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The Catcher in the Rye | Summary | J. D. Salinger | Plays | Neb English Notes
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
ABOUT THE NOVEL & NOVELIST
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
The novel "The Catcher in the Rye" was written by American novelist J. D. Salinger. The novel was published in the year 1951. The main themes of this novel are angst and alienation, and it is a critique of superficiality in society. The novel was named by the modern library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
It was published in the modern American period. This novel is quite famous and is a Bildungsroman novel. It has presented two main places, New York and Pennsylvania, as its settings.
SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
The novel begins in southern California in the year 1951. This is the story of a 17-year-old boy. The boy is narrating his story somewhere in South California. He is the main character as well as the narrator, whose name is Holden Caulfield.
As he writes from a rest home, Holden Caulfield tells us what happened to him just before the previous Christmas. At Pencey Prep, his school, there's the annual football game that everybody attends. Holden isn't going, though. He just got the news that he's failing four of his five classes. So he visits Mr. Spencer, his history teacher. He gets told by the headmaster that life is a game with rules, which is an important lesson for the future. Holden says he agrees but thinks that the teacher is a bit of a phony. When the teacher makes him read part of an essay, he writes poorly. Holden hates him since he knows. He didn't put enough effort in. He lies and says he has to go get his things, but he goes to the dorm room and reads. When his vain and good-looking roommate, Ward Stradlater, comes in, Holden asks him why he isn't at the game. He says that he has a date with Jane Gallagher, which surprises Holden. He knows her quite well. Since she lived next door to him two years ago when his family stayed in Maine for the summer, Holden talks about Jane telling Ward things about her, revealing he's very attached to her, but his roommate only wonders whether or not they'll have intercourse. This disheartens Holden, but he doesn't say anything, even agreeing to do his roommate's English homework. When Stradlater returns after many hours, Holden is nervous about what happened with him and Jane. Instead of answering his questions, he berates Holden for not writing the essay according to what the assignment asked. Holden angrily rips up the paper, and as the conversation gets tenser and he becomes angry, he pushes Stradlater. Stradlater is much bigger, though. So when Holden calls him loudly, Stradlater knocks him down to the floor.
Holden decides to leave Pencey Prep, deciding to stay in New York until his parents receive the news that he's been expelled and not wanting to be home when they find out. As he exits, he says, Sleep tight, morons. He takes a train to New York and rents a room at the Edmont Hotel. He soon feels lonely and depressed. When he goes to the hotel's nightclub, he dances with Bernice Krebs, who actually just wants to spend time with her two friends. Holden is enjoying how good of a dancer he is, but he pretty soon tyres of Bernice and her friends, thinking they're phony. So he takes a taxi to a piano bar he used to go to with his older brother, D.B. He's wearing a red hunting cap he bought, asking the driver what happens to the ducks in Central Park Lagoon in winter, to which the driver says he should care more about the fish since they stay in the frozen water. In the end, the driver insists that nature has a way of taking care of things, and Holden shouldn't worry. After being bored at the piano bar, he goes back to the hotel, taking the elevator. The elevator operator, Maurice, offers to send a prostitute to his room for five dollars, and he agrees. When Sunny arrives, Holden becomes quite uncomfortable with her. He starts pretending in front of her. He tells her about his recent surgery and shows his disinterest in her. But Sunny asks for ten dollars, to which he says he agreed with Maurice to only pay five. Sonny becomes angry, and she returns with Maurice. He punches Holden, and Sonny takes another five dollars from his wallet.
The next morning, Holden sets up a date with a girl he used to date called Sally Hayes. He isn't fond of her, but she's good-looking, and he just doesn't want to be alone. He wishes he could ask Jane Gallagher, but he can't get himself in the right mood to do so. Before his date, he takes a walk around town, hearing a boy sing a song while coming out of church: "If a body catches a body coming through the rye," which makes Holden emotional. He walks all the way to the museum of natural history, thinking his sister Phoebe might be there on a field trip. He thinks that he likes the museum since the exhibits never change, and the only thing that really changes is the people visiting. When he gets there, he can't get in, so he decides to take a taxi and go on his date. The date isn't a success. The play they see annoys Holden. When they go ice skating, Holden wonders whether she wants to go skating to wear one of her skimpy dresses whilst on the ice. Afterwards, they go to a bar, where Holden talks about everything he hates. He then asks Sally to run away with him to a cabin in New England for a life of total freedom, but she declines and tells him to stop shouting. He calls her a royal pain in the ass, and when she starts crying and asks him to leave, he is immediately saddened by the interaction. He calls a former classmate, Carl Luce, who's three years older and goes to Columbia. He never liked him but asked him to have dinner with him. Luce hasn't been enthusiastic since the last time they spoke; Holden called him a phoney and offered to meet late that night for drinks. When he arrives, he says he doesn't want a typical Caulfield conversation. But since Holden has had a few drinks already, he asks him some awkward questions until he leaves. Holden walks through central park to look at the ducks, but it's freezing and there are no ducks, and this makes him imagine his own death, which would make Phoebe sad. He decides to go home and see her. He sneaks into the apartment, wakes Phoebe up, and says he's going to live on a ranch in Colorado. She soon realises he's been expelled and scolds him for disappointing his parents, asking him what he would like to do with his life. He says he'd like to be a catcher in the rye, whose job it is to rescue children before they fall off a cliff at the edge of a huge rye field that he's been thinking of. While he's there, he calls Mr. Antolini his favourite teacher from his previous school. He is upset that Holden has been expelled again, but he invites him over. He gives Phoebe his red hunting hat and then sneaks out to go to the teacher. Upon arrival, he's greeted warmly, and Mr. Antolini talks to him about his life. When they discuss his future and Mr. Antolini tries to sway him to be less judgmental, he says he might be heading for a terrible fall. Holden feels quite sick. He's not really listening to what the teacher is saying anymore. So Mr. Antolini lets him sleep on the couch. When he wakes up suddenly a little later, he feels Mr. Antolini stroke his head, which uneases Holden, and he leaves, thinking the teacher is doing something perverse. He sleeps in the grand central station for a few hours and decides to say goodbye to Phoebe before heading west by going to her school and giving a note to an administrator explaining that he should meet him at the museum of art to say goodbye. He then makes his way to the museum, where he passes out in the bathroom after a lack of sleep and food and too much alcohol the night before. When he wakes up, he goes to the lobby and finds Phoebe there with a suitcase, who says she'll join Holden. This makes him realise how silly his idea is. So instead of heading west, he goes to the zoo with her and watches her ride a carousel. She gives him back his hunting hat, and he promises that he won't be heading west. When the story comes back to the rest home, where Holden is undergoing psychoanalysis, he says he doesn't know if he'll be motivated when he goes back to school. He just wishes he hadn't told so many people about his expulsion. Since doing this makes him miss all the people he talked about.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
1. What is a catcher in the rye and why does Holden want to be one?
Answer:
A catcher in the rye is someone who saves children from falling off a cliff in a rye field, symbolizing preserving innocence. Holden wants to be one to protect kids from the harsh realities of adulthood.
2. Does Mr. Antolini really make a pass at Holden?
Answer:
Mr. Antolini does not make a pass at Holden; the situation is ambiguous, and Holden interprets the teacher's gesture as inappropriate, leading him to leave abruptly.
3. Why does Holden run away from Pencey?
Answer:
Holden runs away from Pencey because he is expelled and doesn't want to face his parents' reaction to the news.
4. Does Holden have sex with Sunny, the prostitute?
Answer:
The text doesn't explicitly state that Holden has sex with Sunny, the prostitute. It suggests he feels uncomfortable and pretends about a recent surgery to avoid intimacy.
5. What happens to Holden after his date with Sally Hayes and his meeting with Carl Luce both end badly?
Answer:
After a series of negative events, Holden feels lonely and depressed. He contemplates heading west but ultimately decides against it after spending time with Phoebe at the zoo.
6. What is the setting for The Catcher in the Rye?
Answer:
The setting for "The Catcher in the Rye" is primarily in southern California, New York, and Pennsylvania.
7. Does Holden have a mental illness?
Answer:
While it's not explicitly mentioned, Holden's behavior and emotional struggles suggest the possibility of mental health issues.
8. Why does Holden wear the red hunting hat?
Answer:
Holden wears the red hunting hat as a symbol of individuality and a desire to stand out from the crowd.
9. How does Holden feel about Jane?
Answer:
Holden has strong feelings for Jane Gallagher, expressing attachment and concern for her well-being.
10. What is Holden’s relationship with Phoebe like?
Answer:
Holden has a close and affectionate relationship with Phoebe, his younger sister.
11. How does Allie’s death affect Holden?
Answer:
Allie's death deeply affects Holden, contributing to his struggles with grief and emotional instability.
12. Why does Holden hate “phonies”?
Answer:
Holden despises "phonies" because he sees them as insincere and hypocritical, lacking authenticity.
13. Why is Holden obsessed with the ducks at the Central Park Lagoon?
Answer:
Holden is obsessed with the ducks at the Central Park Lagoon because he identifies with their displacement and seeks answers to life's uncertainties.
14. Where is Holden as he narrates the story?
Answer:
As he narrates the story, Holden is in a rest home undergoing psychoanalysis.
15. Does Holden kill himself?
Answer:
The text doesn't provide information about Holden killing himself; the story concludes with Holden's uncertainty about returning to school.
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