I both liked and disliked this book, for various reasons. One reason I disliked it was because I found the plot, or storyline, to be uneventful. Basically, in The Catcher in the Rye, a sixteen-year old boy, Holden Caulfield experiences the beginnings of a nervous breakdown over the course of a three day "vacation" in New York City. Holden is fairly tall, has crewcut blonde hair, and is skinny. He drinks, smokes, and swears, although he cannot stand the words "fuck you," and constantly has to try and prove himself to his peers. He is a "terriffic" liar, also, and is somewhat of a coward. In general, he doesn't do too well in confrontations, especially when they get violent, and doesn't seem to like being around people much

The next day, Holden calls up an old friend of his, Sally Hayes, and they go to the movies. Afterwards, they go skating, and after about an hour of that, Holden calls her a royal pain in the ass and things start going downhill. Then Sally leaves, and Holden goes to a bar and talks with an old friend from one of his old schools. Then it gets late, and Holden decides to go home.Once there, he wakes up his ten-year old sister, Phoebe. She looks up to her brothers quite a bit, and seems to be quite smart. She is a very good dancer, according to Holden, and is strong-willed. She is in to writing. Holden likes her, and enjoys spending time with her. She is the type of person that you can confide in, and keep what you said confidential. They talk for awhile, then Holden decides to leave and go stay the night with one of his old teachers, Mr. Antolini. He stays the night there and leaves early the next day. He wanders for most of the morning, and it is then that he decides to bum rides out west and live alone out there. Then he goes to Phoebe's school and drops off a letter that tells her to meet him during her lunch break at a nearby museum to say goodbye. She shows up late, and has a suitcase with her, intending to go with Holden, but they get into an argument and Holden decides that he isn't going out west. They they end up going to the zoo, and eventually to an old carousel, at which the story ends.

Then Holden leaves and goes to his dorm room. He shares his room with a guy named Ward Stradlater. Ward is about as tall as Holden, but is about twice as bulky and built as he is. Ward is a jock, and puts great importance in looking his best and being popular. He hangs out there for awhile, and later that night a person from the next room over, Robert Ackley, whom everyone simply calls "Ackley", comes into the room. Ackley is a little under six and a half feet tall, and is rather heavily built. Ackley's distinguishing feature is his teeth, which are all green and nasty looking. He also has pimples all over his face, and is constantly picking a

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1383
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)