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Catcher in The Rye Essay Thesis

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The Catcher in The Rye

Introduction of the catcher in the rye.

Jerome David Salinger ’s The Catcher in the Rye was published as a serial from 1945 to 1946 and instantly caught the attention of teenagers and adults alike. Later it was published as a novel in 1951, creating ripples in the literary market and made Salinger a household name. It was named by Modern Library, as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. The novel depicts the thematic strands of alienation and anger of a teenager against the superficial environment of American society. The story of the novel is about Holden Caulfield, a teenager, going through a bad patch in his school which makes him an outcast, forcing him to engage in intimate relationships, identity crisis, and loss of familial love.

Summary of The Catcher in the Rye

The storyline shows Holden Caulfield narrating his story without divulging his location, saying he is going to be expelled from this fourth school, Pencey Prep School, located in Pennsylvania on account of his failure to pass four out of total five classes, while he has passed the fifth English Composition on account of his previous knowledge. Even though he was expelled, he was not scheduled to leave for Manhattan, his home until Wednesday. So, he visits his history teacher, Mr. Spencer, who tries to make him understand his lethargic attitude toward studies, but he berates him in his heart and leaves him berating himself to gladden Spencer that he has understood his sanguine advice.

When he comes back to his dorm, Ackley, his dirty neighbor, further makes him touchy by inquiring him about his roommate, Stradlater, who has gone to date with Jane Gallagher, a girl Holden used to date earlier. When Stradlater returns in the evening, Holden interrogates him about his date with Jane and if he has had sex with her. Feeling irritated, Stradlater gives him a bloody nose and forces him to run for Manhattan to spend the next three days in some hotel. During his train journey to New York, he meets his friend’s mother and concocts stories about her son’s good reputation at school although he was so spoiled. Subsequently, when he reaches Penn Station, he unintentionally enters a booth and tries to call several people but then comes out without calling anyone for various reasons and takes a cab to Central Park, asking the driver questions about the future of ducks in the icy weather. Then he asks the cab driver to take him to the Edmont Hotel from where he eavesdrops on the guests engaged in private antics that he interprets differently. He, then, engages in smoking and calls Faith Cavendish, an old acquaintance, to enjoy sex with her but she suggests meeting some other day and Holden hangs up because he didn’t want to wait till then.

After some thought, Holden goes downstairs and sees three women with whom he flirts for some time. He feels that he’s ‘half in love’ with the blonde. However, they cracked jokes on him and left him to pay their bill too. . Holden, then, recalls Jane and his meeting with her in Maine where they played golf and checkers. He also recalls kissing her when her stepfather berated her and left for Greenwich Village for the jazz club. When leaving the hotel, Holden repeats the same duck inquiry to the cab driver who becomes furious. After leaving the cab, he enters Enrie’s and meets Lillian Simmons, a brother of his former girlfriend, who invites him but he leaves. Back at Edmont, when he was in the elevator, the operator Maurice offers to send a prostitute for five dollars and he agrees. He invites the prostitute, ‘Sunny’ into his room but had found himself unable to have intimacy with her but insists on paying her and asks her to leave. Sunny comes back with Maurice demanding another five dollars. He fights with the pimp as well as the prostitute, who takes five more dollars from Holden. Before sleeping, he calls Sally Hayes, his former crush, to meet for a matinee show, but changes his mind and then calls Jane, though, fails to talk to her. After some time, he tries to contact his sister Phoebe but fails again. Then he reaches Biltmore Hotel to meet Sally Hayes to enjoy some time with her.

Finally, he meets her and they enjoy it sometimes. When she refuses to run away with him, Holden berates her and tries to reconcile later but both part ways angrily. Seeing no other way out from his depression, he again calls Jane but finding no answer, calls Carl Luce, his former advisor, with whom he discusses sex. Holden makes snide comments about homosexuals and his Chinese girlfriend. Fed up with his focus on this topic, Luce leaves him at the mercy of the pianist. To kill his time, he again calls Sally but does not find her on the phone. Then visits his sister, Phoebe, talks to her for a while, and admits that he has been kicked out of school, and tries to explain to her why he couldn’t stay in school.

Phoebe gets pretty mad and tells him that he doesn’t like anything. Holden then explains his fantasy about being ‘the catcher in the rye’ by saving the children on the field from falling off of the edge. She tells him that Robert Burns ’ poem , Comin thro the Rye has the line ‘if a body meets a body coming through the rye’ but Holden totally misinterprets it as ‘if a body catches a body’. This indicates that Holden doesn’t want to lose the innocence of a child and fall into the reality of this adult world. This is why he also wanted to see the ducks that he used to enjoy watching as a child.

Upset with what has happened he then goes to meet Mr. Antolini, his former English teacher. Antolini tries to calm him down about his expulsion and offers him to sleep on his couch for the night . In the morning, Holden finds Mr. Antolini stroking his forehead making him assume that he was homosexual and was making a move on him. So, he leaves him to sleep on a bench at the central station. After some time, he again calls on his sister, who packs her clothes and insists on taking her with him and after some hiccups, both of them go to have a ride on the carousel. He ends his story on an optimistic note about his future plan of studying in some good school.

Major Themes in The Catcher in the Rye

Painful Experiences: The Catcher in the Rye shows the thematic strand of the painful experiences of a teenager and his resultant detachment from people. When encountering the unsympathetic attitudes of the people and society, Holden Caulfield demonstrates his numbness to such painful encounters and statements. When he goes to meet Mr. Spencer, he berates himself just to satisfy his teacher. He also mentions repeatedly being associated with a person, yet does not show it. When the novel reaches its end, Holden comes to know that he has lost the capacity to speak to others except his own sister, Phoebe, who supports him. It seems that Holden’s existential crisis is this numbness to others and numbness to his own joys and pains of life. When he has not reconciled to the idea of his brother’s sudden death or shares the same love with anyone, be it Stradlater or Jane Gallagher.
Love and Sex: The novel presents the theme of love and sex through the character of Holden Caulfield. Although Holden shows that he is capable of loving as well as intimate relationships, he fails in both. He rather envies his roommate Stradlater, who has the influence in dating Jane, Holden’s sweetheart, and enjoys the intimate relationships. However, Holden merely imagines things and does not muster up the courage to take practical steps. It happens with him in the hotel room that when he calls the prostitute, he does not show the guts to move further. He feels that the things he loves ultimately move out of his reach. Finally, he says goodbye to Pencey, his last school, to find a new identity and new hope for the future that Mr. Spencer has stressed upon during his meeting with him.
Loss of Innocence: The Catcher in the Rye shows the loss of innocence of Holden Caulfield when he comes to realize that he is old enough to be responsible. Yet he chooses to ignore the realities of the world. In not accepting his brother’s untimely death, he has also spurned the world, thinking that all would be well with the passage of time. He thinks that everyone is “phony” without giving a second thought to the own behavior he has adopted toward the world. Once he loses his innocence, he refuses to mature. Even the prostitutes steal from him as he fails to understand the world around him.
Phoniness of the Adult World: The most common word used by Holden also becomes a thematic strand as it signifies the superficiality, pretension, and hollowness of the world around him. He is of the view that almost all the adults are phonies when he discloses his fantasy about his being the catcher of the rye. He means that his history teacher, Mr. Spencer, and all his adult friends are wrong.
Religion: Despite Holden’s unsureness toward religion, he thinks that religion is an anchor in the confusing and ambiguous world. When feminine companionship does not work for him, he thinks about Jesus that appeals to him due to his not being a phony. The commercialization of Christmas rather makes him think about Jesus who is an outcast like him. He imagines that Jesus will cure him of his madness as he has cured lunacy during his time.
Appearances: The mouthpiece of the author states that there are two types of people; those who are pretentious and those who are not. He considers the phony people as having an only interest in the appearance which he also calls go-getters. He calls every other person around him a hotshot or a phony including Strandlater, Mr. Antolinin, and Carl Luce. That is why he says that he doesn’t care about the looks or appearances of such people.
Performance: The thematic strand of performance and Holden’s hatred against it emerges from his brother’s entry into Hollywood that he thinks is based on phoniness that he hates the most. He means that performance is associated with appearance or phoniness and hence all people performing are phony and artificial. He considers prostitutes, Stradlater, and others of the same lot.
Individual Versus Society: The thematic strand of an individual against society emerges as Holden conflicts with the people around him. He failed in four previous schools and did not do well in Pencey, too. Even he has failed in history and considers his teacher, Mr. Spencer, a phony person. Sally fails to impress him, while his roommate and friend, Stradlater, seems to him either dirty or not worthy of friendship.
Rebellion: The theme of rebellion is obvious through Holden who does not understand the adult world around him that seeks him to pay attention to his studies and improve his future prospectus. He, however, chooses not to pay attention to Spencer or Antolinie and does work for Stradlater instead of himself.
Loneliness: The loneliness of a teenager is another theme that sheds light on through the character of Holden Caulfield. Despite living in a dorm in Pencey and with several friends who often visit him and Stradlater, Holden feels utter loneliness. He realizes this loneliness for the first time when Stradlater goes on a date with Jane Gallagher. He, later, feels it with Spencer and then with his sister Phoebe despite talking to them.

Major Characters in The Catcher in The Rye

Holden Caulfield: The narrator , Holden Caulfield, is the central character of The Catcher in the Rye. The story starts with his confession and moves with him when he leaves Pencey Prep to his home three days before the pack-up time. Having failed four out of five courses at school, Holden is catching up to take a breath in the suffocating environment where he feels lonely and worthless. Fed up with Stradlater, his roommate, and Ackley, the neighbor, he leaves for New York, meets Sally and Phoebe, but does not find any solace for his agitated soul. He even recalls his brother, Allie, and visits Spencer and Maurice, yet still, he does not feel psychologically satisfied. Finally, he leaves with his sister Phoebe whom he knows will follow him without finding any permanent solution to his problem of entering adulthood.
Ward Stradlater: Stradlater is Holden’s roommate and a hindrance to his growth, who narrates Holden’s romantic escapades to make him muster up the courage. However, Holden’s reaction to his dating with Jane rather makes him stupefied and both come to a fight. Holden, after this episode, abuses him and uses obscenities against him for his date with Jane Gallagher. Despite this, he does not feel any ill will against Holden and causes him to feel envious of him.
Mr. Antolini: Mr. Antolini is an English teacher who is admired by Holden, an impossible task. Working at the Elkton Hills, he has done a great job of teaching composition to his students after which he has joined the university. The special about him is that he knows that Holden is going to fail and warn him too, yet inwardly he is aware that it is impossible to stop him. Even when the story ends, Holden faces Antolini who is still encouraging.
Phoebe Caulfield: Holden’s only sister, Phoebe, holds a special place in Holden’s heart. They have a great relationship and understanding towards each other’s needs and challenges. She imitates his character and pranks in some way. She listens to him carefully to understand his interrupted conversation and responds to him in kind. She knows that it is difficult for him to concentrate, the reason that he receives a severe rebuke from her.
Jane Gallagher: Despite her brief appearance and more mention, Jane Gallagher is a romantic character of The Catcher in The Rye with her seductive impact on the narrator, Holden. She dates Stradlater but meets Holden when they are in Maine. The major reason for his brawl with Stradlater is also Jane to whom he worships in his imaginations.
Sally Hayes: Despite dating Sally Hayes, Holden thinks unkindly about her that is contrary to what he thinks about Jane, who dates Stradlater, his roommate. She fails to win his admiration for an unknown reason.
Allie Caulfield: An absent younger brother, Allie leaves a deep impact on Holden is succumbs to leukemia at a very young age. The tragedy of his death moves the family as well as Holden. Holden keeps his poetic pieces with him to recall his memories whenever he feels depressed.
Mr. Spencer: The History Teacher , who thinks that Holden could improve in his studies. Mr. Spencer, Holden’s favorite teacher though he rebukes him. Mr. Spencer also teaches him Egyptian history about which he has written a funny piece with comments about the teacher’s authority about awarding grades.
Maurice: Maurice is an operator of the elevator in the hotel that Holden visits when going to his home after his expulsion from Pencey Prep. He arranges a prostitute that Holden does not enjoy and loses five dollars more besides the fees.
Sunny: She is the prostitute who works with Maurice in the hotel and meets Holden when he calls for one. Despite his frigidity, she forces him to sleep with her and taunts him for making accuses.

Writing Style of The Catcher in The Rye

The style of The Catcher in the Rye suits a young boy’s conversational tone that is vernacular and also self-conscious. Written in the first-person narrative , the novel shows the use of teenage vocabulary by Holden Caulfield. The voice he adopts, in the beginning, stays true to his personality until the end. The book contains profanities, abuses, and obscenities, making it unsuitable for young readers. It is corny yet has the flavor that makes the readers enjoy the narration of a teenager. Full of generalizations and hyperboles, Holden resorts to the use of occasional phrases and repetitions to bring home his supposed listeners.

Analysis of Literary Devices in The Catcher in The Rye

Action: The main action of the novel comprises the narrative of Holden Caulfield and his failure in different schools. The rising action occurs when he calls Maurice to call a prostitute for him and she visits him. The falling action occurs when he asks Phoebe to come with him but she refuses.
Anaphora : The Catcher in The Rye shows the use of anaphora as shown in the examples below, i. Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep. Pencey Prep is this school that’s in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. (Chapter-1) ii. It rained on his lousy tombstone, and it rained on the grass on his stomach. It rained all over the place. All the visitors that were visiting the cemetery started running like hell over to their cars. (Chapter-20) These sentences from the novel show the repetitious use of “Pencey Prep” and “It rained.”
Antagonist : The Catcher in The Rye shows two antagonists obstructing the path of Holden Caulfield; the first is his goal and the second is society.
Allusion : There are various examples of allusions given in the novel such as, i. I was born, an 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. (Chapter-1) ii. I remember around three o’clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill, right next to this crazy cannon that was in the Revolutionary War and all. (Chapter-1) iii. “Four.” I moved my a** a little bit on the bed. It was the hardest bed I ever sat on. “I passed English all right,” I said, “because I had all that Beowulf and Lord Randal My Son stuff when I was at the Whooton School. (Chapter-2) The first example alludes to David Copperfield by Charles Dickens , the second to the Revolutionary War, and the third to Beowulf, the English epic .
Conflict : The are two types of conflicts in the novel . The first one is the external conflict that is going on between Holden and society and the second is the internal conflict that is also the mental conflict of Holden.
Characters: The Catcher in The Rye presents both static as well as dynamic characters. The young boy, Holden Caulfield, is a dynamic character as he changes during the course of the novel. However, the rest of the characters do not see any change in their behavior as they are static characters such as Phoebe, Stradlater, Ackley, and Spencer.
Climax : The climax takes place when Holden goes to his younger sister, Phoebe, and she becomes furious over his expulsion from the school.
Foreshadowing : The novel shows the following examples of foreshadowing , i. They’re quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They’re nice and all–I’m not saying that—but they’re also touchy as hell. (Chapter-1) ii. Some things are hard to remember. I’m thinking now of when Stradlater got back from his date with Jane. (Chapter-6) These quotes from The Catcher in The Rye foreshadow the coming events.
Hyperbole : Hyperbole or exaggeration occurs in the novel at various places as given in the below example, i. 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. (Chapter-1) ii. He started parting his hair all over again. It took him about an hour to comb his hair. (Chapter-4) Both of these examples exaggerate things; the first exaggerate the patience of his parents and the second about his friend’s combing of the hair.
Imagery : Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, i. You couldn’t see the grandstand too hot, but you could hear them all yelling, deep and terrific on the Pencey side, because practically the whole school except me was there, and scrawny and faggy on the Saxon Hall side, because the visiting team hardly ever brought many people with them. (Chapter-1) ii. It was this red hunting hat, with one of those very, very long peaks. I saw it in the window of this sports store when we got out of the subway, just after I noticed I’d lost all the goddam foils . It only cost me a buck. (Chapter-4) iii. But I just thought something fell out the window, a radio or a desk or something, not a boy or anything. Then I heard everybody running through the corridor and down the stairs, so I put on my bathrobe and I ran downstairs too, and there was old James Castle laying right on the stone steps and all. (Chapter-22). These three examples from the novel show the images of sound, color, and sight.
Metaphor : The Catcher in The Rye shows good use of various metaphors as given in the below examples, i. Nobody was around anyway. Everybody was in the sack. For me, the sky was the color of Jews. (Chapter-8) ii. I damn near sent a telegram to old Stradlater telling him to take the first train to New York. He’d have been the king of the hotel. (Chapter-9) iii. Most girls if you hold hands with them, their goddam hand dies on you, or else they think they have to keep moving their hand all the time. (Chapter-11) The first example shows the sack used for the beds, then the second shows Stradlater compared to a king, and the third shows the hands of girls compared to motionless things.
Mood : The novel shows a funny mood in the beginning but it turns out ironic and satiric in the middle and somewhat serious in the end.
Motif : Most important motifs of the novel are books, schools, a hotel room, prostitutes, and ducks.
Narrator : The novel, The Catcher in The Rye, is narrated by the protagonist , Holden Caulfield in the first-person point of view .
Protagonist : Holden is the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts with his entry into the story and moves with him until the end.
Rhetorical Questions : The novel shows good use of rhetorical questions at several places as given in the examples below, i. “The ducks. Do you know, by any chance? I mean does somebody come around in a truck or something and take them away, or do they fly away by themselves–go south or something?” (Chapter-11) ii. Okay. How ‘bout handing over those gloves?” Then the crook that had stolen them probably would’ve said, his voice very innocent and all, “What gloves?” (Chapter-12) iii. “Well! How’s Connecticut?” or “How’s Florida?” It was a terrible place, I’m not kidding. I cut out going there entirely, gradually. (Chapter-19) This example shows the use of rhetorical questions posed by different characters not to elicit answers but to stress upon the underlined idea. Most of these questions have been posed by Holden himself.
Setting : The setting of the novel, The Catcher in The Rye, is New York.
Simile : The novel shows good use of various similes as given in the below examples, i. You take somebody old as hell, like old Spencer, and they can get a big bang out of buying a blanket. (Chapter-2) ii. I read a lot of classical books, like The Return of the Native and all, and I like them, and I read a lot of war books and mysteries and all, but they don’t knock me out too much. (Chapter-3) iii. “What’s the matter? Wuddaya want?” I said. Boy, my voice was shaking like hell. (Chapter-14) These are similes as the use of the word “like” shows the comparison between different things. The first example shows old age with that of the age of Spencer, the second a book with the novel, and the third his voice with the sound of the hell.

The Catcher in the Rye Characters
Jerome David Salinger

AP English Catcher in the Rye: Home

Annotations group 1 block a2.

Danny , Simon, Kaylie, Zach

Frangedis, Helen. “Dealing with the Controversial Elements in “ The Cather in the Rye ”. http://www.jstor.org/discover/ . 3-2-2013. <http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/818945?uid=3739792&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21101759714901>.

Helen Frangedis is a high school teacher that always includes The Catcher in the Rye in her course syllabus for the year. Parents are always concerned about the book because of the profanity, drug and alcohol references, and “loose moral codes”. When presented with these concerns, Frangedis states that there is a deeper meaning in the book and the students have the challenge of finding it. She addresses her audience of parents with good reasons of reading and analyzing the book, while understanding their concerns.

Frangedis’s article focuses entirely on J. D. Salenger’s writing style. Salenger greatly exaggerates Holden, his issues, and society throughout the book and that leads to all of the profanity and drug/alcohol references. With his writing style, people began to notice, read, and criticize “ The Catcher in the Rye ,” all because of one reason; Salenger’s exaggerating writing style. Society always pays attention to the bigger, more exaggerated, stunning news. For example, people will pay more attention to the semi-truck that flipped over than the car that hit a pole. The reason is simple. Watching the truck flip over is more stunning and impressive than a car hit something. The same goes for “ The Catcher in the Rye ”. People will read a book that is full of drugs, cursing, and drinking over the book that is nice, short, and sweet. Knowing who society is and how it works, Salenger wrote a book that not only goes against society, but separates him from all other authors.

Danny, Simon, Kaylie, Zach

Vizzini, Ned. "Teen Angst? Nah!" New York Times . The New York Times, 17 May 1998. Web. 04 March 2013.

Ned Vizzini, who at the time this article was published was a student in high school, wrote this document about teenage angst to calm and relax any teenage readers who were going through difficult time in their lives. This article explains to the target audience of teenagers that what they are going through is normal and that every teenager goes through it during their lives and that they shouldn't panic about it. Vizzini then highlights five major problems that teenagers go through, those being sex, money, smoking, drinking, and college, and explains to them how to handle those situations in their lives. This article gives reasonable ways to handle these situations such as avoiding them altogether, make up some excuses, and just to be relaxed and is a realiable source because he knows how to handle these situations considering how he went though them first-hand and is giving advise on what to do.

The significant connection between this article and The Catcher in the Rye is that Holden went through all of these troubles that have been addressed in this article and would've benefitted knowing how to handle these problems. If Holden had read this article, he would've realized that he wasn't so alone in his troubles and that others have gone through his pain, something that he wouldn't understand until much later with Mr. Antolini. If Holden were to know how to handle this situations in his life such as smoking and drinking, sex, and school problems he would've made much more intelligent decisions and would've ended up with a much happier ending to his story. This article illuminates the text by giving the reader ways that Holden could've handled situations in the book, such as when he was with Sunny or why he smokes so much, and makes them think of why Holden reacted in the way he did when he could've done something else more wise.

Kaylie, Danny, Simon, Zach

Layton, Lyndsey. Four-Decade High. New York Times. New York, New York: 22 January 2013. 06 February 2013.

Lyndsey Layton wrote this article for the New York Times to inform Americans of the decreasing rates of high school drop outs due to the economic situation in our country. The percentage of highschool drop outs is decreasing as a nation and graduation rates of minorities are increasing. The inner city kids with average to lower income levels have higher droupout rates than teens in suburban cities. The article explains teens are staying in school due to tough econimcal times and they need education for jobs. Statisitics are based off of completion and drop outs of the four year high school. Layton aims her article towards most Americans, the article can appeal to a larger audiance. She appeals to interested Americans who could apply the statistics in her article.

The Catcher in the Rye relates to Layton's article because Holden fails in all of the school he attends and the article explains the statistics of those students failing and dropping out of highschool. An overall theme of the book is Holden failing in many parts of his life, school being one of them. Layton addresses kids like Holden who are dropping out of highschool due to the inability to keep up with the work. Holden is a teenager who contributes to the precentage of teenagers who are unable to complete highschool on the standard 4-year plan.

Simran Khanal , Claire, Chloe, Jeff

Tannen, Mary. "Jingo Belle." Nytimes.com . New York Times, 10 Oct. 2004. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

Mary Tannen looks at the definition and qualifications of the American Beauty. She used modern examples to illustrate how the definitions and qualifications of the American Beauty continuously changes. Tannen’s audience is the readers of the New York Times. She is looks at the new skin care and beauty line that came out in 2004 and analyzing what the American women look for in their makeup. She uses Daisy as the American Beauty of the 1920’s because of her independent thinking and the fact that she fell in love with Gatsby, who was not her husband.

This article looks into the depth of how society views women or what are considered “good” qualities. They analyze modern examples of women and how they qualify for the part of an American Beauty, from Marilyn Monroe to Ashley Judd. This illustrates the social arguments that Fitzgerald brings up in The Great Gatsby. For example, Tannen brings up the fact that the American Beauty is independent and always has something that they need to do. This symbolizes Jordan Baker and Daisy in The Great Gatsby because they are independent women and they always have things to of their own to take care of. For example, Jordan is a golfer and she is looking out for her own career, and Daisy is independent and does what she wants like falling in love with Gatsby even though she is married.

Annotations Group 2 Block A2

Paige, Kyle , CJ

Thornburgh, Nathan. "Dropout Nation." Time.com . Time Magazine, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/ 0,9171,1181646,00.html>.

Nathan Thornburgh is a respected author for Time Magazine which is one of the most, if not the most read magazines in America. In this article he goes to a small town in Indiana to observe the students, one of which had almost all of his friends become high school dropouts. In this small school alone only 215 out of the 315 students are expected to graduate and in a national perspective that’s about 1 out of 3 kids dropping out of public high schools. Thornburgh then adds in another scary statistic found by researchers, that when the focus is shifted to African-Americans or Latinos the rate jumps to 50%. Thornburgh aims this article towards an audience that is curious and is well informed of the high school dropout plague sweeping the nation.

The way that this connects to the Catcher In The Rye is that Holden, the main character, flunks out of every school that he’s ever been in. And once he leaves his final school he sets out on a journey to stall so he doesn’t have to go home. On this journey not only do you realize that he failed in school but that he fails in almost every aspect of life there is. This also connects to the article as Thornburgh says that there is not just one specific type of student flunking out but more like anyone from any level of income can flunk out; and Holden himself is a middle to upper class child which can reinforce this point. Thornburgh also says that the reason why we can find so many kids dropping out is because everyone has been willingly ignoring it for decades, but now some people are finally paying attention. This can be seen by the character Spencer who tries to correct Holden at the beginning of the book when he tries to leave but ultimately fails. Which begs the question even though people are trying to help will we ever stop kids from dropping out and potentially ruining their future?

Paige, Kyle, Cj

Privitera, Lisa. "Holden’s Irony in Salinger’s THE CATCHER IN THE RYE." Editorial. 2008: n. pag. Print.

Lisa Privitera labels Holden as an antihero or tragic hero. She claims that it is through his relativity of his coming of adulthood presents a model for teens to look up and apply themselves to. On the contrary, it is in his extremities of emotion, reactions, and lying that separate Holden from the everyday teenager. Her main point of critic is in pointing out the irony of his ways. The reocurring idea of solitude and isolation is contradicted by his constant encounters with others in which he seems to crave for attention. Unfortunately, when he does not receive the particular reaction he wishes, he turns the people down. Thus, he furthers himself in his hatred for people and their phoniness after the beating with his roommate, meetings on the subway, and interactions in the hotel. She does not acknowledge Holden for his “accomplishments,” but for his ability to take the risks for his readers and while they fail, still thrives to be. That is the message, the motivation that says that’s how life is and it goes on, that the readers read for.

The appeal of the irony of Holden is applied through deductive reasoning. She opens to build up Holden as the antihero of his own story only to break down the flaws in his scheme of being. She tackles each situation he is in that contains contradiction and counters it with the rationality behind it to make her point. Holden claims he wants isolation, he tries to convince himself that that is his desire the entire novel, but in actuallity, it is belonging that he craves. He wants to find his way into the world but the only thing stopping him is the need for acceptance of himself, because ironically, he is the phony he’s trying to avoid.

Annotations Group 1 Block A3

Alyssa , Rachel, Gina

Schuessler, Jennifer. "Get a Life, Holden Caulfield." The New York Times . The New York Times, 21 June 2009. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.

Jennifer Schuessler discusses the idea that teenagers today have a hard time relating to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye due to the fact that the times have changed and this book has become worn out. Although the novel is still a critical part in the high school curriculum, many teens don’t like Holden as much as they used to. As The Catcher in the Rye tells the story of Holden Caulfield, a teenager who struggles to find his identity while living in New York City, Schuessler describes the idea that teenagers live in a different world than when the book was published in 1951. Today, teenagers are faced with a competitive side to every aspect of life. Back when Holden was traveling around New York City, he wasn’t too upset about flunking out of the fancy boarding school Pencey, like teens today worry about getting admitted into their dream college. Times have changed, and students today aren’t as interested in the Holden Caulfield phenomenon as they once were, Schuessler writes.

Schuessler’s article demonstrates how the world has, and will, continue to evolve over time. As Salinger once wrote The Catcher in the Rye to explain to teenagers the importance of finding one’s identity and true happiness, Schuessler states that today it is hard to relate Holden’s experiences to the average teenager. However, despite the idea that times are changing and teenagers today can’t relate, Schuessler does an excellent job of stating that there are many similarities between the 2013 teenager and Holden Caulfield. Today, teenagers have many luxuries that Holden didn’t have in the novel. A true Catcher in the Rye lover can only imagine Holden living in today’s world.

Alyssa, Rachel, Gina

BRATMAN, FRED. "Holden, 50, Still Catches." Books . New York Times, 1998. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.

This news article written by Fred Bratman tells about his experiences and joys of reading The Catcher in the Rye over and over again. The main character, Holden, was his role model when he first read the book at age 16. He connects significant events of the book to his highschool experiences and tells how they impacted him as a current student; relating himself to Holden's failures and connections with school teachers. Also, he discusses how reading about Holden's "far more interesting" problems made moments of struggle in his own life bearable. Bratman made an interesting connection to Holden's reality and his. Holden's reality is what he made it to be and Bratman was privilaged to visit it because they shared a very similar perspective.

Bratman ends the article with an expansion of ideas about the book as a whole. He considers where Holden would be in his life now if the book continued or as if he was an actual man living in today's world. He made these assumptions of where Holden might be through events in the book. This demonstrates the importance of analyzing characters with a fictional and realistic approach. Bratman was able to relate to Holden's life, characterization and problems. Because of this connection, he was able to imagine what Holden would be like in todays world based off of how he is in his own life.

Annotations Group 2 Block A3

Sarah, Caitie, Kyra, and Luis

Bratman, Fred. "Holden, 50, Still Catches." New York Times . N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/13/specials/ salinger-holden.html>.

Fred Bratman is a writer for the New York Times and is writing this article to both celebrate the 50th birthday of the character Holden in Catcher in the Rye , but also to compare his own life to Holden's life. Bratman first read Catcher in the Rye when he was 16 which was the same age that Holden was in the story. What really caught Bratman's eye with Catcher in the Rye was that Holden had a similar life as Bratman's. They both were bright kids, but kind of troubled being kicked out of different schools, they both had teachers who they looked up to as role models and they thought alike too. Bratman could deeply relate to Holden's life and in hindsight looked up to Holden as a role model even though he was just a character in a book.

Bratman considers Holden a "friend" of his even though he doesn't actually exist. To him, Holden is a teenager who sees people for what they really are and just laughs at his own problems which is what Bratman does with his life as well. Bratman picks up Catcher in the Rye every year and re-reads it because he enjoys reading about and being able to relate to Holden's life. In fact he has read this book so many times that he was counting the years until it was Holden's 50th birthday which sparked the idea to write this article. Bratman looks up to Holden so to speak as he wishes to be able to be life Holden to not let anyone get in his way and to never give up on what he sets his mind on.

Annotations Group 1 Block A4

Henry, Halea, Haley

Schuessler, Jennifer. "Get a Life, Holden Caulfield." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia . The New York Times, 20 June 2009. Web. 3 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/weekinreview/21schuessler.html?_r=0>.

In this article, Jennifer Schuessler discusses Catcher in the Rye and how it is losing its appeal to teenagers. The article treats this as a fact and presents anecdotal quotes to back it up. Schuessler also gives theories as to why the book is no longer as popular as it once was. The article is somewhat biased, and its audience is probably people who disliked the book. The article was probably written either in reponse to hearing about the book's fading popularity or because Shuessler did not appreciate Catcher .

This article supports my opinion of the novel; that it was intended for readers of a different era with a different mindset. Holden's primary strength is how readers identify with him, and this is lost on modern students. Class discussions have noted that it is difficult to identify with Holden's incessant self-pity. This is what Salinger's novel projects, and it does not fit with current generations.

Annotations Group 2 Block A4

Hayden , Jack, Sam

McGrath, Charles. "J.D. Salinger, Literary Recluse, Dies at 91." Nytimes.com . The New York Times, 28 Jan. 2010. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/books/ 29salinger.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

I chose to examine the New York Times obituary for JD Salinger titled "J.D. Salinger, literary recluse, Dies at 91." This article written by Charles McGrath serves the purpose of reflecting on the strange life of Salinger by describing his many literary accomplishments as well as his mysterious personal life. The exigence for this article being published in the the well-respected New York Times was the death of this very famous author that very little is known about. The audience for this article is pretty much the entire American public because it is put on a well known internet site. The obituary begins by explaining Salinger's great success as a young writer due to the popularity of "The Catcher in the Rye". It then goes into detail about why the book appealed to so many people and how revolutionary it was to American literature. However, Salinger was never a fan of all the attention he recieved and after being betrayed by the media he vowed to never to another interview. A few years later he moved to a secluded area is has rarely been heard of since. This man was one of the greatest American writers but also one of the most mysterious.

I chose to read this article because I wanted to find out if anything happened in Salinger's that compelled him to write in such an interesting way. And many of the characters in the book were described in such detail, like Holden's dead brother, I was curious if they were based off of real people in Salinger's life. What I did discover is that the character of Holden Caulfield has some erie similarities to the life of Salinger. For example, in the story Holden is the manager of the fencing team at Pencey, and coincidentaly Salinger was the manager of his high school fencing team. He also flunked out of high school, just like Holden did. The most interesting connection i found between Salinger and Holden was that they both desired to move away from the big city and live in an isolated home away from all other people. In the book Holden says he wants to find "a little cabin somewhere with the dough I made and live there for the rest of my life away from any goddam stupid conversation with anybody.” In real life Salinger moved away from Manhatten to an isolated 90 acre compound. I think that although we don't know a whole lot about Salinger, we can learn alot from studying his most famous character, Holden Caulfield.

Sam, Hayden, Jack

Frank, Jack. "Times Square Nov. 29, 1951." Flickr . Yahoo, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. http://www.flickr.com/photos/photohistorytimeline/7636729592/ .

I decided to annotate a picture instead of text for this assignment. What helps me when I read is being able to visually see the events going on. Because “Catcher” was written a fairly long time ago, I wanted to understand and become fully equipped with the setting Holden was experiencing. For most of the text, Holden is spending his time in New York; more specifically, Times Square. Jack Frank took this picture in 1951, the same year the book was published. Frank took this picture during an air raid drill on November 29. The photo depicts a busy city with many cars and people looking for protection. Eventually this photo was published in New York Times according to the website I found. The picture was taken solely for people to look back and reflect upon what happened during these times.

Even though Holden never experienced an air raid drill, the picture clearly shows an accurate setting of Times Square. Holden went to shows such as the Rockettes, movies, ate food, went to school, and lived in New York. The setting is a very important significance to the text. New York is known for being a very tough city, and Holden was able to survive for three days on his own. The theme of independence builds maturity is shown through the different events that happened in New York. Holden wanted to run away, but finally came the mature decision to stay home. Each place he went to in New York impacted his life in one way or another, and that couldn’t be shown without the different settings.

Jack , Hayden, Sam

" J.D. Salinger." 2012. FamousAuthors.org 5 March, http://www.famousauthors.org/j-d-salinger

The article i chose was a biography of the author of The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger. The purpose of this article is to provide background information on the author and possibly help them understand as to why he wrote this book in such a different and unique style. This text can relate to a wide range of people, but most likely correlates with people who have read The Catcher in the Rye. The author of this biography wrote this Internet article to provide some sort of explanation as to why he wrote his famous novel and what events sprung his though process during his writing of The Catcher in the Rye.

After reading this article, My thoughts and views of The Catcher in the Rye transformed. I no longer feel as though Salinger just randomly made up this angry, negative character called Holden Caufield. I believe that Salinger based the main character off of his tragedies in life and his thoughts when he was a young adult. Exigence is very important to the understanding of this novel. Once you figure out why the author wrote the novel and why he wrote it in such a manner, you can connect to the story and truly understand the text. By looking at the exigence of J.D. Salinger, you realize that the events going on in the book relate give you an idea as to how Salinger lived as a young adult and how he felt about the world.

Annotations Group 1 Block B1

Khaila . Tanner. Taylor. Alex.

Cite: "Waiting for the Forgetting to Begin." Well. Ed. Nancy Stearns Bercaw. Vers. Voices. New York Times, 31 Jan. 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013

Nancy Stearns illustrated the pain and struggle of a family going through Alzheimer’s. Intended for anyone who is struggling with similar difficulties, the article provides insight to the steps of Alzheimer’s disease, how it travels through a family and the effects of the disease. Stearns sheds a light to the beginning of the disease starting as though she was her father and then changes by into second person as herself. The author argues that a family’s involvement in ALL the stages of the Alzheimer victim’s life is crucial to closure and security. The family needs to stick by the patient not abandon and/or blame them.

Stearns’ argument illuminates Holden in Catcher in the Rye main problem, he is haunted by a memory and without closure it is driving him insane. Although this editorial mostly focuses on the issues the Alzheimer’s victim is going through, they sideline effect on the family is present. The remorse filled, closure seeking family indirectly reflects Holden’s mental state. Holden blames everyone and excludes himself from those close to him to ease his pain. Stearns argued to do the exact opposite. Indirect comparison of the two is apparent and valid.

Taylor Khaila Alex Tanner

Salinger, J. D. Nine Stories . N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

The author of the book Nine Stories is J.D. Salinger and the story I annotated is Teddy . The context of this story is a family of three staying on their boat for a vacation. Teddy is the son and he has a mom and dad. This family is very rich but they have lots of problems; the mom and dad fight lots, Teddy is crossed eyed and is too small for his age. The purpose of this book might have been to show people that even the picture perfect families that seem to have a great life, still have their own problems. The audience is for a more mature audience because this isn't for kids, it deals with more mature topics that children might not understand. The wording of this story is very sophisticated and takes a good amount of concentration to understand the story. This story challenges the stereotype of how rich people live. More money doesn't always bring more happiness. This story relates to the Catcher in the Rye because it has a similar family structure. Holden's family is very wealthy but the family still struggles through life; they lost one of their sons, Allie, and are still coping with his death. Holden is always being kicked out of school because he can never do well in class, he also had some health issue and had to go to a psychiatric facility. The youngest sibling, Phoebe never gets to see her older brothers because Holden goes to boarding school, D.B. lives in California, and Allie is dead, so even though she has many siblings, she lives as an only child. This story also relates to Catcher in the Rye with the theme of coming of age. Teddy is a childish nickname that children are called in their childhood it is also a common children's toy. Teddy is thirteen and is making that transition from child to teenager. Him being called Teddy reflects his childhood and memories. Teddy is also below average size for his age. This shows he's physically still child sized even though his age is teenage. Just like the Catcher in the Rye, the conflict of coming of age haunts both characters.

Taylor Khaila Alex Tanner

Salinger, J. D. "A Perfect Day for Banana Fish." Nine Stories . New York City: Little, Brown and, 1953. 3-9. Print.

“A Perfect Day for Banana fish” is a short story found in J.D. Salinger’s Nine Stories. This story follows dialogue between Muriel and her mother, and also a little girl named Sybil and a man named Freddy. It’s a tale of insanity and anxiety that is captivating from the very beginning. The character’s are constantly engaged in dialogue, telling the story through different peoples perspectives rather than one narrator’s. This storytelling technique is very effective and attention grabbing. The story itself is all about a mentally unstable man. He talks to a little girl on the beach about his experiences in war (in a much more subtle way) then continues to kill himself. Salinger wrote this tale as a way to reveal the toll war takes on the soldiers, and I found it very disturbing.

Salinger truly examined post tramautic stress from war. He wrote this in order to inform the audience of how people feel after coming back from such a stressful setting. As a direct audience member I believe that he did a great job capturing the raw emotions that Freddy felt after the war. The main themes from this short story connect very well to Catcher in the Rye by Salinger. The theme that is the most similar in these two pieces of literature is the struggle with internal conflicts. Holden, from Catcher in the Rye, wanted to commit suicide, but the only difference is that Freddy went through with it. These two had major internal conflicts. While Freddy gained his conflicts from a traumatic war, Holden gained his from a tricky childhood. The two dealt with their problems in almost opposite ways. Holden ended up talking to psychologists and trying to change, while Freddy killed himself. Regardless of this difference, these two stories were very similar and intriguing.

Annotations Group 1 Block B3

Note: This assignment was not covered in our class. Format based on examples. [Phil Hoff]

Caleb , Devi, Eric, Phil.

Salinger, J. D. "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." Nine Stories . New York:

Bantam, 1964. 3-9. Libguides . Web. 2 Mar. 2013.

<http://libguides.ops.org/kaweckiliteraturecircles>.

Seymour Glass is a young man who is suffering from psychological trauma because of a war that he recently returned home from. Because of his injury, his state of mind has been reduced to that of a child. Because he’s a man with a child’s brain, he sees himself as an outsider around adults and would rather spend his time with children or on his own. This is because children are the only ones who can really understand him and enter his world and give him the feeling that he longs for. The goal in his suffering mind is to regain a child-like innocence that every small child seems to possess. Seymour Glass is on vacation with his pretty, materialistic, socialite wife. They are staying in a hotel on the beach. Seymour decides to leave his wife to go be on the beach because he sees his wife as everything that he doesn’t want to be a part of. An adult concerned with looks, womanhood, sexuality, sociality, and society. While on the beach, he meets up with his young friend, three year old Sybil Carpenter. He and she play around and look in the ocean for the so-called “banana fish”. He likes being with her because she isn’t worried about the cares of the world, and he feels that she is the only one who understands him and can reach his “level”. After their play time, Sybil runs off to find her mom. Once she is gone, Seymour decides to go up to his room. In his room, he commits suicide.

The short story “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and “The Catcher in the Rye” share similar stories. Seymour and Holden both believe that they are outsiders and feel as if they should be on their own. Seymour left his wife for almost the same reason Holden ran off to be homeless. Holden tried to run from the world and his problems so he wouldn’t have to confront them. He didn’t believe that any one could help or understand what he was going through so he turned away from everyone, except his little sister Phoebe. She gave him a good feeling about himself she was the only person he cared about and the only person he felt cared about him. He valued her innocence and didn’t want her to be exposed to the terrible world that he feels has corrupted him. Seymour left his wife and avoids adults because they symbolized the world to him. So, he “runs” from them and turns to children because of their innocence. He also finds one person that he values, and that is Sybil. She is his best friend and she made his last moments of life happy. Sybil and Phoebe are both very young and caused a change in their own protagonist’s life. Though Sybil was able to give comfort and happiness to Seymour, she wasn’t enough to save his life. But Phoebe was just enough to change Holden’s views on life and convince him to return home. So in a way, these stories are very similar with their interpretation of the world and life.

Caleb, Devi, Eric, Phil

Privitera, Lisa. "Holden’s Irony in Salinger’s THE CATCHER IN THE

RYE." Editorial. The Explicator 2008: 203-06. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.

<http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east1.amazonaws.com/docs/

3162/664141/Catcher_Literary_Criticism.pdf>.

Privitera opens by stating Catcher in the Rye is “one of the most widely read and discussed works in the American literary canon.” She then states her thesis: that the further Holden Caulfield, the main character of Catcher in the Rye, hereon shortened to CitR, tries to hold his family and friends at, the closer he comes to revelations. Privitera then goes on to declare the specifics of Holden’s personality: that all his efforts to try to connect to others result in failure, his parents failed him, and he failed himself. The only person Holden really has left that hasn’t failed him is Phoebe, his little sister. Privitera follows up by stating, “Holden wants more than anything to make a connection with someone, anyone.” Holden then is said to turn everyone away, at arm’s length.

Privitera, from this point, begins to connect her evidence to her thesis. She says after talking with Carl Luce, who Holden once was friends with but has an incredibly abrasive personality, Holden starts formulating his idea of running off instead of facing professional help. He feels he can help others from falling into the same dilemma. Through this, Holden’s attempt to distance himself from those he cares about, he comes to one of his deepest revelations. Privitera, after making her point, connects Holden’s irony to the reader. She says “[Holden’s] failure makes him all the more real for these… readers.” By not finding answers, Holden’s emotions are made all the more poignant to the reader.

Eric Freeman, Phil, Devi, Caleb P.3B

Annotated bibliography assignment (I have no idea if I did this correctly)

Privitera, Lisa. "Holden’s Irony in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye." Amazonaws . N.p., 2008. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.

The above article summarizes many of the central conflicts, both internal and external, that occur within the novel. The author places heavy emphasis upon Holden’s character development, or more his lack of development; in addition to Holden’s strange behavior in the increasingly dizzying torrent of confusion that engulfs Holden near the end of the novel. The author is likely a high school student as it was revealed in the works cited that the paper was written at Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix, Arizona. Because this was written by a high school student we can assume that this paper was written at least partially on the request of a teacher, and consequently the purpose would have been not so much to inform about basic details of the book but expand upon more specific themes in order to prove comprehension. The purpose is very much tailored for an academic audience with at least basic knowledge of the topic; it expands upon points that would be very difficult for someone who hasn’t read the book to comprehend. The exigence of this article is also similarly related it was almost certainly created due to the demands of a specific teacher; the student may have taken it farther later but the original exigence was likely because it was to help the student’s grade.

It might be harder to find something that isn’t a connection to the novel, considering this article is well, about the novel. Regardless this text helped me understand the more chaotic concluding chapters in which Holden’s behavior really began to defy rational explanation. This also drew my attention to just how frequently Holden was a very contradicting even ironic character. Holden is ironic because he is constantly at war with the seemingly endless pool of phonies that perpetrate every aspect of his existence; when he himself is perhaps the most fake person in the entire story. Holden is sometimes aware of his phony behavior such as when he regales Ernest mother with various imaginative stories that Holden invents that place her extremely “phony” son upon a gilded pedestal and causes her to feel sorry for Holden because he lies that he needed an operation. Holden’s qualifications for achieving phony status ensure that nearly everyone, including himself and his dearest example of innocent Phoebe, are phonies. Essential being phony is merely a part of the human condition; Holden dislikes any traditional values or practices and consequently labels them all as phony, however he himself cannot escape certain necessary evils of humanity. In this sense Holden is just as phony as anyone else despite his constant battle to maintain innocence and elevate from the norm.

Annotations Group 2 Block B3

Barbara, Nick, Tyler and Brandon

BRATMAN, FRED. "Holden, 50, Still Catches." Books. New York Times, 1979. Web. 5 Mar. 2013

Fred Bratman is a writer for the New York times and the author of ‘Holden,50, Still Catches’. Bratman wrote this article to celebrate, what would be, Holden’s 50 th birthday and to also look at his life and compare it to Holden’s life. Bratman wrote this article towards people that have read The Catcher in the Rye to remind them of how they felt when they first read it and towards people that haven’t read it to encourage them to read it. Because The Catcher in the Rye made such a big impact on Bratman’s life that he still reads it every year to remind himself of what he once felt and what his own life was once like.

In the article Bratman describes how much he relates to Holden. When Bratman read The Catcher in the Rye for the first time he was 16 years old just like Holden is in the book. Bratman and Holden were both troubled kids failing many classes and feeling alone. When Bratman first read the book he related to Holden and he didn’t feel so alone in “feeling restless” (Bratman). He ends the article with wondering where Holden is now but when he thinks of Holden growing up it doesn’t live up to his character. Bratman will forever see Holden as a teenager who sees people for who they really are; just like himself.

Brandon , Barbara, Nick, Tyler

-. "Holden’s Irony in Salinger’s THE CATCHER IN THE RYE." An Overview of The Catcher in the Rye (2008): 1-5. Print.

This article analyses The Catcher in the Rye , both rhetorically and litera rily. They touch on themes of the book such as the symbolic properties of the word phony. They talk about holdens inner feelings and his thoughts throughout the novel. The author discusses the significance of certain characters and the things they represent. Privitera covers the main theme of the book, the coming of age. Holden's isolation, wants, symbols, and ideas can be found. The author crafted a magnificent rhetorical annotation. The author is a high school student so the exigence is likey, she was assigned to write an essay. The audience is her teacher but it can be well understood from the perspective of her classmates. The purpose was to inform. She did a great job of accomplishing her purpose. She created logos through challenging diction. She varies her sentence length to put forth an element of good syntax. The essay is very professional and the the stong sense of voice establishes ethos. However, due to the professional nature of the essay there is almost no pathos.

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

Sample Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bib. Caitie B.

Annotated Bibliography

Definitions

A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called "references" or "works cited" depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).

An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation.

Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following:

· Summarize : Summarize the text using its rhetorical situation. Who is the author , what is its purpose ? Who is the audience ? What is the context/exigence? What are the main arguments ? What is the point of this story or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this text is about, what would you say? This should be a paragraph in length.

· Evaluate : After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. How does it illuminate to the novel you read? Identify and explain the significance of at least one connection. Connections can be rhetorical, poetic, thematic, historical, stylistic, political, and/or relate to your experiences. This should be one paragraph in length.

Instructions

Write the first name of each group member. Place your name in bold.

Be sure to spell check. There is a spell checker in this program or you can type in word first.

Greg, Marsha , Jan, Cindy

Cabera, Nolan L., and Amado M. Padilla. “Entering and Succeeding in the Culture of College: The Story of Two Mexican Heritage

Students.” Hispanic Journal of BehavioralSciences 26.2 (May 2004): 152-169. Academic Search Elite (Ebsco). Web.

7 February 2009.

Cabera and Padilla discuss the academic resilience of two Stanford Latino students using

in-depth interviews. Intended for an academic audience from both higher education and social work, the article provides insight into the common struggles faced by many first-time college students who rely on emotional support of families and academic support from faculty and staff at institutions of higher education. Cabera and Padilla evaluate various services available to students at crucial points in a college career and the strategies that assist in the efforts for academic success. The authors argue that without intervention many first-time college students, regardless of race or gender, would fail to be successful. Furthermore, those students must adopt an expanded sense of self in order to see themselves as successful in a college setting.

Cabera and Padilla’s study illuminates Sherman Alexie’s central argument, that students who are economically disadvantaged and from a culture other than the dominant culture must redefine themselves in order to succeed, in Diary. Although the students highlighted in the study receive support from friends and family within their identified cultural context, they are forced to redefine themselves as members of the dominant culture associated with their institution. Junior, while maintaining his identity on the reservation, adopts an expanded version of self when he enters Reardon. Thus, the crux of the story focuses on Junior’s ability to reconcile his two selves.

MLA Citations

MLA @purdue OWL Explore this site for many citation examples
Last Updated: Dec 7, 2015 2:41 AM
URL: https://libguides.ops.org/burkeapenglishcatcherintherye

Omaha Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, age, genetic information, citizenship status, or economic status in its programs, activities and employment and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following individual has been designated to address inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Superintendent of Schools, 3215 Cuming Street, Omaha, NE 68131 (531-299-9822).

Las Escuelas Públicas de Omaha no discriminan basados en la raza, color, origen nacional, religión, sexo, estado civil, orientación sexual, discapacidad , edad, información genética, estado de ciudadanía, o estado económico, en sus programas, actividades y empleo, y provee acceso equitativo a los “Boy Scouts” y a otros grupos juveniles designados. La siguiente persona ha sido designada para atender estas inquietudes referentes a las pólizas de no discriminación: El Superintendente de las Escuelas, 3215 Cuming Street, Omaha, NE 68131 (531-299-9822).

Themes and Analysis

The catcher in the rye, by jerome david salinger.

From youth to isolation and mortality, there are a myriad of themes in J.D. Salinger’s only novel, 'The Catcher in the Rye.'

About the Book

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

From youth to isolation and mortality, there are a myriad of themes in J.D. Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye . These themes touch on the most important parts of the protagonist, Holden Caulfield ’s personality and tortured mental state. It is a desire for youth, fear of aging, appreciation for death, habitual isolation, and desire for a company that bog down the young man’s mind and help make The Catcher in the Rye the much-loved novel that it is today .

The Catcher in the Rye Themes

Throughout the novel, the reader is given examples of Holden’s preference for children over adults and youth over aging . He has a persistent fear of growing old and finds all the adults in his life to be fake and annoying. This can be seen through his interactions with the teachers and the way he shrugs off and even grows angry at their advice.

Additionally, Holden’s behavior should be read as a consistent rejection of maturity and the process of aging. He consistently gets kicked out of school and when he’s annoyed he gets angry and rejects other people. Or, most obviously, there is his desire to run away from his life, a solution that solves no problems.

Isolation

Holden feels as though it’s impossible for him to find someone he relates to, aside from Jane who he met years before the novel started. Everyone around him is shallow, irritating, and distasteful. This is in part due to the consistent circle of similar peers he ends up in. Despite the different schools, he’s been to, they’ve all been for the upper class, rich kids. These kids act in a particular way and take advantage of their privilege.

Mortality

Death is a topic that’s always on Holden’s mind. It is a consent part of his life, from when his younger brother died of leukemia before the novel began. There was also a past memory of a suicide he witnessed at one of his schools. A young boy, cornered in a room by bullies, jumped out the window rather than be attacked. Holden doesn’t fear death, at least when he sees it through the eyes of this student. He admits to respecting this boy’s choice. A reader should also consider the time period in which the novel is meant to take place, the 1950s, post-WWII. Death was something ever-present and on everyone’s mind.

Analysis of Key Moments in The Catcher in the Rye

Holden is kicked out of Pencey Prep
He confronts Ward about his date with Jane. They later get into a fight.
Holden storms out of school and takes the train to Manhattan.
He encounters the mother of one of his school mates on the train.
Holden tries to find someone to have sex with and fails.
Eventually, Holden goes to a jazz club and sees one of his older brother’s ex-girlfriend
The elevator operator sends a prostitute to Holden’s room, it doesn’t end well.
Holden imagines committing suicide
He makes a date with Sally Hayes, they go to the movies and ice skating. Holden gets annoyed and leaves
After getting drunk, he annoys another acquaintance, Carl Luce.
He sneaks into his own house to talk to his sister, Phoebe.
With nowhere to sleep, he goes to Mr. Antolini’s house but leaves after feeling uncomfortable.
Holden decides to run away and meets phoebe for what he thinks is the last time.
He takes her to the zoo and pays for her to ride the carousel. He cries.
The novel ends with Holden narrating his present. He wishes he’d never told his story.

Style, Literary Devices, and Tone in The Catcher in the Rye

Salinger makes use of several literary devices in The Catcher in the Rye. These include slang, narrative point of view, and symbolism. The first, slang, is a prominent feature of Salinger’s writing in this novel. As well as one of the main reasons the novel was rejected by critics when it was first published. Holden uses words like “flitty” to refer to gay men, frequently curses, and uses colloquialisms such as “pretty as hell” . These words stand in stark contrast to the “phony” adult world Holden is so opposed to.

Salinger provides the reader with Holden’s first-person perspective in the novel. In a sarcastic and judgmental tone, he tells his own story, looking back on the past. This means, considering holden’s state of mind at the time and in the present as he’s speaking, that he’s an unreliable narrator. A reader shouldn’t trust that everything Holden says is the truth or is a fulsome depiction of events or people. There is also a stream of consciousness elements in the novel. His words and thoughts run together, one after another as if there is no pause between him thinking something and saying it.

Symbols in The Catcher in the Rye

Allie’s baseball glove .

Tied intimately to the themes of youth and mortality, the baseball glove symbolizes the love he has for his younger brother and the anger he felt at his death. There is a distressing scene in the novel in which Holden’s roommate, Ward, speaks dismissively about a composition Holden wrote in regard to the glove. The glove is covered in poetry handwritten in green ink. These words are Holden’s way of making sense of the world and calming himself in times of terrible stress and anger.

The Ducks in Central Park

Holden repetitively asks cab drivers in New York City about the ducks in central park. They are a temporary feature of the park as they will, when the water freeze, fly away. He worries about where the animals settle when they’re not there. They symbolize his anxiety, fear of change and the passage of time. They can also be connected to Holden’s larger desire to leave his world behind. The ducks do so regularly and he can’t seem to escape at all.

The Red Hunting Hat

One of the many moments of bright color in the novel, the hat symbolizes the most confident parts of Holden’s personality. He wears it to feel good and he likes the way he looks in it. It is at its most important at the end of the novel when he gives it to his sister, Phoebe before she goes to ride the carousel. Holden cries at the sight of her experiencing joy and wearing his hat.

About Emma Baldwin

Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.

J.D. Salinger

J.D. Salinger was a pioneer of the American short story. He is remembered today as the author of The Catcher and the Rye , as well as Fanny and Zoey , and numerous other stories about the troubled Glass family.

Salinger Facts

Explore ten of the most interesting facts about Salinger's life, habits, and passions.

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger Book Artwork Cover

Salinger's Best Books

Explore the seven best books Salinger wrote.

Was Salinger Criticized?

The criticism of J.D. Salinger’s writing is centred around his major literary achievement

Maybe there’s a trapdoor under my chair, and I’ll just disappear. J.D. Salinger

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Catcher In The Rye

Catcher in the Rye Thesis

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In the classic novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, the character of Holden is introduced. Over the course of the novel, we learn a great deal about the bond that used to exist between Holden and a childhood friend named Jane. The two have not communicated in a while and he does not even see or talk to her throughout the course of the novel. Still, Holden reminisces about their past and how their friendship came to be. The inclusion of this character allows the author to elaborate and explain some of Holden’s past, the reasons why Holden thinks the way he does, and how his insecurities envelop him.

Throughout the story, the character of Jane is brought up quite a lot. Even when he just starts telling us about her, it is evident that she played an important role in his childhood. Whenever Holden talks about somebody being phony, his thoughts always wander off to Jane. The first time we, as readers, heard about Jane was during one of the first few chapters. When Holden’s roommate, Stradlater, mentions that she is the girl that he is going on a date with, it’s apparent that Holden is pleasantly surprised. He exclaims, “Boy, I nearly dropped dead when he said that. right after Stradlater mentions Jane’s name. Holden dwells on the topic of Jane, asking him where she is now, where she goes to school, and how she happened to mention him. Then, Holden begins telling Stradlater about his days with Jane Gallagher. He mentions her past as a dancer and the times he used to play checkers with her. He remembers all these little details about Jane. He states “she wouldn’t move any of her kings… She’d just leave it in the back row. ” Using Jane as a gateway into Holden’s past, the author is able to give the readers bits of clues about Holden’s childhood and how he grew up.

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Many times when Holden is alone, he thinks of Jane and recalls the moments they spent together and his past. Through Holden’s anecdotes, Salinger is able to share some of Holden’s past and his feelings towards Jane. With this character of Jane, Salinger gives us hints of how Holden thinks, and why he thinks the way that he does. When he’s going on about Jane, a lot of his personality shows too. He remembers that Jane keeps her kings in the back, that she’s a hard working dancer, and that she’s terrible at golf. All these personal, revealing details about her character is how he remembers er. In contrast to Stradlater who is more focused on physical looks, Holden obviously cares about her as a person. Using Jane, Salinger can develop Holden’s personality. The reader now sees that Holden has this caring side to him that he only reveals when he’s with Jane, or if he’s thinking about her. In fact, we can see what Holden sees in a girl when Jane is on his mind again. He states, “You never wanted to kid Jane that much… The girls I like the best are the ones I never feel much like kidding.” From the way he talks about Jane, it’s apparent that he cares deeply for her.

Salinger uses her character and her role in Holden’s life to tell the readers that even though Holden is sometimes phony himself, joking around and faking small talk, what he truly wants in a proper relationship is someone who is not phony at all, someone like Jane. A sense of insecurity is evident throughout Holden’s debate against himself about whether or not to give “old Jane a buzz. ” So many times Holden has attempted to call Jane. And every single time, he has failed to do so. He almost seems afraid to because of the many excuses he makes up to avoid actually calling her. I thought of giving old Jane a buzz, to see if she was home yet and all, but I wasn’t in the mood,” Holden says. They’re always excuses like that. Sometimes he’s not in the mood, sometimes he doesn’t want to talk to her mother because Holden thinks she’s the one that will pick up the phone. All the times he just didn’t feel like calling her seems like he’s avoiding it, like he doesn’t want to talk to her rather than vice versa. This thought provoking situation Holden faces is very resourceful of the author.

Even though Jane hasn’t even met with or talked to Holden in quite a long time, the impression is that he still thinks about her all the time. How the author included Jane in this scene let us realize Holden’s anxiety. Jane Gallagher makes appearances throughout the novel yet does not actually meet Holden. While he attempts to get in contact with her, his efforts fail and she is never mentioned in the present tense. J. D. Salinger included her nevertheless because of the significance her presence could mean to Holden. With stories and anecdotes that include her, we are able to discover Holden’s past as well as his insecurities and opinions.

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Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” Thesis

J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye has been read by high school and college students ever since it was first published in 1951 because of their strong identification with its central character and narrator, Holden Caulfield who, like them, is in transition between childhood and adulthood. Throughout the novel, Holden does things without understanding why and without the necessary tools to explain them to himself.

He seeks out the company of people he despises, he gets into fights with people he cannot hope to beat, he calls girls late at night, drops in on former teachers, dances with strange women, and visits nightclubs that he knows will bore him, and the only justification he can find for his behavior is that he must be crazy.

Holden is torn between what he wants to do and what he thinks he is supposed to do. Much of what he knows about other people’s expectations of him comes from watching movies and so he models his life on them because he has few other guides. Since Holden does not understand his own motives, the reader has to infer those motives from the clues Holden throws out. What this paper will show is that one of the keys to understanding Holden’s behavior is his attitude toward the movies.

At the beginning of the novel Holden says, “if there’s one thing I hate, it’s the movies. Don’t even mention them to me” (Salinger 1). What he does not acknowledge is that the movies are an essential escape from his problems. Holden has a great deal on his mind, including the death of his younger brother, Allie, and his recent dismissal from Pencey Prep. He has a few more days at the school before he must go home to face his parents, who are already unhappy with him for having been thrown out of three schools before this one.

He sits around the dormitory aimlessly, so desperate for company that he goes into the bathroom to watch Stradlater shave, and while he shaves Holden does a tap dance routine. Holden explains his behavior by saying “all I need’s an audience. I’m an exhibitionist” (Salinger 16) but that is a cover-up.

The part he is performing is that of the governor’s son who has become a dancer against his father’s wishes, and who becomes a star in the Ziegfeld Follies overnight, thus establishing himself as a great tap dancer and proving his father wrong. It is a “corny” plot from a musical picture, a genre he hates “like poison” (Salinger 20), but as Ann Pinsker says, “for Holden, motion pictures may be ‘lousy,’ but they are better than sitting in the dormitory feeling depressed” (132). This is Holden’s problem; movies may be lousy but they are better than his life which is why in moments of crisis he escapes into them.

Other references to films are more direct reflections of Holden’s internal struggle. The most obvious one is Hamlet since both protagonists are battling with uncertainties. Holden’s criticism of Laurence Olivier’s performance is prompted by his sense that the actor falsifies the emotions of a character with whom Holden identifies.

In the case of Olivier’s interpretation of Hamlet, Holden comments that “he was too much like a goddam general, instead of a sad, screwed-up type guy,” and by depicting Hamlet in that way he deprives Holden of the consolation of watching someone as screwed-up as he himself is. For the same reason, he enjoys the way in which Polonius’s children were “horsing around” (Salinger 63) while he was giving them fatherly advice, expecting that he might be due for a lecture himself when he gets home from his angry, disappointed father. When that happens, Holden hopes that he and his sister Phoebe will combine forces against their father, but deep down he knows that there is no way out except through the movies.

Another reason Holden claims to hate going to the movies is the audience’s reaction to them. He gives several examples of how his response differs from that of his companion or the people sitting near him. As Alan Nadel says, “even if one attends alone, the viewing [of movies] is a communal matter. The experience itself depends on the reactions of other people in the audience; it is a matter of ‘other direction’” (97).

In other words, the reactions of others force Holden to confront his own differences with them and frustrates his desire to model himself on people whom he respects and whom he would like to emulate. One of the reasons he gives for loving his little sister, Phoebe, is that “if you take her to a lousy movie, for instance, she knows it’s a lousy movie” (Salinger 37). Holden constantly puts people to the test and one of those tests involves their taste in movies. If they are seduced by Hollywood sentimentality or kitsch he writes them off on the grounds that people who love those films are themselves heartless. Yet his own view of movies is ambivalent at best.

As A. Robert Lee says, “movies were dangerous because they could be believed, and movies were dangerous because they could not” (129). By taking movies as his guide to what he is supposed to do, yet despising those who believe in them, Holden confuses himself to the point of wanting to retreat from the world, into a monastery or as a deaf-mute, or a gas station attendant. Until he finds a more reliable guide to life, however, he is condemned to go on seeing movies.

Holden’s ambivalent relationship with the movies reflects his struggle to construct an identity out of the bits and pieces of truth he sees in them. This is one of many reasons why Catcher continues to be read by young people everywhere. Like Holden, they must make the difficult passage from childhood to adulthood, and like Holden, they have difficulty finding suitable role models. Instead, they look “among artifacts of our culture—books, movies, TV programs … to fashion a character” (Whitfield 122).

For them, the novel is optimistic because even as Holden trashes about looking for some way to construct an authentic self in a world that seems by nature inauthentic, it is constructed for him by his engagement with the external world, whether that is the real world or the world of movies.

Works Cited

Lee, A. Robert. “Flunking Everything Else Except English Anyway: Holden Caulfield, Author.” Ed. Harold Bloom. Holden Caulfield . New York: Chelsea House, 1990.

Nadel, Alan. “Rhetoric, Sanity, and the Cold War: The Significance of Holden Caulfield’s Testimony.” Ed. Harold Bloom. Holden Caulfield. New York: Chelsea House, 1990.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Web.

Whitfield, Stephen J. “Cherished and Cursed: Toward a Social History of The Catcher in the Rye . Ed. Harold Bloom. J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye . Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2000.

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IvyPanda. (2021, November 5). Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”. https://ivypanda.com/essays/holden-caulfield-in-jd-salingers-the-catcher-in-the-rye/

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IvyPanda . (2021) 'Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”'. 5 November.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”." November 5, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/holden-caulfield-in-jd-salingers-the-catcher-in-the-rye/.

1. IvyPanda . "Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”." November 5, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/holden-caulfield-in-jd-salingers-the-catcher-in-the-rye/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”." November 5, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/holden-caulfield-in-jd-salingers-the-catcher-in-the-rye/.

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The Catcher in the Rye

J. d. salinger, everything you need for every book you read..

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye , a novel about a teenager’s many frustrations with the world, 16-year-old Holden Caulfield constantly encounters people and situations that strike him as “phony.” This is a word he applies to anything hypocritical, shallow, inauthentic, or otherwise fake. He sees such “phoniness” everywhere in the adult world, and believes adults are so superficial that they can’t even recognize their own insincerity. And though Holden feels this skepticism…

Alienation and Meltdown

Early on in The Catcher in the Rye , it’s clear that Holden doesn’t fit in. After all, he decides not to attend his school’s big football game with the rest of his peers, a sign that he tends to sequester himself from others. What makes The Catcher in the Rye unique, however, is not the fact that Holden is an alienated teenager, but the novel’s nuanced portrayal of the causes, benefits, and costs of…

Women and Sex

In The Catcher in the Rye , J.D. Salinger uses Holden Caulfield ’s thoughts about women and sex to illustrate the young man’s naivety. More specifically, Holden’s romantic and sexual expectations reveal his tendency to idealize certain unrealistic notions. For instance, he thinks of Jane Gallagher as a perfect woman, despite the fact that he can’t even bring himself to call her on the phone. Having idealized her in this way, he looks down on…

Childhood and Growing Up

The Catcher in the Rye is a portrait of a young man at odds with the process of growing up. A 16-year-old who is highly critical of the adult world, Holden covets what he sees as the inherent purity of youth. This is why the characters he speaks most fondly about in the novel are all children. Thinking that children are still untainted by the “phony,” hypocritical adult world, he wishes there were a way…

Madness, Depression, Suicide

The Catcher in the Rye examines the fine line between everyday teenage angst and serious depression or unhappiness. Throughout the novel, Holden refers to himself as a “madman,” calls himself crazy, and frequently declares that he is depressed. At first, these statements seem somewhat trivial, since Holden tends to exaggerate. In addition, his claims about how much he dislikes his life sometimes seem rather undeserved, since he’s actually quite privileged. After all, he comes from…

'The Catcher in the Rye' Themes, Symbols, and Literary Devices

Innocence vs. phoniness, literary devices.

B.A., English, Rutgers University

J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is a classic coming-of-age story. Narrated by sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield, the novel paints a portrait of a struggling teenage boy as he attempts to hide his emotional pain behind cynicism and false worldliness. Through the use of symbolism, slang, and an unreliable narrator, Salinger explores themes of innocence vs. phoniness, alienation, and death.

If you had to choose one word to represent The Catcher in the Rye , it would be "phony," Holden Caufield’s insult of choice and a word he uses to describe most of the people he meets and much of the world he encounters. For Holden, the word implies artifice, a lack of authenticity—pretension. He views phoniness as a sign of growing up, as if adulthood were a disease and phoniness its most obvious symptom. He has moments of faith in younger people, but invariably condemns all the adults as phonies.

The flip side of this is the value Holden puts on innocence, on being unspoiled. Innocence is typically assigned to children, and Holden is no exception, regarding his younger siblings as worthy of his affection and respect. His younger sister Phoebe is his ideal—she is intelligent and perceptive, talented and willful, but innocent of the terrible knowledge that Holden himself has gained with his extra six years (most notably concerning sex, which Holden wishes to protect Phoebe from). Holden’s dead brother, Allie, haunts him precisely because Allie will always be this innocent, being deceased.

Part of Holden’s torment is his own phoniness. While he does not consciously indict himself, he engages in many phony behaviors that he would abhor if he were to observe them in himself. Ironically, this prevents him from being innocent himself, which explains to some degree Holden’s self-loathing and mental instability.

Holden is isolated and alienated throughout the entire novel. There are hints that he is telling his story from a hospital where he is recovering from his breakdown, and throughout the story his adventures are consistently focused on making some sort of human connection. Holden self-sabotages constantly. He feels lonely and isolated at school, but one of the first things he tells us is that he’s not going to the football game everyone else is attending. He makes arrangements to see people, and then insults them and drives them away.

Holden uses alienation to protect himself from mockery and rejection, but his loneliness drives him to keep trying to connect. As a result, Holden’s sense of confusion and alarm grows because he has no true anchor to the world around him. Since the reader is tied to Holden’s point-of-view, that terrifying sense of being completely cut off from everything, of everything in the world not making sense, becomes a visceral part of reading the book.

Death is the thread that runs through the story. For Holden, death is abstract; he’s not primarily afraid of the physical facts of the end of life, because at 16 he can’t truly understand it. What Holden fears about death is the change that it brings. Holden continuously wishes for things to remain unchanged, and to be able to go back to better times—a time when Allie was alive. For Holden, Allie’s death was a shocking, unwanted change in his life, and he is terrified of more change—more death—especially when it comes to Phoebe.

The Catcher in the Rye. There’s a reason this is the title of the book. The song Holden hears contains the lyric "if a body meet a body, coming through the rye" that Holden mishears as "if a body catch a body." He later tells Phoebe that this is what he wishes to be in life, someone who "catches" the innocent if they slip and fall. The ultimate irony is that the song is about two people meeting for a sexual encounter, and Holden himself is too innocent to understand that.

The Red Hunting Hat. Holden wears a hunting cap that he frankly admits is kind of ridiculous. For Holden it is a sign of his "otherness" and his uniqueness—his isolation from others. Notably, he removes the hat whenever he is meeting someone he wants to connect with; Holden knows full well the hat is part of his protective coloring.

The Carousel. The carousel is the moment in the story when Holden lets go of his sadness and decides he will stop running and grow up. Watching Phoebe ride it, he is happy for the first time in the book, and part of his happiness is imagining Phoebe grabbing for the gold ring—a risky maneuver that could get a kid a prize. Holden’s admission that sometimes you have to let kids take risks like that is his surrender to the inevitability of becoming an adult—and leaving childhood behind.

Unreliable Narrator. Holden tells you he is "the most terrific liar you ever saw." Holden lies constantly throughout the story, making up identities and masking the fact that he’s been kicked out of school. As a result, the reader can’t necessarily trust Holden’s descriptions. Are the people he calls "phonies" really bad, or is it just how Holden wants you to see them?

Slang. The story’s slang and teenage vernacular are out of date today, but the tone and style were remarkable when it was published for the way Salinger captured the way a teenager sees and thinks about things. The result is a novel that still feels authentic and confessional despite the passage of time. Holden’s style of telling the story also underscores his character—he uses profanities and slang words very self-consciously to shock and to demonstrate his jaded and worldly ways. Salinger also employs the use of "filler phrases" in Holden’s story, which gives the narrative the feeling of being spoken, as if Holden were actually telling you this story in person.

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Bibliography
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Catcher and the Rye Notes

Arts & Humanities

Study Guide for A Catcher in the Rye

With typical questions and answers, publisher description.

"Decoding A Catcher in the Rye" deepens readers' understanding and analysis of J.D. Salinger's classic novel. Through an exploration of key themes, character analysis, literary techniques, and societal context, this guide provides readers with tools to engage critically with the text. Thought-provoking discussion points, critical thinking questions, and references to specific chapters are included to facilitate a thorough examination of the novel's themes and messages. The study guide examines the novel's major themes, including the struggles of adolescence, the quest for authenticity, the preservation of innocence, and the importance of empathy. Readers are encouraged to reflect on the moral lessons embedded within the narrative, such as the acceptance of change, the value of inner authenticity, and the significance of compassion for others. In terms of character analysis, the study guide offers an in-depth exploration of Holden Caulfield's complex character, examining his intelligence, sensitivity, cynicism, fear of change, emotional instability, and relationships. Additionally, it illustrates the roles of minor characters and their impact on Holden's journey, providing insights into the novel's overarching themes. Furthermore, the study guide examines the novel's literary techniques, including first-person narration, stream of consciousness, colloquial language, symbolism, irony, and the portrayal of an unreliable narrator. Readers are prompted to analyze how these techniques contribute to the novel's depth and meaning, fostering a deeper appreciation of Salinger's craft. The study guide contextualizes the novel within its social and historical backdrop. It explores the post-World War II era, the emergence of the counterculture, and the prevailing societal norms and values of the time. By understanding the societal context in which the novel was written, readers gain insights into the broader themes and messages conveyed by Salinger. Finally, the study guide encourages critical thinking and interpretation by examining the novel's cultural impact, exploring different interpretations of its themes and events, and analyzing the author's intentions and motivations. Through meaningful discussions and reflection, readers are invited to engage with the text on multiple levels and derive personal insights from this timeless work of literature.

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What's a good thesis statement for J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the
Thesis statements must make a claim that others can dispute. The following are examples of a few thesis statements concerning J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye: 1. Holden Caulfied's anxious ...
Catcher in The Rye Essays
Catcher in the Rye Thesis Statement Examples. 1. "In 'Catcher in the Rye,' J.D. Salinger delves into the mind of Holden Caulfield, illustrating the struggles of an adolescent battling with the loss of innocence and societal hypocrisy." 2. "The novel 'Catcher in the Rye' explores themes of isolation and rebellion, using Holden Caulfield as a ...
How to Hit a Home Run on Your Catcher in the Rye Essay
Don't overthink or over-complicate it, of course, but your thesis statement is pretty crucial. It's the main argument of your entire Catcher in the Rye essay. So spending a little extra time and attention on it will pay off in the long run. I'll show you some example thesis statements for the Catcher in the Rye essay topics listed below.
86 Catcher in the Rye Essay Prompts & Samples
Hypocrisy in "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger. Stradlater reveals to Holden that he has a date waiting and that he needs to shave. Stradley asks Holden to write an essay for him and informs him that the former is taking a girl […] Alcohol, Violence, and Sex Content in Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye".
Catcher In The Rye Essay Thesis: [Essay Example], 600 words
The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, is a novel that has been a source of controversy and debate since its publication in 1951. The story follows the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, as he navigates the complexities of adolescence and struggles with the transition to adulthood.
PDF THE CATCHER IN THE RYE: PERFORMING CLASS AUTHENTICITY A Thesis
The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most studied novels in the young adult classroom. So, why another thesis on Catcher? I contribute to this study of literature not because of the novel's controversial nature or popularity, but because of unanswered questions that have haunted me for years.
The Catcher in The Rye
Anaphora: The Catcher in The Rye shows the use of anaphora as shown in the examples below, i. Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep. Pencey Prep is this school that's in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. (Chapter-1) ii. It rained on his lousy tombstone, and it rained on the grass on his stomach. It rained all over the place.
The Catcher in the Rye Critical Essays
Topic #1 Illustrate how Holden can be viewed as a contemporary Everyman, the main character in a medieval morality play. Outline I. Thesis Statement: The Catcher in the Rye can be viewed as a ...
The Catcher in the Rye Study Guide
Historical Context of The Catcher in the Rye. Many parallels exist between Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, and J. D. Salinger: both grew up in upper-class New York City, both flunked out of prep schools, and so on. It's no surprise, then, that Salinger's experience in World War II should cast a shadow over ...
The Catcher in the Rye: A+ Student Essay: Is Holden Caulfield a toxic
For example, on his date with Sally, Holden grows furious at her for not enjoying his angry, one-sided rambles and accuses her of not wanting to have a real conversation. ... If we read Holden as traumatized, then we might read his desire to become a "catcher in the rye" as a desire to protect other children from the struggles he has faced ...
LibGuides: AP English Catcher in the Rye: Home
Privitera opens by stating Catcher in the Rye is "one of the most widely read and discussed works in the American literary canon." She then states her thesis: that the further Holden Caulfield, the main character of Catcher in the Rye, hereon shortened to CitR, tries to hold his family and friends at, the closer he comes to revelations.
The Catcher in the Rye Themes and Analysis
From youth to isolation and mortality, there are a myriad of themes in J.D. Salinger's only novel, The Catcher in the Rye. These themes touch on the most important parts of the protagonist, Holden Caulfield's personality and tortured mental state. It is a desire for youth, fear of aging, appreciation for death, habitual isolation, and desire for a company that bog down the young man's ...
Hippie Caulfield: The Catcher in the Rye's Influence on 1960s American
Catcher is the staple novel of American youth counterculture, and. Holden's personal influence on the average countercultural youth—most clearly seen through. Holden's identity struggles—is evidence of the post modern aspects of the novel. While the countercultural movement was a movement against society, the movement.
Childhood and Growing Up Theme in The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a portrait of a young man at odds with the process of growing up. A 16-year-old who is highly critical of the adult world, Holden covets what he sees as the inherent purity of youth. This is why the characters he speaks most fondly about in the novel are all children. Thinking that children are still untainted by the ...
The Catcher in the Rye: Performing Class Authenticity
This thesis discusses class performance in The Catcher in the Rye. Namely, Holden Caulfield is a class performer whose quest for authenticity exemplifies the innate stratification of society that produces corrupt dynamics between rich and poor. His performance makes clear Catcher's display of social order and the body through consumption ...
⇉Catcher in the Rye Thesis Essay Example
Catcher in the Rye Thesis. Essay's Score: C. In the classic novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, the character of Holden is introduced. Over the course of the novel, we learn a great deal about the bond that used to exist between Holden and a childhood friend named Jane. The two have not communicated in a while and he does not even ...
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye, novel by J.D. Salinger published in 1951. The novel details two days in the life of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield after he has been expelled from prep school.Confused and disillusioned, Holden searches for truth and rails against the "phoniness" of the adult world.He ends up exhausted and emotionally unstable. The events are related after the fact.
Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" Thesis
J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye has been read by high school and college students ever since it was first published in 1951 because of their strong identification with its central character and narrator, Holden Caulfield who, like them, is in transition between childhood and adulthood. Throughout the novel, Holden does things without understanding why and without the necessary tools ...
The Catcher in the Rye Themes
The Catcher in the Rye is a portrait of a young man at odds with the process of growing up. A 16-year-old who is highly critical of the adult world, Holden covets what he sees as the inherent purity of youth. This is why the characters he speaks most fondly about in the novel are all children. Thinking that children are still untainted by the ...
'The Catcher in the Rye' Themes, Symbols, and Literary Devices
Symbols. The Catcher in the Rye. There's a reason this is the title of the book. The song Holden hears contains the lyric "if a body meet a body, coming through the rye" that Holden mishears as "if a body catch a body." He later tells Phoebe that this is what he wishes to be in life, someone who "catches" the innocent if they slip and fall.
Mental Health in The Catcher in the Rye and Thirteen Reasons Why
J.D. Salinger's 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye shows the life of seventeen-. year-old Holden Caulfield and the aftermath of his expulsion from Pencey Prep. Jay Asher's. 2007 book Thirteen Reasons Why centers on seventeen-year-old Clay Jensen's aftermath of his. friend Hannah Baker's death.
Dissertations / Theses: 'The Catcher in the Rye'
In this thesis I aim to analyze the modern classic book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951) in an attempt to determine whether one can categorize it as a Young Adult book or not. The novel itself was published as an adult book, but my research shows that it gets both mentioned and used as an example as a novel that has influenced ...
The Catcher in the Rye: Tone
The tone of The Catcher in the Rye is often sarcastic and judgmental, yet reveals Holden's longing for connection and frustration in achieving it.Holden often uses sarcasm to hold himself above other characters and prove his superiority to people he finds less intelligent. In the first chapter, for example, Holden watches a football game from afar and thinks, "you were supposed to commit ...
Catcher and the Rye Notes (pdf)
Salinger captures the essence of teenage angst and alienation, making "The Catcher in the Rye" a timeless coming-of-age story..D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" is a novel that explores the struggles of adolescence and the search for identity. The story follows the teenage protagonist Holden Caulfield as he navigates his way through a world that he perceives as phony and superficial.
Study Guide for A Catcher in the Rye
"Decoding A Catcher in the Rye" deepens readers' understanding and analysis of J.D. Salinger's classic novel. Through an exploration of key themes, character analysis, literary techniques, and societal context, this guide provides readers with tools to engage critically with the text. Thought-provok…
Catcher In The Rye Loneliness Quotes
For example while writing a essay for Stradlater, he reflects on how after Allie, Holden's brother died, Holden "slept in the garage, the night he died and [he] broke all the god damn window." ... Context!!! Then thesis: In both The Catcher in the Rye and The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian, the authors and the protagonists utilize ...