J.D. Salinger, or Jerome David Salinger, was born on January 1, 1919. He was raised in Manhattan and wrote many short stories as a boy. He acted in many school plays with excellent talent and wrote for his school newspaper. He entered college in the New York University thinking of majoring in Special Education, but soon dropped out in the spring. The next fall, his father suggested him to work in the meat business and was shipped off to Vienna, Austria. On march 12, 1938, he left Austria just a month before the Nazis took over. He then attended Columbia University in 1939, taking an evening writing class. Salinger survived World War II from 1940-1945, despite his status as a Jew. published his first book in the 1940's and continued publishing books until 1965. The Catcher in the Rye was published in 1951, his best and most known novel. J.D. Salinger died on January 27 of this year.
This book is about Holden Caulfield, about 16 years old, and his decisions that would determine what his life would be in the future. Not many books that I have read happen in just three days, especially if its over 200 pages. The Catcher in the Rye happens over a three day period, Saturday night, to Monday afternoon, sometime near Christmas. He starts out by finding out that he's been kicked out of school, again, for the third time in his life, to be exact. He introduces us to some people he knows, not necessarily likes. After fighting with one of these people, he just packs up and leaves the campus. He goes to New York City. He checks into a cheap hotel and hangs out there a bit. He gets robbed $15. After a while of lying around, he goes to this bar. After listening for a while, he goes back to the hotel. later in the book, he finally decides to go to his parents' house. But that isn't all! Read the book to find out much, much more!
Literary Information
This book is written in informal diction, slang terms are used in almost every sentence. The dialect it of a person who lived in about the 1930s-1940's. Its written as if the main character wrote in a journal every night and the novel is his journal. The tone is very apathetic, due to the language used by the main character (phony, lousy, crumby).
Literary Analysis
The Catcher in the Rye is written in journal form, and Holden is a teenager, a very confused one. The main theme of this book is teenager-hood is confusing. Evidence is when he drops out of school. Of course some students drop out because school isn't for them; most have a reasonable reason, but Holden doesn't really have a reason. His reason is that he's bored with school and that everyone there is "phony" (50). If something is just the slight bit unreasonable, he considers it phony. This makes him a confused teenager because he doesn't have the patience to deal with people. People should be able to deal with certain people that annoy them; they should have the ability to hold patience to some extent. Holden's patience has been depleted because he's sick of the world. Some people in the real world are also sick of the world too. Holden and these other people are sick of the world because of all the poverty, greed, and unfaithfulness in our American culture. This suggests that Holden is such a mature teenager that he already realizes that the world isn't perfect, but then again not mature that he deals with this realization in a non-sensible way. This all supports the idea that teenager-hood is confusing. The tone being apathetic also helps support the main theme.
Criticism
The Catcher in the Rye is a book like no other that I've read. I loved how it was written, it truly really does resemble the teenager mind. All of the elements in this book worked together to create a very unique novel. I sort of connected with Holden with how frustrated he was with the world. I'm frustrated with the world; fortunately, I deal with the frustration by just complaining to my friends. Holden is reckless and drops out of school. Sometimes throughout the book, he starts thinking reasonably. He starts thinking with a level of intelligence, finding the deeper meaning of things. This is how I sometimes think, and probably some of my other fellow students. This is how I connect with the main character in this book, and this is why I like the book The Catcher in the Rye. Being my status of a teenager, I believe this book is very successful.
I would recommend this book to any teenager or any adult who isn't completely optimistic, because this book expresses feelings that every teen has felt.
Others who read The Catcher in the Rye also liked:
The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger214 pages
Genre: Novel
About the Author
J.D. Salinger, or Jerome David Salinger, was born on January 1, 1919. He was raised in Manhattan and wrote many short stories as a boy. He acted in many school plays with excellent talent and wrote for his school newspaper. He entered college in the New York University thinking of majoring in Special Education, but soon dropped out in the spring. The next fall, his father suggested him to work in the meat business and was shipped off to Vienna, Austria. On march 12, 1938, he left Austria just a month before the Nazis took over. He then attended Columbia University in 1939, taking an evening writing class. Salinger survived World War II from 1940-1945, despite his status as a Jew. published his first book in the 1940's and continued publishing books until 1965. The Catcher in the Rye was published in 1951, his best and most known novel. J.D. Salinger died on January 27 of this year.
For a longer bio, click here
Plot Synopsis
This book is about Holden Caulfield, about 16 years old, and his decisions that would determine what his life would be in the future. Not many books that I have read happen in just three days, especially if its over 200 pages. The Catcher in the Rye happens over a three day period, Saturday night, to Monday afternoon, sometime near Christmas. He starts out by finding out that he's been kicked out of school, again, for the third time in his life, to be exact. He introduces us to some people he knows, not necessarily likes. After fighting with one of these people, he just packs up and leaves the campus. He goes to New York City. He checks into a cheap hotel and hangs out there a bit. He gets robbed $15. After a while of lying around, he goes to this bar. After listening for a while, he goes back to the hotel. later in the book, he finally decides to go to his parents' house. But that isn't all! Read the book to find out much, much more!
Literary Information
This book is written in informal diction, slang terms are used in almost every sentence. The dialect it of a person who lived in about the 1930s-1940's. Its written as if the main character wrote in a journal every night and the novel is his journal. The tone is very apathetic, due to the language used by the main character (phony, lousy, crumby).
Literary Analysis
The Catcher in the Rye is written in journal form, and Holden is a teenager, a very confused one. The main theme of this book is teenager-hood is confusing. Evidence is when he drops out of school. Of course some students drop out because school isn't for them; most have a reasonable reason, but Holden doesn't really have a reason. His reason is that he's bored with school and that everyone there is "phony" (50). If something is just the slight bit unreasonable, he considers it phony. This makes him a confused teenager because he doesn't have the patience to deal with people. People should be able to deal with certain people that annoy them; they should have the ability to hold patience to some extent. Holden's patience has been depleted because he's sick of the world. Some people in the real world are also sick of the world too. Holden and these other people are sick of the world because of all the poverty, greed, and unfaithfulness in our American culture. This suggests that Holden is such a mature teenager that he already realizes that the world isn't perfect, but then again not mature that he deals with this realization in a non-sensible way. This all supports the idea that teenager-hood is confusing. The tone being apathetic also helps support the main theme.
Criticism
The Catcher in the Rye is a book like no other that I've read. I loved how it was written, it truly really does resemble the teenager mind. All of the elements in this book worked together to create a very unique novel. I sort of connected with Holden with how frustrated he was with the world. I'm frustrated with the world; fortunately, I deal with the frustration by just complaining to my friends. Holden is reckless and drops out of school. Sometimes throughout the book, he starts thinking reasonably. He starts thinking with a level of intelligence, finding the deeper meaning of things. This is how I sometimes think, and probably some of my other fellow students. This is how I connect with the main character in this book, and this is why I like the book The Catcher in the Rye. Being my status of a teenager, I believe this book is very successful.
I would recommend this book to any teenager or any adult who isn't completely optimistic, because this book expresses feelings that every teen has felt.
Others who read The Catcher in the Rye also liked:
Here's a link to a fellow student's wiki page: The Scarlet Letter