The Catcher in the Rye

Bibliography: Salinger, J.D. (1991). The catcher in the rye. Boston: Little, Brown.

Genre: Literary Fiction – Adult crossover

Reading Level/Interest Age: 16 and up

Reader's Annotation: "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it."

Author: Jerome David Salinger was born January 1, 1919 and published his most famous work, The Catcher in the Rye, in 1951. He began publishing short stories, primarily in The New Yorker magazine, in the 1940s and has authored mostly short stories and novellas. Salinger is well-known to be a recluse who has not published an original work since 1965 and has not been interviewed since 1980.

Plot Summary: "The first-person narrative follows Holden Caulfield's experiences in New York City in the days following his expulsion from Pencey Prep, a fictional college preparatory school in the fictional city of Agerstown, Pennsylvania.

Holden shares encounters he has had with students and faculty of Pencey, whom he criticizes as being superficial, or, as he would say, 'phony.' After being expelled from the school for poor grades, Holden packs up and leaves the school in the middle of the night after an altercation with his roommate. He takes a train to New York, but does not want to return to his family and instead checks into the dilapidated Edmont Hotel. There, he spends an evening dancing with three tourist girls and has a clumsy encounter with a prostitute; he refuses to do anything with her and, after he tells her he just wants to talk, she becomes annoyed with him and leaves. However, he still pays her for her time. She demands more money than was originally agreed upon and when Holden refuses to pay he is beaten by her pimp, Maurice.

Holden spends a total of three days in the city, characterized largely by drunkenness and loneliness" (Catcher in the Rye, Plot Summary, Wikipedia). During those three days, Holden spends time in the Museum of Natural History, sneaks into his parent's apartment to visit his sister, and takes his sister to the Central Park Zoo.

Critical Evaluation: I came to this novel with no idea what it is about; I only knew that it has been popular since it was published, is commonly included on school reading list, and is just as commonly challenged for removal from libraries and schools. As I was working through it, I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever really does. I can't help but feel that I would have enjoyed this novel more if I had read it as part of a class or even a book club. It would surely benefit from critical analysis and intellectual discussion. Without that, I found it wearisome despite its brevity. I couldn't wait for it to end. I even considered giving it up and would have done so if it weren't so short. The text also has a certain momentum that sort of carries readers through. It never stops or even pauses as Caulfield rattles on in real time. Overall, I suppose it was a little too realistic. Caulfield could easily be a disillusioned youth from today instead of fifty years ago, and there was little of the comfort of escapism in this monologue.

Curriculum Ties:

Book Talk Ideas:
• focus on Holden's relationship with his sister
• focus on Holden's relationship with his suitemates or one of the teachers he visits
• adapt the scene where Holden goes to the museum

Challenge Issues: cursing, sex, smoking, drugs, rebellious teens / untrustworthy adults

Challenge Defense:
• Explain library selection policies
• Provide reviews of the book from reputable sources
• Explain library challenge procedures
• Offer challenge form

Why was this text included in this project? It is commonly included on high school reading lists, but I’d never read it before. This was a chance to rectify the omission.