The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J. D. Salinger initially intended for adults. Still, the book’s strong themes of alienation and its critique of the superficiality of society led to it being widely read by adolescents. The book was widely banned because of its language and focus on sex.
The book covers 16-year-old Holden’s last day at Pencey, a fashionable prep school, from which he has flunked out and been expelled, and the following two days, which he spends in hiding in New York City. Confused and disillusioned, he is obsessed with preserving his innocence: he wishes to be “the catcher in the rye” to protect the children from falling off the cliff. This wish is interpreted as a metaphor for entering adulthood which is probably suggested because, at the same time, part of him wants to connect with other people on an adult level in a sexual encounter. In contrast, part of him wants to reject the adult world as “phony” and retreat into his childhood memories.
The hero and heroine of this novel, Holden’s dead brother Allie and Jane Gallagher, never appear in it, but they are always in Holden’s consciousness, together with his sister Phoebe. Caulfield is depressed throughout the book, unable to concentrate, and lacks interest in everything. He appears to be both manic and psychotic.
Holden is crazy about Jane, always thinking of her, always wanting to call her up, but he never does. He is always about to but does not because he’s never “in the mood.”
The two days are full of events, and the literalness and innocence of Holden’s point of view in the face of the tremendously complicated and often depraved facts of life make for the humor of this novel.
Quotes from Catcher in the Rye
“What knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours, and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.”
“Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused, frightened, and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score; you’ll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them—if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry.”