The Catcher in the Rye

Summary of the Novel

The majority of the novel takes place in December 1949. The story commences with Holden Caulfield describing encounters he has had with students and faculty of Pencey Prep in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. And it pictures a complex living circumstance of a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield, entwined with concerns and argument over youngsters' belonging, identity, care, angst and plight. He is weak in school work, indulged in drinking, rebellious to regulations, aliened by people around but tender to his younger sister, and lost to himself. Once his longing for resorting to his parents for help was thwarted in front of his parents' preference to his excellent sister and aversion to awful him. The world swirls around him like some unknown sceneries. Coward alert and sensitive to this unsecure world, he goes astray. And some consolation by his vague imagination and adolescents' peculiar arrogance drowns him in a desperate hope---that he will be the catcher in the rye to catch the children if they wander close to the brink near that cliff where he lingers. In his city, he wanders around and around, like a moribund desperado who even doesn't know the route stretching to the doom. And finally, he decides to see his younger sister for a last glance. He sneaks into his accommodation, perhaps at that time not his home, under his parents' absence. When his sister jumps up from bed like a bonny, gradually, he is melting and melting his heart. And for fear of his sister's depression, he compromises not to let her alone.

About the Author

Jerome David Salinger ( January 1, 1919 - January 27, 2010 ) was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980.

Raised in Manhattan, Salinger began writing short stories while in secondary school, and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. Salinger published his first stories in Story magazine which was started by Whit Burnett. In 1948 he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" in The New Yorker magazine, which became home to much of his subsequent work. In 1951 Salinger released his novel The Catcher in the Rye, an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield was influential, especially among adolescent readers. The novel remains widely read and controversial, selling around 250,000 copies a year. The success of The Catcher in the Rye led to public attention and scrutiny: Salinger became reclusive, publishing new work less frequently.

My Comments

Every time I open the pages of this novel, I usually find some indescribable feelings.