AP Literature
MAJOR WORKS DATA SHEET
Title: The Catcher in the Rye_________________
Biographical Information about the Author
Author: J. D. Salinger____________________
Date of Publication: July 26, 1951__________
Genre: Fiction__________________________
Historical Information about the period and place of
publication – what was happening in the world the
author lived in and how might that have influenced
him?
Many events from Salinger’s early life appear in
The
Catcher in the Rye.
For example, Holden Caulfied moves
from prep school to prep school and is threatened with
military school. Salinger transplants post-World War II
details into the storyline. The time period was the end
of WWII and just beginning the 1950s. The novel was
published at a time when the American industrial
economy made the nation
prosperous
and established
social rules as a code of
conformity
for the younger
generation. Salinger’s profanity, slang, and adolescent
sexuality provoked great controversy. It has been
thrown in debates about First Amendment rights,
censorship, and obscenity in literature.
Jerome David Salinger was born on January 1,
1919 in New York. Salinger was one of the
most influential American writers of the 20th
century. Many of his short stories appeared in
The New Yorker
. Salinger was the youngest of
two children, his family ran a thriving ham and
cheese import business. J.D. Salinger was not
much of a student, he was shipped off by his
parents to a military academy after flunking
out of McBurney School. He was drafted into
the army from 1942-’44 and left the war with
traumatic events he never forgot. He died on
January 27, 2010 at his home in Cornish.
Characteristics of the Genre
The genre of the novel is
Fiction/Bidungsroman (coming-of-age novel).
The main character, Holden Caulfield, begins in
turmoil, has an epiphany (clarity of insight) but
eventually suffers physical and emotional
collapse.
The Catcher in the Rye
falls in the
fiction category but it is more realistic and
authentic than most fiction novels. It is a
coming-of-age novel about the moral and
psychological growth of the protagonist.
Plot Summary
The Catcher in the Rye
is narrated by a young man named Holden Caulfied, the time period is set around
the 1950s. The setting is unclear but he makes it clear that he is undergoing treatment at a mental
hospital or sanatorium. The events he narrates takes place in the days between the end of the fall school
term and Christmas. Holden is sixteen years old during the time of this novel. Holden’s story begins at his
fourth school, Pencey prep, because he failed out of the three previous schools. Pencey prep school is in
Agerstown, Pennsylvannia and his home is in Manhattan. He received word that he has gotten expelled
fro Pencey prep due to the amount of failed classes. Holden visits his history teacher to say goodbye, but
Spencer is harsh towards him because of his expulsion. In the dormitory, Holden is irritated by his
neighbor Ackley and his roommate Stradlater. Stradlater goes on a date with Jane Gallagher, a girl whom
Holden used to date and still admires. Soon Holden returns home and has constant flashback of Jane
Gallagher. For instance, where they met and their dates. Later in the novel Holden goes on a date with
Sally Hayes, a girl he dated in the past, and tries to convince her to runaway with him. Towards the end of
the novel he comes across the supposed homosexual encounter with a former English teacher. He tells his
little sister that he is leaving home for good and they should meet for lunch. Holden tells the reader that
he will not tell of how he went home and got “sick” but plans on going to a new school in the fall and is
optimistic about the future.
Describe the author’s style
The author’s style is colloquial and slangy,
Salinger sounds like a real
sixteen-year-old talking rather than an
accomplished author. He gives illusions
that demonstrate how he acts like he is
right there talking at you. In addition,
Salinger uses italics to make the words
read with the same emphasis as the
spoken word. The reader will hear the
words “corny” and “phony” a lot because
it is often used to described places or
people. Finally, Salinger knows when to
break the heaviness of his subject matter
with humor.
An example that demonstrates that style
● The illusion that Holden is right there talking at you,
“you’d have liked [Allie]”
● Holden has a tendency of using the undefined
second-person pronoun “you.”
● Salinger writes deftly between seriousness and
humor; for example, the conversation Holden has
with a man about fish staying alive in the winter.
Memorable Quotes
Quotation
Significance
1. Holden’s teacher, Spencer, is lecturing him about playing by
the rules. During this conversation, key aspects of Holden’s
1. “Life is a game, boy. Life is a character are illuminated. His silent ridiculing and cursing
game that one plays according to towards Spencer shows his silent contempt for adults. It is clear
the rules.” “Yes, sir. I know it is. I that Holden feels alienated, as if the world is against him by
know it.” Game, my ass. Some game. If you saying “the other side.”
get on the side where all the hotshots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hotshots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game (Salinger 34). 2.
[Ackley] took another look at my 2. Holden’s hat is an important symbol because he uses it as a
hat . . . “Up home we wear a hat mark of individuality and independence. Holden does not
like that to shoot deer in, for physically shoot people but mentally he does, he spends all his
Chrissake,” he said. “That’s a deer mental energy denigrating the people around him. He desires
shooting hat.” independence because he thinks the world is an ugly place, and
“Like hell it is.” I took it off and all people have been conformed to the social norms during this
looked at it. I sort of closed one time period.
eye, like I was taking aim at it. “This is a people shooting hat,” I said. “I shoot people in this hat” (Salinger 46). 3.
I’m standing on the edge of 3. This is the most famous quote in the entire novel because the
some crazy cliff. What I have to do, source of the title is revealed. This quote is Holden’s response to
I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if his younger sister’s question about life. The following response
they’re running and they don’t look reveals Holden’s fantasy of idealistic childhood and his role as
where they’re going I have to come the protector of innocence. He prefers to retreat to his own
out from somewhere and catch imaginary view of the world rather than facing the world directly.
them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d Holden has a cynical view towards adults and views children as
just be the catcher in the rye and being innocent. His catcher in the rye fantasy reflects his
all (Salinger 164). innocence and role to protect the youth. Yet, it also represents
his huge disconnection with reality and his naive view.
4.
"Well – take me to the Edmont then," I said. "Would you care to stop on the way and join me for a cocktail? On me, I'm loaded” (Salinger 74). 4. Once again, this quote represents Holden’s isolation. He is so
desperate to talk to someone that he tries to invite the cab
driver for a drink. It shows his lack of close relationships because
he does not have someone he can call to just talk to, instead he
seeks that from strangers.
5.
I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty rundown and had to come out here and take it easy. I mean, that's all I told D.B. about, and he's my brother and all. He's in Hollywood. That isn't too far from this crumby place (Salinger 3). 5. This quote is early on in the novel and right off the bat, the
reader can tell that Holden has no filter. He expresses his mind,
sometimes more in his head than out loud. The reader senses
some madness in this quote. The reader must look at the hints to
understand where Holden is because he is not clear about the
setting. There is a lot of information in this one quote; for
instance, the possible location and a past event occurred which
caused him to become “pretty run-down.”
Characters
Name
● Holden
Role in the Story
Significance
Adjectives
● main character,
protagonist
● narrator. Holden stands
poised on the cliff
separating childhood
from adulthood.
● intelling
ent,
sensitive
, cynical
● Ackley
● Holden’s next door
neighbor
● shows Holden’s
compassionate side by
spending most of his
time with Ackley
● unhygie
nic,
insecure
● Stradlater
● Holden’s roommate
● Jane
Gallagher
● Holden’s ex (never
appears in novel)
● typical prep school
student, Stradlater is
the very reason why
Holden has a cynical
view towards most
people
● spent a lot of his
summers with this girl,
extremely important to
● selfabsorbe
d,
handso
me,
popular
Holden because he
respects her and finds
her attractive
● Phoebe
Caulfield
● Holden’s ten-year-old
sister
● Allie
Caulfield
● Holden’s younger
brother
● D.B.
Caulfield
● Holden’s older brother
● Sally
Hayes
● attractive girl whom
Holden has dated
● understands Holden
unlike other people,
her childish innocence
is one of Holden’s only
consistent source of
happiness, Phoebe
recognizes that Holden
is his own worst enemy
● dies of leukemia three
years before the start
of the novel, Holden is
tormented by Allie’s
death and carries
around Allie’s baseball
glove
● Holden admires the
short stories D.B. wrote
but feels like D.B.
prostitutes his talent by
writing for Hollywood
● Holden is sexually
attracted to her but she
does not feel the same
way and it is evident by
her actions throughout
the novel
● attractiv
e
● mature,
intellige
nt, neat
● brilliant,
friendly
● insightfu
l
● conventi
onal in
her
tastes
and
manner.
● Mr.
Spencer
● Holden’s history
teacher
● unsuccessfully shakes
Holden out of his
academic apathy
● wise
● source of knowledge
about sex
● boastful
● Carl Luce
● Holden’s student
advisor
● Mr.
Antolini
● Holden’s former English
teacher
● Sunny
● prostitute
Setting
Holden’s story takes place over only three days, from
Saturday afternoon to Monday. Yet, it feels much longer
than this. The time period is around the 1950s in New
York City. Holden is a student at Pencey prep for a short
period of time because he is soon expelled.
● Holden woke up to Mr
Antolini touching his
forehead and Holden
was extremely
offended, came to a
conclusion that he was
a homosexual. When in
reality, Holden was just
afraid to become one.
● one of the many girls in
the book that Holden
tries to connect with.
shows that Holden
cannot posses a real
relationship
● young,
clever,
sympath
etic
● insensiti
ve
Significance of opening scene
The opening scene is important because it
starts with Holden being in a mental hospital.
This brings about questions of what happened
and how Holden got there.
Significance of ending/closing scene
In the closing scene, the rain represents
Holden starting over, or releasing the sadness
and the anger he kept inside. The carousel
represents Holden’s acceptance into
adulthood.
Symbols
Old AP Questions
1. carousel- adulthood
2.Holden’s red hunting hat- uniqueness and
individuality
Leave Blank for Now
3.The Museum of Natural History- represents the
world that Holden wishes to live in (unchanging)
4.ducks in central park lagoon-curiosity of youth and
joyful willingness to encounter the mysteries of the
world. The ducks vanish every winter but appear every
spring, Holden is terrified of change.
5.Allie’s baseball glove- love and empathy. Holden has
trouble sympathizing and fitting in, Allie was one
person he could truly identify with and care for.
Possible Themes
1. protection of innocence- especially with children, he believes that they cannot be phony or
hypocritical. Also closely related to his struggles against growing up.
2.Isolation- does not have a lot of close relationships, more aquaintances
3. The Phoniness of the Adult World- Holden believes adults are inevitably phony and cannot see their
own phoniness