

The established overall rating for Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is 3 1/2 stars, and it would be recommended for you no matter who you are because anybody and everybody can gain something from this book and even if you can't the experience at least makes you a more well-educated person. Ultimately, the novel explores themes of depression, grief, self-discovery, humanity, trauma, mental health, love, satisfaction, and happiness from the eyes of a person still finding himself in this world, though it was definitely a rough book. I did not enjoy reading this book, but it is definitely worth a read. Bookmarks and projects related to this book can be found on our website, in our shop, and on our blog. Check out the podcast or explore to find more on the Book Nook, comprehensive book reviews for all.