Plot Summary
• It is a story about a rebellious teenage schoolboy and his quixotic experiences in New York, taking place in December 1949.
• The story commences with Holden Caulfield describing encounters he has had with students and faculty of Pencey Prep in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. He criticizes them for being superficial, or, as he would say, “phony.” After being expelled from the school for his poor academic performance, Holden packs up and leaves the school in the middle of the night after a physical altercation with his roommate. He takes a train to New York but does not want to return to his family and instead checks into the dilapidated Edmont Hotel .
Plot Summary
• After leaving his parents' apartment, Holden then drops by to see a former, and much admired, English teacher, Mr. Antolini,and is offered advice on life and a place to sleep.
• Holden spends a total of three days in the city, and this time is characterized largely by drunkenness and loneliness.
Plot Summary
• At one point he ends up at a museum, where he contrasts his life with the statues of Eskimos on display. For as long as he can remember, the statues have been unchanging. These concerns may have stemmed largely from the death of his brother, Allie.
• After gaining international fame with this novel, Salinger spent the rest of his life avoiding publicity.
• Salinger died at his home in New Hampshire on January 27, 2019.
• Jerome David Salinger was born wealthy Judean trade peoples' family and grew up in the fashionable apartment district of Manhattan, New York on January 1,1919.
• After restless studies in prep schools, he was sent to Valley Forge Military Academy (1934-36), which he attended briefly.
About the author
• He served in the U.S. Army in World War II and participated in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, 1944.
• Holden is upset when he wakes up in the night to find Mr. Antolini patting his head in a way that he perceives as "flitty."
• Holden leaves and spends his last afternoon wandering the city.
Plot Summary
• Holden makes the decision that he will head out west, and when he mentions these plans to his little sister, she decides she wants to go with him. Holden declines her offer and refuses to have her accompany him. This upsets Phoebe, so Holden does her a favor and decides not to leave after all.
The Catcher in the Rye
• The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salin as one of the best novels of the 20th century.
Jerome David Salinger
• Eventually, he sneaks into his parents' apartment while they are away, to visit his younger sister, Phoebe, who is nearly the only person with whom he seems to be able to communicate. Phoebe views Holden as a hero, and she is naively unaware that Holden's view of her is virtually identical.