Rae-+The+Catcher+in+the+Rye-extra+credit

The Catcher in the Rye  J.D. Salinger was born on January 1st, 1919 in New York, New York. He began his writing career writing for magazines. His life was interrupted by World War Two, where he fought in some of the most grueling parts of it. The first novel he published was __The Catcher in the Rye__, which was published in 1951. Salinger published a few more novels, but the fame of __The Catcher in the Rye__ forced him into hiding in New Hampshire. He avoids the public as much as possible. In 1999, Salinger published his first new book in 34 years. J.D. Salinger is still living. []

__ The Catcher in the Rye __ has long been considered a coming of age novel. It begins with Holden Caulfield speaking of his expulsion from Pencey Prep. He talks of needing to be gone before they return from winter break and he plans to leave in two days. After saying good-bye to his history teacher, Mr. Spencer, or Old Spencer, as he refers to him as, he spends the night with friends. They attempt to go to a movie, but spend the evening in an arcade. Later, he gets into a fight with his roommate. “Anyway, the next thing I knew, I was on the goddamned floor and he was sitting on my chest with his face all red”(43). He decides to leave for home early, there is just one catch-his parents do not know he has been expelled. Holden decides to wait a few days before heading home. The rest of the story follows Holden as he goes through New York City. He encounters many things along the way, and eventually ends up…in a place. You’ll have to figure it out for yourself by reading the book!

__ The Catcher in the Rye __ had many things going for it. One of the good things about it was the raw writing style. Salinger often used curse words, and while that is controversial, it is a good writing style to have because it makes the book more relatable. While most people would want to read ‘Look, I have to go to Mass in the morning. You guys were yelling, what was it about?’ instead of “Listen. I gotta get up and go to Mass in the morning, for Chrissake. You guys start hollering in the middle of the goddamned-What the hell was the fight about anyhow?” (47), this style is more of how a kid of the time, and the current time would talk. By doing this, Salinger not only makes the book more relatable, but also gives more to the character. The other thing Salinger does is not describe his characters by physical attributes, but mainly by their speech and the things they do. “He was holding up my roommate’s knee supporter up to show me. That guy Ackley’d pick up anything. He’d even pick up your jock strap or something” (22). ---

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__ The Catcher in the Rye __ uses a framework known as episodic narration. This basically means that it follows the adventures of the narrator. The book is also written in first person. The theme of the book seems to deal with alienation. This also includes moods of depressing, and gloomy. __The Catcher in the Rye__ could be categorized in a genre of some form of a personal account-if there is a genre for that. []

__ The Catcher in the Rye __ was placed of the Outstanding Books for the college bound list due to the raw writing style. Salinger did not seem to hold back in his novel, even writing about Holden getting a prostitute. This book has been very controversial, yet, the controversial things seem to make it great. Holden is a high school boy; he doesn’t speak as if one would want. He swears, fights, and wants to be with girls. While for the 1950’s it was not something recognized as great, it was. The raw writing style took a new turn for people and entranced them in a new way. Finally someone was speaking as if they would, finally a real teenager in a book. With the realness of the novel, it deserves the spot on the list. I would recommend the book because people need to read something real. That was the best part of the book. It dealt with real things. Books to this day still do not get as in depth into the teen brain as much as __The Catcher in the Rye__. Salinger dug deep into the teenage mind and let loose. He showed a wide range of emotion, which draws the reader into the story and makes them feel for Holden and relate to him. The use of emotion and the teenage mind combine together makes __The Catcher in the Rye__ a book anyone would read and enjoy.

Also, if you enjoyed __The Catcher in the Rye__, you should check out Karin's page of __To Kill a Mockingbird__ Karin - To Kill a Mockingbird - Extra Credit and my other page on __The Sun Also Rises__. Rae-The Sun Also Rises.

According to Barnes and Noble online, people who bough __The Catcher in the Rye__ also bought some other interesting books. Two of the books were __The Great Gatsby__ by F. Scott Fitzgerald and __To Kill A Mockingbird__ by Harper Lee. If you enjoyed __The Catcher in the Rye__, I would recommend reading other classics, such as the ones above. You may also enjoy books by other classic authors such as Hemingway and Steinbeck. []



Book Cited: Salinger, J.D. __The Catcher in the Rye__. Boston Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, 1951.

Pictures courtesy of Google images. []