THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

BY J.D. SALINGER
HOLDEN CAULFIELD
As the novel opens, we are told that Holden
has flunked out of his fourth prep school.

He will spend the next two days in New York

City, his hometown, trying to figure out what
he needs to do before his parents find out
the news.
HOLDEN DRINKS, SMOKES, AND CUSSES AS HE
ENCOUNTERS PIMPS, PROSTITUTES, PHONIES, AND
FRIENDS IN HIS QUEST TO FIND MEANING
HOLDEN DESPERATELY
WANTS TO PROTECT
HIS KID SISTER PHOEBE
FROM GROWING UP…
He imagines himself as a catcher in
the rye, protecting children from
falling over the edge into the phony
world of adulthood.
HIS INTERACTIONS
WITH PHOEBE MAKE
HOLDEN REALIZE THAT
HE COULDN’T SAVE HIS BROTHER FROM DYING FROM
LEUKEMIA, AND HE CAN’T SAVE PHOEBE FROM THE CRUEL
WORLD.
BY THE TIME WE REACH THE END OF HOLDEN’S JOURNEY,
WE LEARN THAT HE IS TELLING HIS STORY FROM A
SANITORIUM IN CALIFORNIA. HE IS THERE TO HEAL AND
TO ACCEPT THAT HE CAN EITHER BE, MR. ANTOLINI TELLS
HIM, . . .
• An immature man who wants to die • A mature man who wants to live
nobly for a cause, or humbly for one.

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