The Catcher in the Rye

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Summary: A strange, but exciting book
Review: I went through this whole book wondering, "What is the plot?" I did not realize until after I had finished reading that this book was about many different themes and that the plot varied. The main character, a sixteen year old boy named Holden Caulfield, gets kicked out of a Prep school and spends most of the book wondering the streets of New York making observations in his head. He goes through many different character stages during the novel. In the beginning, he seems like a normal, practical kid who does not get good grades in school. After he is expelled from school, he gives in to increasing feelings of loneliness and misery. He begins to think about people he used to know, his dead brother Allie, his sister Phoebe, old girlfriend Jane Gallagher, and friend Sally Hayes. He ends up spending time with Jane and then sneaking into his house to see Phoebe. I will not ruin the rest of the story, but many things happen to Holden that seem weird and irrelevant while reading the novel. Overall, I think this was a good story. Like I said, I was confused while I was reading, but I was able to put the pieces together after I finished the novel. I think J.D. Salinger wrote this story very well. The writing was intriguing and interesting. It was not one of those books that I could not put down, but whenever I had some spare time, I wanted to read it. It had a style much different that any book that I have ever read. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, but it never did. My interest in Holden is what kept me into the book. I found the way his mind worked to be fascinating. Whenever he got a thought in his head, he acted on it. It was this impulsiveness that often got him in trouble. I do have some criticisms, though. Even though it was well written I think there should have been a better plot and more themes to make the story more interesting. I also have some questions as to Holden's character. I do not think the reasons for his bizarre actions were explained well enough. At one point in the story, Phoebe asked him to come up with one thing that he liked a lot. He was such a pessimist that he could not think of anything at first. He finally thought up a wild scenario that he said he would like. He said that he would like to stand on the edge of a cliff that had a rye field on it. The field would have children playing on it and he would catch them if they started to fall off the cliff. He would be a 'catcher in the rye'. That was the only thing that he could dream up that he liked. As you can see, I have a few criticisms, but I found this book to be very enjoyable. In general, I thought The Catcher in the Rye was a good novel and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a book to read.

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Summary: A timeless, honest, controversial, superbly written tale
Review: Have you ever gotten fed up with the world? Have you ever just had enough of everybody's stupid, phony attitudes and this tainted game that we call life? You feel like you're all alone, there's no one that will listen to you, and the ones that do turn out to be perverts and phonies. Are they all crazy, or is it me?

This is the attitude that Holden Caulfield, a disgruntled 16 year-old, takes toward life. He's just flunked out of another school, his younger brother Allie is dead, he's a virgin, and to top it all off, everyone around him is a phony. Holden is alone in this superficial, corrupt world he lives in.

What amazes me most about A Catcher in the Rye is it's incredibly controversial beginnings when it was first published. The book took place and was published in the 1940's, and society was based on being right and proper. Things like hollow conversation just for the sake of conversing defined what Holden held as "phony". Holden hated phonies with a passion, and throughout the book made brutal, dead-on observations about the world which were stated in crude dialect. This caused much uprising in society, and was stereotyped as "evil" and "insignificant" by the common "phony" book reviewer of the time. Even serial killers were found with the book on them. Mark Chapman, the man who murdered John Lennon, was found with the book in his pocket after the crime. As you can imagine this didn't help the situation at all.

In the real world, evil was personified as Holden Caulfield. People reacted to the book just as people reacted to Holden in the novel. Holden was considered a rebellious, ungrateful, disrespectful teenager that, although rare, is a worldwide epidemic. But if you see past the narrow-minded view that people tend to look through, the book is a testament that this rebellious teenager is a person. The book shows that Holden, although a sarcastic, nasty, unlikable guy, is a person inside who is just trying to save the virtue of innocence.

Holden sees the world as perverted and narrow, and has a nervous breakdown when he sees innocent children about to fall of the cliff. This cliff is a thought of Holden's of which he states when asked what he wants to be when he grows up. Holden says that he wants to be a catcher in the rye. He envisions children playing on a field of rye, and next to this field there's a cliff. Holden would catch the children if they didn't look where they were going and accidentally ran off the cliff. There is incredible symbolism in this statement. The children represent childhood innocence and purity. The cliff, or what lies below it, represents the tainted, impure "game" of life, in which so many people have fallen. These people, the phonies, are what Holden despises most. Holden demonstrates his desire to save innocence when he finds that someone's written "f*** you" on a schoolhouse wall. "I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they'd wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them- all cockeyed, naturally- what it meant, and how they'd all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days." Holden rubbed the mark off, and felt extreme hatred toward the person who wrote it.

Holden hated everything. Everything he held sacred turned out to be a disappointment. A girl in which he thought was innocent and pure turned out to be "given the time" by a suave roommate of his. Another girl whom he dated was such a phony it almost made him vomit. He gets roughed up when a disgruntled pimp comes around to collect more than Holden owed for a prostitute whom he didn't even have sex with. An old teacher that finally understood where Holden was coming from turns out to be a pervert when he's found patting Holden's head in the middle of the night. Nothing sacred and nothing pure, and the worse part was that Holden was, self-admittedly, too "yellow-belly" to do anything about these things. A boy lost in a sick world, helpless to its evil, and yet Holden's the crazy one? Holden speaks the brutal truth, and admires others who do. For example, Holden said that he really admired this kid, James, that Holden knew, who said that another kid, Phil, was a conceited jerk. Phil was much bigger, and he and six other jerks went into scrawny James' room and beat him up, wanting him to take back his comments. James never took it back, but instead, decided to jump out a window to his death.

A key factor that made this book enjoyable was the style in which its monologue was written. This book is definitely not an English teacher's dream when it comes to grammar, sentence structure, etc. But the dialect, risqué even by today's standards, conveys a feeling of reality that is not obtainable by any other literary device I know of. Holden's sarcasm, humorous attitude, and flat out bluntness had me laughing page after page. This line, chosen at random, demonstrates Holden's attitude and dialect, "You should've seen the way they said hello. You'd have thought they hadn't seen each other in twenty years. You'd have thought they'd taken baths in the same bathtub or something when they were little kids. Old buddyroos. It was nauseating. The funny part was, they probably met each other just once, at some phony party. Finally, when they were all done slobbering around, old Sally introduced me."

So why is A Catcher in the Rye a great book? I think what makes a great book great is its ability to communicate with the reader. Every teenager I know can easily relate to Holden Caulfield's situation. The book is a comfort if you're a teen feeling the same things as Holden, criticizing the world and its occupants. Holden Caulfield is a hero that wasn't afraid to speak his mind. He taught me that your criticisms of the world are not invalid, and that there is nothing that you can say that is so bad that you have to repress it. Holden made me feel a little less alone. He made me feel like there were others in this predicament that we call adolescence.

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Summary: A Reaction to The Catcher in the Rye
Review: The Catcher in the Rye was a very unique reading experience, and it presented a very realistic and straight view of life. The main character, Holden Caulfield, is an adolescent who is very rebellious and immature. His use of constant profanity enhances the books realism and the ability for identification with other teen-agers. The fact he did not wish to obey the bounds of society helped me understand I was not alone in my struggle against authority. Its ending morale is very inspiring and illustrates a change that occurs in your life when you begin to take a different perspective. I also thought the elusive title's meaning was very profound once realized and clinched my liking of the book. It has a very positive message in the end, which is able to be conveyed through the controversy the book exhibits. The book also has an outer political war it wages for the first amendment. I feel that the books paradox, the fact it is a quality piece of literature while using some vulgarity to convey the idea, strikes a blow for the freedom of speech. The overwhelming honesty and frankness of the book with its profanity, which illustrates its reality, denounce the view of those who feel their morals are being violated by freedom of speech. I do have some problems with the book and Holden's behavior and viewpoints. The book is very slow in the beginning and actually throughout its duration. Its pace is awkward because Holden is always reassuring us in small sentences like, " I really did." He also calls many people "phony", and when you begin to understand his perspective, he becomes hypocritical and "phony" himself. This makes Holden less credible in conveying ideas to you, which may be Salinger's intent. I also thought that the character of Phoebe played an important role in how one perceived the book. Phoebe was the metaphorical child by the metaphorical cliff that Holden must metaphorically catch. This was actually very significant because by Holden saving his little sister from his lifestyle, he also saved himself. This gave the most positive outlook on the book, by showing salvation was possible at any juncture of your life. I liked the idea that the unruly Holden could still have enough clarity to see what he was doing was wrong and he should not want to inflict it on one he cares about. Holden's Yang type quality gives him a seductive aspect while allowing him to teach a powerful lesson, which is why the book is so appealing to me and other adolescents.

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Summary: Trainer in the Rye
Review: The book opens as Houlden is awaiting Christmas vacation and the first day of his expulsion. He tells of how he can't stand his roommate and all the guys that go to Pency. Then he leaves three days early. He quickly packs and heads... somewhere. Since he did not want his parents to know he failed all of his subjects except English, he detours and spends three days in New York hotel. While in a cab, he strikes up a conversation with the driver. Then Houlden pops the question that follows him throughout all his cab rides. "You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know by any chance?"(page 60). The driver could not tell him. But he knew what happened to the fish... they get frozen under water. It puzzled me that the driver could not tell Houlden the answer. Then I learned that the ducks were a symbol for something else in his life. Houlden used to have a brother Allie, but he died of leukemia. Houlden is sort of an atheist so he does not believe much in G-d. If there is no G-d, there is no heaven for him, either. Houlden still thinks about him often. It makes Houlden wonder where Allie is. The ducks are a metaphor for Allie. Houlden wants to know where did Allie really go. Catcher in the Rye is a good story for teens to read. I felt as though I could I relate to some of the situations. J.D. Salinger did an excellent job of looking through a teenager's eyes at the surrounding world. The "goddamns" gave that real teen approach, but I think it was a little overdone. This book was written in the fifties, and it's nice to that some things about teens will never change. I found the last chapter of the book to be rather confusing. In its shortness, you have to read carefully to notice the details that tell his fate about his breakdown. Houlden drops small clues about his psychological problem as the book develops. Breaking all the windows of the car with his bare hands after Allie dies would be one of the signs. Houlden doesn't tend to interact with others well. At his last school, Pency, we know he doesn't get along with Stradlater, Ackley or any of his classmates. He doesn't get along with Sally, either. There are, although, some people he gets along with... Jane, Allie, Phoebe, the nuns at the restaurant. The tone of the story is depressed. To me, it seems more clearly stated than in most books. Everything about Houlden is depressed, except at the end when he's watching Phoebe on the carousel. Houlden was a rather flat character, or didn't change much throughout the length of the novel.

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Summary: catcher boy
Review: this book is extremely good.....duh... people around 15 should read it....but u gotta have a mood to read coz it's kinda stupid.... well....it's ur choice.....read it or not...

Holden's a great guy...he loves to lie.....loves playing checkers w/ Jeanne.....

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Summary: The catcher in the rye : the best book ever
Review: I think The catcher in the rye is a reall ygreat book , really interrestant , the kind of book you can't get out of . If I were in front of his author I would just congratulate him because this book and Holden are so deep, right and true . I really think that all of you who didn't read it ;ust do it because it's a thing not to miss .

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Summary: What About Holden Boy ?
Review: Hello i would like to tell you that the catcher in the rye is a terrific book about a teenager .After leaving the school alot of adventures happens to him and he tryes to have Fun. ZANK U BYE BYE C U LATER (ALIGATOR) C U ZISS AFTERNOON (ON ZE MOON)

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Summary: WOW
Review: This was a truley amazing book. I'm currently a sphomore at a private high school and we read this book. It is easy to relate to and is just a truley outstanding novel. I'd also like to criticize all the adults trying to keep this book out of the public school system for its "harsh language". The language is not that bad and the book is very good!

Rating:
Summary: Classic, an amazing masterpiece
Review: I am sure there are millions of Caulfields out there in the world. Salinger portrayed Caulfield's character so beautifully. The language, style and technique of Salinger in this book reflects the main protogonist's (Caulfield's) character and that is one of the million reasons why this book is a classic. I believe there is a Caulfield in everyone of us and this is another of million reasons why this book is so popular. One of my all-time favorites.

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Summary: Dont Read the Cliffnotes, Read the Book...it Rocks!
Review: I am a high school teacher. And let's face it, most of what we have you read is kinda boring. However, there are a couple of books we assign which are really worth it. NO, not a Seperate Peace or Alls Quiest, but books like To Kill a Mockingbird, Julius Caesar, and Catcher in the Rye.

Catcher in the Rye is a great book. The adventures of Holden Caufield will be enjoyed. Holden's mental collapse and visit to NYC are just as relevent now as when Salinger wrote this book years ago.

This is a book that after you are forced to read it in school, that you will read again on your own. Its worth it. Dont Cheat, forget Cliff and Spark notes...read this book. You will be glad you did.