v The Catcher in the Rye is considered one of the best novels in English. It's present in every major list of greatest novels, and has been translated into almost every language.
v It's
also one of the most controversial. It's been one of the most widely taught and
censored books in US schools, right up to the present. Some even claim it's
part of a communist conspiracy.
v Several
assassins have made this book infamous, carrying it while shooting: John Lennon,
actress Rebecca Schaeffer, and president Ronald Reagan. The man who shot John
F. Kennedy also had a copy at home.
Themes:
v This
book explores feelings of angst and alienation. Angst means
'fear' in German, specifically, a general feeling of pessimism and uncertainty, like paranoia. It's not fear for no
reason, but for no specific reason. Alienation is the feeling that you don't
belong in your culture or society––when no one understands you.
v The
angst in this book stems from a fear of growing up. According to the novel,
children are innocent, kind,
spontaneous, and generous, all traits that adults lose, as they become
"phony".
Characters:
Holden Caulfield - The main
character of the story, he's a seventeen-year-old teenager suffering from
depression. He has no ambition in school and little luck with girls. He's
intelligent for his age, and articulate, but also very emotional, which gets
him in trouble. Everyone tells him he needs to get his act together and be
responsible, but he's afraid, even if he does, he'll never be happy.
Stradlater - Holden
Caulfield's roommate at boarding school and a womanizer.
Jane Gallagher - an old
friend of Holden's, whom he still likes and respects.
Sunny - a young prostitute.
Sally Hayes - another
friend of Holden's, but not for long...
Phoebe - Holden's little
sister, and best friend.
Plot:
1.
The story begins with a very bad day at school for Holden. He
goes to an expensive private boarding school, named Pencey Preparatory, and
it's right before winter break. That morning he loses the school fencing team's
equipment, and later that afternoon, he's expelled for his bad grades––and he
knew it was going to happen.
2.
He gets the news from his history teacher, who gives him a
long lecture about responsibility.
3.
Holden goes to his dorm room to read and to pack his things.
When his roommate, Stradlater, comes back from a date with Jane, Holden gets
jealous and starts a fight, which Stradlater wins. Holden liked Jane, whereas
Stradlater doesn't even remember he name.
4.
Holden then takes a train into New York City, and finds a
cheap hotel, the Edmont. Feeling lonely, he goes to the lounge and
dances with some older women––who leave him with the check for their drinks.
5.
Holden goes out to a nightclub in Greenwich Village, but finds
no one to talk to. When he returns to the Edmont, the elevator operator asks if
he'd like a girl to visit him later. Holden says yes...
6.
When the girl, Sunny, enters, Holden realizes two things.
First, she's as young as he his. And second, she isn't interested in him at
all. She takes off her clothes like it's just another day at work, and Holden,
who's still a virgin, and wants it to be special, decides he just wants to talk
with Sunny.
7.
Sunny doesn't want to talk, and gets offended by his sympathy
- she's especially angry she had to get out of bed at that time of night for
nothing. Even though Holden pays her, she returns with a pimp (pasák) who beats up Holden and demands
more money, which they take from him.
8.
The next day Holden feels lonely, and calls a friend, Sally,
for a date to a play. She agrees and they go. But after the play, Holden asks
her to run away with him, and she declines, leading to an argument, and Holden
loses his temper. He calls her a "royal pain in the ass" and their
friendship ends.
9.
Holden watches a film and then gets drunk, and then wonders
where the ducks go in Central Park when it's too cold out. As he explores the
park, he breaks his present for Phoebe - a record he'd bought earlier. He has
no more money to buy her anything and feels like a total failure.
10.
Holden goes home to talk with Phoebe while their parents are
out. He tells her his daydream about being a "Catcher in the Rye".
While children run and play, he stands by the cliff, waiting to stop any
children who run too close and might fall off. When Holden's parents come home,
he sneaks out so they won't see him.
11.
Holden decides to visit his favourite teacher from school, Mr.
Antolini, who offers to let Holden stay the night. Mr. Antolini gives Holden
some good advice about life, but, at the same time, serves Holden several shots
of hard alcohol. When Holden goes to sleep, he soon wakes up to find Mr.
Antolini stroking his head. Holden doesn't know if the man was just being nice
or wanted to molest him, so he tells him to leave the room, and then gets up
before dawn and leaves.
12.
Going back to Phoebe, Holden tells her he wants to run away
"out west". Phoebe doesn't like the idea, so he abandons it, and,
taking her to the Central Park Zoo, feels happy for the first time in ages when
she rides the carousel.
13.
At the end of the novel, Holden briefly describes being
"sick" and staying in a mental institution. At present, he's enrolled
to start at another school where he should work and study hard - but he has no
ambition.
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