Seth+H.+The+Catcher+in+the+Rye

// By: Seth Holm // The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger and is about a young man named Holden Caulfield that has problems adapting to people around him. **__ About the Author: __**  On January 1, 1919 in New York City, Jerome David Salinger was born into mixed parentage. He grew up in Manhattan and ended up attending Columbia University in 1939 and meeting Whit Burnett, an important editor that took interest in J.D. He published his first book in 1940 before entering the military in 1942. He served until the end of World War II and then resumed publishing books until his masterpiece, The Catcher in the Rye, landed in bookstores. J.D. Salinger lives in New Hampshire and writes for the fun of it and enjoys his new private world.
 * __ The Catcher in the __****__ Rye __**

**__ Synopsis and Summary: __**  The main character, Holden Caulfield, starts out telling us his story that takes place near the end of the fall school term and lets us know he is undergoing treatment in a mental hospital. He fails most of his courses and is being expelled at the end of the term, so he is getting ready to leave. Instead of waiting until the end of the term, he ditches school and leaves for New York to stay at a hotel because he knows that if he goes home, his parents will be mad. He has some interesting adventures and tries to hook up with plenty of girls and starts to see faults in his thought process as he gets closer to going home. Finally he heads home to see his sister and tell her he is fleeing for the west and will not be coming home for a while. He tries to leave, but his sister keeps him in New York and he loves her too much to leave so he finally goes home ill.

**__ Criticism: __**  ** What worked in the book: ** Salinger did a good job describing things very vividly and the action throughout the book really stands out when you read it. ** What didn’t work: ** The beginning of the book was a little confusing because the narrator was trying to tell us what was going on presently while trying to begin his story.

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**__ Why is this book outstanding? __**  The Catc her in the Rye is a great novel concerning the mental strains on some teenage boys and how they cope with it. Holden seems like a normal young man, maybe with just a few problems, but we later find out that he doesn’t adapt well with other people and he literally cannot get along with anyone. Holden Caulfield was confused and didn’t really know what he wanted in life “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” (Salinger 214). This scenario makes for a good story and is worth reading for the sole fact that it makes you think about all the aspects of life and what is really right.

**__ Literary Information: __**  Title: The Catcher in the Rye Author: Jerome David Salinger Writing Style: thoughtful, simple-minded Setting: New York in the 1950s Genre: fictional biography

**__ Works Cited: __**  J.D. Salinger. 1992. Author Biography. 21 January 2010. []

Jerome David Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye. Hachette Book Group, New York. May 1991.

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