Tankersley 1

Alyssa Tankersley

Professor Marcia Hughes

ENG. 1201.517

April 12, 2020

If a Body Catch a Body

The Catcher in the Rye was written by J.D. Salinger and published by Little, Brown and

Company on July 16, 1951. This novel has resonated and continues to resonate with many

young adult readers throughout its time. The character known as Holden Caulfield, who J.D.

Salinger has embedded the parts of history that he has experienced into, has helped many

individuals understand what it’s like to experience grief, depression, and alienation from

society. Many people are against the publication of the novel and have sought to ban it from

being taught and read in schools. The novel itself is a pillar of history that seems to prove time

and time again that the words written in the book should be heard. The Catcher in the Rye is

relevant in today’s society because of the history that surrounds the novel, the mentally ill

individuals that were affected by the authors choice of words, and the young adults that relate

to the main character.

J.D. Salinger put every part of himself into the main character, known as Holden

Caulfield, in his novel. Kenneth Slawenski, author of the article “Holden Caulfield’s Goddam

War”, talks about how the author carried the pages of his book with him throughout his service

in the Second World War (Slawenski). He started writing the novel in his mid-20's, and those

pages were with him when he walked the beach at Normandy, throughout Paris, and the

concentration camps of Nazi Germany. As J.D. Salinger aged and changed because of his
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experiences, Holden Caulfield changed too. The novel was finished in Westport, Connecticut in

the year 1950.

The life of J.D. Salinger is what shaped the novel known as The Catcher in the

th
Rye. On June 6 , 1944, J.D. Salinger experienced D-Day and 11 months of combat, and

this experience would change him forever. As part of the 4th Counter Intelligence Corps,

he was projected to land on Utah

Beach with the first wave, but

instead, he landed during the

second wave. This timing had made

it to where Salinger had missed the

German defenses, which ultimately

th
saved him. He eventually connected with the 12 Infantry Regiment (Slawenski 1).

th
Although J.D. Salinger was lucky, the 12 Infantry Regiment had not been, as

they came into contact with the German soldiers. They had flooded a marshland and

th
used much of their force to cause the 12 to abandon the causeway, which in turn

caused them to take a different route. Wading through waist-high water and fearing for

their lives, they eventually crossed the marsh. Salinger met up with the regiment and

spent 26 days in combat against the German soldiers. This particular regiment had

st
consisted of 3,080 men, but by July 1 , the number went down to just 1,130 men

altogether (Slawenski 1).

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th
On August 25 , 1944, the Germans had surrendered Paris, and J.D. Salinger, along with

th
the 12 Regiment, was ordered to find and “flush out” the remaining resistance. The author

was an intelligence officer, which also gave him the task of identifying the Nazi collaborators. It

was here in Paris where Salinger had connected and became friends with Ernest Hemingway.

Appreciating the friendship that had blossomed between the two, Salinger would rely on

Hemingway throughout the rest of his time at war.

The author used his experiences to shape Holden Caulfield into a teenager that felt all

the pain that he himself had experienced. William Faulkner, who appeared in an article written

by Emily Temple, states, “ A youth, father to what will – must – someday be a man, more

intelligent than some and more sensitive than most, who – he would not even have called it by

instinct because he did not know he possessed it because God perhaps put it there, loved man

and wished to be a part of mankind, humanity, who tried to join the human race and failed” (1).

J.D. Salinger, before and even after the war, felt as though he couldn’t be a part of humanity,

and created Holden. Holden was the voice that Salinger didn’t feel he had.

The novel has allured many antisocial individuals who have become attached to the

estranged tendencies of Holden Caulfield. A few of these individuals go by the name of Mark

David Chapman, John Hinckley Jr., Robert John Bardo, and Lee Harvey Oswald. Each of these

men had read and idolized the young teen known as Holden Caulfield. He was antisocial,

intelligent, cynical, depressed, etc.; he viewed the world as corrupt, evil, and lacking peace. A

few of these men went as far as to say that they wanted to embody the character.

While carrying the two things that he needed most, a Charter Arms .38 special revolver

and a paperback copy of The Catcher in the Rye, on December 8th, 1980, Mark David Chapman
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assassinated John Lennon at his residence known as the Dakota apartments located in

Manhattan (Nash). Having been shot four times in the back, John Lennon uttered the words,

“I’m shot”. After the murder, Chapman was found reading J.D. Salinger's novel to himself. At his

trial, he read what many people argue to be the most famous passage of the novel, beginning

with, “anyway I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field” and ends

with “I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d

really like to be. I know it’s crazy” (Salinger 173). Chapman used this passage to justify his

murder of John Lennon. While he obviously felt that he identified with Holden Caulfield,

Chapman also felt that the novel was written specifically for him. He was not the only person

that felt this way.

John Hinckley Jr. found himself becoming increasingly desperate to leave his mark on

the world, just as Chapman had done four months earlier. According to Christopher Klein, a

writer that wrote the article, “John Hinckley, Jr. Tried to Assassinate Ronald Reagan Because He

Was Obsessed with Jodie Foster”, for History.com, on March 30, 1981, Hinckley wounded

President Reagan along with three others with a 22 calibre Röhm RG-14 revolver. This attempt

was made to hopefully impress the actress known as Jodie Foster, who he had been stalking. In

high school, Hinckley became very withdrawn, essentially an outcast who felt very alienated

from society. Hinckley identified with Holden Caulfield, as well as the eccentric loner known as

Travis Bickle in the film, “Taxi Driver”, directed by Martin Scorsese. It was while watching this

movie that he became obsessed with Foster, who had played a young prostitute in the film.

Hinckley started executing his plan after writing a letter to his fantasized lover, which

was found in Room 312 of the Park Central Hotel by law enforcement. “Jodie, I would abandon
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this idea of getting Reagan in a second if I could only win your heart and live out the rest of my

life with you”, he wrote. He continues on, writing, “By sacrificing my freedom and possibly my

life, I hope to change your mind about me” (The Washington Post). He also states that the letter

was written an hour before the attempt on Reagan's life. The Catcher in the Rye as well as a

few other books were found in his hotel room alongside the letter.

Robert John Bardo was only 19 years old when he shot the 21 year old actress known as

Rebecca Schaeffer. In 1986, she had gotten her role of Patti in the sitcom My Sister Sam, which

ultimately caused her breakthrough in the world of entertainment, as well as catching the eye

of Bardo. She went on to star in many movies, and was being acknowledged for a role in The

Godfather III. She was waiting for that very script when Bardo came to her door. After stalking

her for years, Bardo became furious after seeing her participate in a sex scene in Scenes from

the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills. This prompted him to pay a private investigator to find the

actress’s address and, since he was not 21 and had mental health issues, have his brother buy

him a Ruger GP100 .357 handgun (Bakkila).

On July 18, 1989, Rebecca Schaeffer was fatally shot. The actress had initially opened

the door hoping to find the man that was delivering the script for her possible upcoming role.

Unfortunately, it was Bardo. She sent him on his way with a “please take care”, which angered

him. He returned an hour later, knocking on her door again. It was then that he shot her using

only one bullet. According to Blake Bakkila, writer of the article, “How Rebecca Shaeffer’s

Horrific Murder Led to the Nation’s First Anti-Stalking Law”, Bardo later told the psychiatrist

known as Dr. Park Dietz, “She was going: Why, why?...I was still fumbling around, thinking I

should blow my head off and fall on her”. In the mind of Bardo, Schaeffer had lost her
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innocence because of the sex scene she had shot for a movie, and since he couldn’t have her

the way he wanted, no one could. Just like David Chapman, Bardo was carrying the novel The

Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger on his person at the time of the murder.

Lee Harvey Oswald was only 24 years old when he took it upon himself to change

history forever. On November 22, 1963, Oswald shot and killed President John F. Kennedy with

a bullet first going through the base of his neck, and then a killshot to the head. On November

21, 1963, Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, as well as Vice President Johnson, went on

a two-day, five-city trip to Texas, the trip was intended to bring the Democratic Party together,

as it would increase the chances of Kennedy getting reelected in 1964. After staying the night in

Fort Worth, Kennedy gave a speech the following morning. After his second speech that day,

Kennedy and his group took a flight to Dallas’s Love Field airport, where they boarded a

customized open convertible. As Kennedy, Jacqueline, Governor John Connally, and his wife,

were all on their way to the Trade Mart where Kennedy was scheduled to give his next speech.

While passing the Texas School Book Depository building, shots rang out. Kennedy was rushed

to Parkland Memorial Hospital, however, he did not make it despite doctors efforts. He was

declared dead at 1:00 pm.

Oswald seemed to have it all planned out. It had been discovered that Oswald had been

working at the Texas School Book Depository for about a month before the shooting occurred.

On the sixth floor, there were bullet casings near a window that was overlooking the plaza. He

had been seen on the sixth floor 30 minutes before the assassination occurred. Law

enforcement circulated a description of him, hoping to catch him while he was on the run.

Because of this, an officer by the name of J.D. Tippit recognized him and confronted him. Tippit
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was shot and killed by Oswald with a .38 revolver (Wallenfeldt). He was then seen entering the

Texas Theatre where he was then apprehended by the police.

There are many theories that involve Lee Harvey Oswald and the assassination of John

F. Kennedy, but Oswald being a lone killer is the theory that stands above the rest. He was

formerly arraigned for the murder of Kennedy on November 23, but on November 24, while

being transferred from his jail cell to an interrogation room, he was shot by Dallas club owner

Jack Ruby (Rafferty). Following a raid of Oswald’s Dallas apartment, The Catcher in the Rye was

found, as well as a few other literary works.

The examples of men that were used took the novel to an entirely new level. It is worth

noting that not everyone who has come in contact with the novel has used it to justify their

insidious means. These men had a history of mental illness, so it may be safe to say that these

actions could have come out in a different way. The Catcher in the Rye was not the sole reason

for why these men committed such heinous crimes. Many have argued that they would have

done something similar even if they had not read the novel. Charles Taylor, in the article, “The

Ballad of John and J.D.”, wrote, “If Holden Caulfield, that relentless hunter of phonies, hadn’t

been there for Mark David Chapman to discover, Chapman could have invented him.”

It is no question that young adults reading the novel can relate to the main character

that is Holden Caulfield. Although an individual could argue that the novel was originally written

for an audience of adult readers, the book's themes such as social isolation, alienation,

“phoniness”, as Holden puts it, and adolescence, can relate to teenagers and young adults all

over the world. Teenagers and young adults strive for the independence that Holden seems to

have on his journey throughout New York. As a 16 year old boy, he smokes, drinks, and goes to
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nightclubs. All these examples present Holden as a struggling teen, and that is what attracts so

many young readers.

This novel is centered around the loss of innocence. Arguably the most famous passage

in the novel, as mentioned before, is when Holden explains to his little sister, Phoebe, what he

would like to do with his life. He talks about how he would like to catch all of the little children

before they go over the cliff in the field of rye. The children falling would be the loss of

innocence, and at this point in time, Holden is not ready to give that up yet. He talks about

people being phonies because being a phony means that they’ve lost their innocence and are

starting to grow up. He also mentions that he believes he is a sexual deviant. In the novel, he

never explicitly mentions that he had sex with any women. Another example would be Jane

Ghallagher. Holden explains to a character known as Stradlater, who is supposed to be going on

a date with Jane, that she used to keep all of her kings in the back row of the checkerboard they

used to play on. Holden is obsessed with the question of whether she still does this because it

would mean, to him, she is still innocent. Innocence is something that teenagers and adults may

want to hold on to, or for younger readers, something they may be experiencing. This is why

people feel like they can connect to the novel. “It’s axiomatic that Holden Caulfield is the

patron saint of adolescent sensitivity” (Taylor 33). Charles Taylor goes on to say that Catcher

shows how the world treats and squashes sensitivity, and that the only way for Holden to

survive and make his way is to become a hard shell.

Many people could view this novel as a warning. Holden is shown to be an intelligent

boy, but after the death of his brother Allie, who Holden feels he could have protected, his

drive to finish school and create and maintain relationships has dwindled down to almost
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nothing. In the novel there is a scene where Holden travels to a man known as Mr. Antolini’s

apartment. Mr. Antolini gives Holden a speech about how he is “riding towards a terrible fall”

(Salinger 187). An individual who reads this novel could realize that they were also “riding

towards a terrible fall”.

To some individuals, The Catcher in the Rye can seem like a closed circuit. The article,

“The Ballad of John and J.D.”, written by Charles Taylor, states, “A vision that tells you it’s

possible to live a good life and to live it your own way holds out possibilities that other visions—

Reagan’s or Salinger’s—deny”. Some believe that Salinger’s work does nothing but attract the

people who try to control things rather than embrace them. To contrast this, in the novel, J.D.

Salinger gave his readers the character known as Phoebe Caulfield, Holden’s younger sister. Her

innocence is still intact because she has not yet been able to gain the knowledge or experience

that could hinder it.

Salinger’s work has been criticized because of the audience that it has attracted. The

men who have murdered, and the men that tried but failed to murder, individuals who they

deemed had lost their innocence or were “phonies” had given critics a reason to try to get this

book off of the shelves of many educational institutions. There have been many battles

regarding whether the novel should be banned from schools. One example consists of an

English teacher, William D. Harris, who included the novel in his curriculum. While employed at

Mechanicville Central School District, he received complaints from the students parents

regarding The Catcher in the Rye. Written in an article on the website known as Casemite, it

states, “In the fall of 1974, without consent or any discussion with school officials, petitioner
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reintroduced Catcher into his English class curriculum” (Main). He was then charged with

insubordination, which resulted in also being terminated from his position at the school.

Many individuals believed that banning this novel would be a quick solution. The other

side of this spectrum believed that this was a violation of First Amendment rights. The article,

“Book Banning”, written by Susan L. Webb states, “Book banning, a form of censorship, occurs

when private individuals...remove books from libraries, school reading lists, or bookstore

shelves because they object to their content, ideas, or themes”. Webb goes on to say that the

people who oppose book banning emphasize that students have a right to receive and express

ideas. A court case known as Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico,

was centered around the idea of book banning. In the article written by Anuj C. Desai titled

“Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico (1982)”, she talks about

how the ruling was in a gray area. Schools were able to manage their own usage of materials,

but the way they exercise that power has to involve the First Amendment. The ruling didn’t give

much of a solution to either side.

The novel has caught the eyes of many people, whether it be in a good or bad way. J.D.

Salinger didn’t write this novel to appeal to anyone in any specific way. He carried the first few

pages of this book with him throughout World War II. Holden became Salinger’s escape while

he watched many of his comrades die beside him and for him. He expressed how much he

missed the way things used to be before he was drafted. He missed his own innocence. The

people who used this novel as justification for the horrible acts that they committed in the past

were not as connected to Holden Caulfield as they had originally believed. Young readers can

grasp the meaning of growing up from the words written in this book. J.D. Salinger’s, The
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Catcher in the Rye, is relevant in today’s society because of the history that surrounds the

novel, the mentally ill individuals that were affected by the authors choice of words, and the

young adults that relate to the main character.

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Works Cited

Bakkila, Blake. “How Rebecca Schaeffer's Tragic Murder Led to the Nation's First-Ever Anti-

Stalking Law.” Good Housekeeping, 13 Apr. 2019,

www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a27116831/rebecca-schaeffer-murder/.

Desai, Anuj C. “Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico (1982).” The

First Amendment Encyclopedia, The John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First

Amendment Studies, mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/103/board-of-education-island-

trees-union-free-school-district-v-pico.

Gutterman, Jonah. “The Catcher in the Rye Relates to Young Adults Today.” The Voyager, 14

Oct. 2019, voyager-online.org/5664/entertainment/the-catcher-in-the-rye-relates-to-

young-adults-today/.

Klein, Christopher. “John Hinckley, Jr. Tried to Assassinate Ronald Reagan Because He Was

Obsessed with Jodie Foster.” History, 27 Mar. 2019, www.history.com/news/ronald-

reagan-attempted-assassination-john-hinckley-jodie-foster.

Main, J. “Harris v. Mechanicville School.” CaseMine, Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of

New York, Third Department, 12 May 1977,

www.casemine.com/judgement/us/591494b1add7b049345c12dc.

Nash, Jackie. “John Lennon's Death: A Timeline of Events.” Biography.com, A&E Networks

Television, 21 June 2019, www.biography.com/news/john-lennon-death-timeline.

“Picture of J.D. Salinger during WWII Sitting at a Desk with Papers in Front of Him.” American

Masters, 2014, www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/jd-salinger-film-outtake-the-

influence-of-world-war-ii-on-salingers-writing/2827/.
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Rafferty, John P. “Lee Harvey Oswald.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,

20 Nov. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Lee-Harvey-Oswald.

Slawenski, Kenneth. “He's No Phony: How Fighting in World War II Changed J. D. Salinger and

The Catcher in the Rye's Holden Caulfield.” Vanity Fair, The Forties, 18 Sept. 2017,

www.vanityfair.com/culture/2011/02/salinger-201102.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company, May 1991. Print.

Staff, NPR. “The Private War Of J.D. Salinger.” NPR, Weekend Edition Sunday, 1 Sept. 2013,

www.npr.org/2013/09/01/217786593/the-private-war-of-j-d-salinger.

Stashower, Daniel M. “On First Looking into Chapman’s Holden: Speculations on a Murder.”

American Scholar, vol. 52, no. 3, Summer 1983, p. 373. EBSCOhost,

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EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=f5h&AN=57603650&site=eds-live.

Temple, Emily. “Holden Caulfield: Egotistical Whiner or Melancholy Boy Genius?” Literary Hub,

3 Apr. 2019, lithub.com/holden-caulfield-egotistical-whiner-or-melancholy-boy-genius/.

“Text of Letter to Foster.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 2 Apr. 1981,

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foster/eb0cfb7e-ffc2-47a3-90cf-c4f51b984775/.

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amendment/article/986/book-banning.

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Rye.” Critical Insights: The Catcher in the Rye, Sept. 2011, pp. 170–204. EBSCOhost,

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