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__The Catcher in the Rye __ By: J.D. Salinger “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.” (Salinger)



Author Biography **J.D. Salinger** was born on January 1, 1919 in New York City. His father was a Jewish man, and his mother Scottish. J.D. had an older sister. Growing up, his life was similar to the life of his character in __The Catcher in the Rye__ Holden Caulfield. He attended prep schools, and dropped out of a few of them. He participated in his schools literary magazine and yearbook in high school. Salinger graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy. He started to really get into writing around 1936, and writing particularly fiction. Salinger went on to attend Ursinus College in 1938 for only one semester. He didn’t do well with the rigors of the college level although he was an intelligent man. Throughout his life, as you can see in his books and characters he has a problem with the idea of formal learning. After Ursinus, Salinger went on to Columbia University. Towards the end of WWII in 1942, he joined the military. He was known to have his typewriter in the back of the jeep, so he could write in his spare time. Some other works of Salinger include __Nine Stories__ and __Franny and Zooey.__ He was known to live in his own private world in his later years. J.D. Salinger died of natural causes on January 27th, 2010.

Synopsis & Summary __ The Catcher in the Rye __ is a story narrated by a 16 year old young man named Holden Caulfield, living in the 1950’s. He is an intelligent yet sensitive young man. In the story we see his discontent with the world and adult life. He finds it all phony and superficial. He wants to remain a child. Holden is telling this story while being treated at a mental hospital, shortly after the events he shares. Holden has just been expelled for failing four out of five classes at Pencey Prep. The events in the story happen the next three days on his way home to New York City from Pencey Prep. He stays at a local hotel in NYC where he meets some new and some old acquaintances. If he went home, his parents would be mad because it is before the end of the term. His three days in the city are spent drunk and lonely, with random encounters with girls who he tries to have sexual relations with. After, he starts to doubt his thought process. He soon sneaks into his parents apartment to see his sister, Phoebe. She is the only person Holden feels understands him. He tells her of his plan to leave and head west, but he loves his sister. In the end, Holden returns home “ill.”

Criticism & Recommendation __ What worked: __ Salinger does an excellent job giving the reader details and letting you into Holden’s thoughts. It allows the reader to connect with the story, as it is in some ways what a lot of people go through growing up. __ What did not work: __ At times the story is confusing. It starts in the present, while also trying to take place in the past. I did not like how the main character Holden is so discriminating toward people.

I would recommend this for anyone at least of the age of [|14]. It is a real life story of what goes on in life. Drugs, alcohol, and sex are all part of growing up. You can easily relate to some of the feelings Holden shows, and the struggle between childhood and adulthood he faces. Everyone feels lonely and lost sometimes. Everything in this book is straight forward, there are no hidden meanings which makes it an easy read. Another thing is like Holden’s dream to be the catcher in the rye, you can dream to be anything you want.

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[|Literary Elements] **full title** · //The Catcher in the Rye//
 * author** · J. D. Salinger
 * type of work** · Novel
 * genre** · Bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel)
 * language** · English
 * time and place written** · Late 1940 s–early 1950 s, New York
 * date of first publication** · July 1951 ; parts of the novel appeared as short stories in //Collier’s,// December 1945, and in //The New Yorker,// December 1946
 * publisher** · Little, Brown and Company
 * narrator** · Holden Caulfield, narrating from a psychiatric facility a few months after the events of the novel
 * point of view** · Holden Caulfield narrates in the first person, describing what he himself sees and experiences, providing his own commentary on the events and people he describes.
 * tone** · Holden’s tone varies between disgust, cynicism, bitterness, and nostalgic longing, all expressed in a colloquial style.
 * tense** · Past
 * setting (time)** · A long weekend in the late 1940 s or early 1950 s
 * setting (place)** · Holden begins his story in Pennsylvania, at his former school, Pencey Prep. He then recounts his adventures in New York City.
 * protagonist** · Holden Caulfield

This book is GREAT! Two thumbs up :)



 I found this book to be great. I felt that I could really relate to the feelings that Holden went through. I really liked how straight forward the story was, no holding back with the language, drugs, alcohol, and sex. The language was easy to understand because the narrator is my age. Because he is my age, I can relate to things he is going through, whether it is I or the people around me. I think this book is on the [|Outstanding Books for the College Bound] list is because it really is an outstanding book. It is a great story of growing up and the challenges you may or may not face and the decisions. When we go to college, we are off on our own making our own decisions and opinions on the world. Like in the novel, “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.”(Salinger) From this book we can learn of different opinions on some subjects. It is a great book. ​

WORK CITED:

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Catcher in the Rye.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 9 Jun. 2010.

"J.D. Salinger". http://www.notablebiographies.com. June 9 2010 .

Salinger, J.D.. __The Catcher in the Rye__. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1951.