The Catcher in the Rye

A detailed Summary of The Catcher in the Rye

Ever since its publication in 1951, J.D. Salinger\'s The Catcher in the Rye has served as a cornerstone for controversy and debate. It is a story of a teenager growing up in New York, who has been expelled from school for poor grades. In an attempt to deal with this, he leaves school a few days prior to the end of term, and goes to the city to take a vacation before returning to his parents. The central theme of The Catcher in the Rye emanates from the confrontation and ultimate loss of innocence that occurs hand in hand with the assimilation into society and the loneliness that arises thereafter. Holden\'s misguided morality brings about a dysfunctional personality that begs to be psychoanalyzed, not only in his interactions with the outside world, but also his internal motivation. The psychological battles of this novel\'s main character serve as the basis for critical argument. Caulfield\'s self-destruction over a period of days forces one to look at society\'s attitude toward the human condition. Salinger\'s portrayal of this teenager, which includes incidents of depression, nervous breakdown, impulsive spending, sexual exploration, vulgarity, and other erratic behavior, have all attributed to the controversial nature of the

One character that Holden is compared to in some ways is Hamlet. Like Hamlet, he is bothered by words that only seem true, but really quite phony. The integrity and truthfulness that Caulfield cannot seem to find in others he tries to maintain within himself. Holden often makes a point of using the word \"really\" to state the fact that something is really so, to prove to the reader that had not become a phony himself. "I knew old Jane like a book. I really did...I really got to know her quite intimately." Holden is frightened often by the occasional realization that he too, must be phony to exist in the adult world. The irony of this situation is that, he is phony to everyone even to him self. Through out the novel he tells us that he can't stand most of the people that he meets. At the end of the novel, Holden says, \"About all I know is, I sort of miss everybody I told about. Even old Stradlater and Ackley, for instance. I think I even miss that goddam Maurice.\" (Salinger 217). This phrase alone contradicts most of his actions through out the book.

Loneliness motivates the character, Holden Caulfield, to break off communication of with society. His problem is one of communication: as a teenager, he simply cannot get through to the adult world that surrounds him. As a sensitive teenager, he cannot get through others of his own age. Adult communication intimidates and alienates his character. Moreover, Holden expresses his problem with communication indirectly and

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Approximate Word count = 999
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English