The Catcher in the Rye

A detailed Summary of The Catcher in the Rye


The Catcher in the Rye was the sole novel written by J.D. Salinger. He is primarily noted for his short stories, which were often published in magazines and other publications. To this day he is a recluse who resides in New Hampshire. What makes his novel, The Catcher in the Rye, so interesting is the fact that he tied his own personal experiences into his novel. J.D. Salinger, as well as Holden Caulfield, had been kicked out of numerous boarding schools. The Catcher in the Rye is an incredible book, and is often referred to as a masterpiece.

The most obvious conflict that is presented to Holden during the novel was a conflict with himself. The conflict with himself occurs during his journey from Pencey to New York. His conflict is the fact that he is trying to grow up in an adult world, and trying to prove to everyone, including himself that he is an adult. On his journey, he finds out that there are many ugly and depressing aspects of the outside world, that which he disagrees with and searches for ways to change. His journey is one of self-discovery, in which he faces t


he conflict between being a child and being an adult. Holden often deals with this major conflict by being phony, or putting on an act, to prove that he is an adult. An example would be the fact that he drank and smoked heavily to fit in with his fellow students. When he was in the apartment of one of his previous teachers, Mr. Antolini, he says "I had a headache and I felt lousy, I even had sort of a stomach-ache, if you want to know the truth."(pg.81) He often says, "If you want to know the truth," when he wants to add on to a previous statement, because he doesn't want to sound like a sissy. Often times, when he thinks he has said something dumb, he will joke about it to justify it. The final aspect that proves that Holden is trying to prove that he is an adult is the fact that he swears quite often. "Jane said he was supposed to be a playwright or some goddamn thing, but all I ever saw him do was booze and listen to every single goddamn mystery program on the radio."

The biggest thing that I have learned from this novel is the type of language that was used by Holden, and by the other people in the

Some common words found in the essay are:
Pencey York, Catcher Rye, JD Salinger, Holden Caulfield, catcher rye, trying prove, prove adult, recommend book friend, main reason, recommend book, book friend, book sends, jd salinger,

Approximate Word count = 753
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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