Lisa+Catcher+in+the+Rye

 By: J.D. Salinger  __Author Biography __    Jerome David "J. D." Salinger is an American author who was born on January 1st, 1919 in Manhattan, New York, to parents Sol and Marie Salinger and had an older sister, Doris.
 * __The Catcher in the Rye __**

Salinger was a good student in grade school, but was had to drop out of prep school because of his failing grades. He attended Valley Forge Military Academy, where he first began writing stories. After the academy, he enrolled in Ursinus University in Pennsylvania, but dropped out soon after. His first publication was "The Young Folks", which was published in __Story__ magazine in 1940.

He was drafted into the army in 1942, and was a member of the Fourth Army division famous for the D-Day invasion. He got injured in the war and had to be hospitalized for psychiatric treatment. He returned home to the U.S. in 1947. Salinger published his most famous work, The Catcher in the Rye, in 1951, and it achieved national recognition. He followed that with Nine Stories, another one of his most successful works which was a selection of his best literary work. In 1963, he published several of his short stories as a novel, __Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour; An Introduction__. He is known for his reclusive habits and small literary output.  Salinger married Claire Douglas in 1955. They had two children, Matthew and Peggy, but got divorced in 1967.  Today, Salinger lives alone in a cottage in New Hampshire. He hasn't published a novel since the successful Catcher in the Rye because he did not appreciate the attention, and does not accept interviews. That is why personal information about him is so limited. "I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure," said Salinger in 1974 to a __New York Times__ correspondent ("J.D. Salinger"). There has been some media hype about him lately though, much to his dismay, because letters written by Salinger to a young woman with whom he had an affair gained a $156,000 auction price at Sotheby's. All in all though, Salinger was a great writer who achieved a lot of recognition in his writing career, though short.

For more information about J.D. Salinger, go to http://kirjasto.sci.fi/salinger.htm or http://library.thinkquest.org/27864/data/salinger/jdsbio.htm __    Plot Synopsis __  Catcher in the Rye is about a teenaged boy, Holden Caulfield, in psychiatric care, recalling the pivotal events of last Christmas. He is a student at Pencey Prep School but is having a lot of trouble there, flunking almost all of his classes and getting expelled. He is set to return home for Christmas break but leaves early after getting into a fight with his roommate.

Holden leaves Pencey, which he describes as a school with a bunch of "phonies", and stays in a hotel before actually going home in order to avoid wrath from his parents. He is always feeling lonely and depressed and thinks about his younger brother Allie often, who died of leukemia a couple years before at the age of eleven. He has a number of interesting encounters with people during this time, at the hotel, nightclubs, and movies, with nuns, former acquaintances, an elevator man, prostitute, and more.

He sneaks home to talk to his younger sister, Phoebe, who idolizes him but also accuses him of being “too negative”. He knows that he is in bad shape, depressed and lonely all the time and without direction in life. Holden does not know what do though, and struggles to find a new direction for his life. __ Criticism __ This novel is very interesting because some of the same qualities that make this novel so unique and outstanding, are things that tie the book down at the same time and make it not as likeable. This book had huge potential to be a really great book, but it seemed like there were two dimensions. One dimension, the thoughts and observations of the main character, was amazing, but it felt one-sided because it was missing the action that a good story needs. What Worked  There are a combination of different elements in the book that make it good. The depth of the character’s thoughts was amazing. The reader experiences what Holden experiences more through what he is thinking than the events that are actually happening in the story. He makes some very interesting observations about life in the book that are worth pondering, such as how he says repeatedly throughout the book, "You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?" (Salinger 60). The dry humor in the novel adds to the story well, some things that happen are so off the wall that they are laugh-out-loud funny, often found in his long, random rants about nothing in particular. Although this novel was frequently banned for this reason, it is a good thing that the language wasn’t censured. It made it seem more real, and this tone fit the character well. The narrator is so persuasive that he leads the reader to believe even the most far-out things he says, which also adds to the greatness of the story, along with the fact that he does not live in a perfect world with princesses and knights in shining armor. His world is a dark, depressing world, with things like alcohol, sex, and drugs, and that just makes it so much more real and believable. What Didn’t Work  Although it was nice to read a book and actually get some depth into the main character’s feelings, it was also a bad thing because most of the book was spent discussing those feelings, and there was not a whole lot of action, and no suspense whatsoever. There was not enough balance in the book between the character’s thoughts and things actually happening in the story, and it drags on in some spots of the story. Sometimes, it makes the reader want to say, “This is really interesting and all, but can we please move on?” Just like how Holden’s life didn’t seem to be headed in any direction, the story also didn’t seem to be at times either. Also, sometimes the main character was a bit too cynical for my taste. "You can't even think of one thing," Holden's little sister accuses him after hearing him rant about all the horrible things in the world and asking him what he does in fact like (Salinger 172). Another thing about the novel that weakened it was the ending. It felt too sudden, like it was creeping toward one conclusion and all of a sudden whipped around in the other direction. 

__ Literary Information __ Title: __The Catcher in the Rye__ Author: J.D. Salinger Type of work: novel Genre: bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel) Style: informal Publisher: Little Brown and Company Point of View: first person (Holden Caulfield as narrator) Tone: pessimism, cynism, bitterness Tense: past Date of Publication: July 1951 Setting: late 1940s or early 1950s, in Pennsylvania and New York Themes: growing up, alienation, depression

     __What Makes This Book So Outstanding__ <span style="DISPLAY: block; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> This book was placed on the "Outstanding Books for the College Bound" for a good reason. It is a very highly-regarded, put together piece of work. There are many unique aspects of The Catcher in the Rye that make it so outstanding. One of the more unique qualities of the book is the subtle, but crucial symbolism weaved into it. One example of symbolism in the novel is Holden's red hunting hat, which is very outlandish and shows his desire of individuality. At the same time, however, he is hesitant to wear it around people he knows. So this hat shows his internal conflict of wanting to be different, yet wanting to fit in at the same time. The Museum of Natural History, one of his favorite places as a child that is often mentioned in the novel, is also laced with symbolism. He likes the museum because it represents consistency. As a child, he liked the fact that it was the exact same each time he came back, perhaps the only real constant thing in his life. "The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move...Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you" (Salinger 121).He wants to go back to this world of simplicity instead of the unpredictable world ahead of him. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive">This book is also outstanding and unique because it dared to venture into sensitive areas of life that other books did not, with many "inappropriate" themes that are in reality, simply a part of life. __The Catcher in the Rye__ deals with it all: depression, suicide, sex, drugs, alcohol, and more. "Growing up is about themes of impropriety and sexual situations. I really feel that when books like this get banned, the adults who are banning them have just forgotten what it was like to grow up and be a confused and upset teenager" ("Banned Books-Unsought Input").These are themes that really do need to be addressed, because trying to pretend that they do not exist does not solve anything, and so this book is special because especially during that time period, it stood alone in this way.

Another thing that makes __The Catcher in the Rye__ so great is the interesting characters in the story. There are no paper cutout characters, all the characters in the book, even the minor ones, are there for a purpose and have some interesting quirks that separates themselves from others, and those distinct quirks are what the reader remembers about them. For example, Jane Gallagher is most of the time simply remembered as "the girl who keeps her kings in the back row" while playing checkers (Salinger 42). The narrator does a great job of describing them, putting his own perspective on the characterization of people. He even tends to find the good in everybody, which is surprising given his extreme cynicism.

<span style="DISPLAY: block; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="DISPLAY: block; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> __<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #21b538; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msoBidiFontFamily: Arial">Recommendation __ <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> <span style="DISPLAY: block; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to find a fun, simple, and relaxing read that will keep one interested. Although __The Catcher in the Rye__ is not a stimulating, climatic, chair-gripping story, it is quite the page-turner. It is also a classic, so it should be an enjoyable read for those who are into classics. It has good themes that are especially relatable to teenagers.

However, this has been a widely disputed book throughout the years. It was the most frequently banned book between 1966 and 1975 and continues to be challenged today in schools. It is so controversial because of its language, sexual references, obscenity, and questionable themes, so I would not recommend it to anyone who is easily offended by those things, because they are used widely throughout the book.

<span style="DISPLAY: block; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #21b538; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msoBidiFontFamily: Arial">__Index__    <span style="COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-underline: none"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive">

"Banned Books". __Banned Books- Unsought Input__. 17 Jul. 2007. Unsought Input. 6 Nov. 2008. [|<http://www.unsoughtinput.com/index.php/2007/07/17/banned-books/]>

<span style="COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-underline: none"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive">"The Catcher in the Rye". SparkNotes: __The Catcher in the Rye: Key Facts__. 2008. Sparknotes. 6 Nov. 2008. __<__ http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/catcher/facts.html>

"The Catcher in the Rye Books". Lombardi, Esther. __The Catcher in the Rye__. 2008. About.com. 6 Nov. 2008. <http://classiclit.about.com/od/catcherintherye/tp/aatp_catcher_ry.htm> __J.D. Salinger__. 2003. Books and Writers. 6 Nov. 2008. <http://kirjasto.sci.fi/salinger.htm>

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive"> <span style="COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-underline: none">"J.D. Salinger". __J.D. Salinger Biography__. Thinkquest. 6 Nov. 2008. <http://library.thinkquest.org/27864/data/salinger/jdsbio.htm> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive"> <span style="COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-underline: none">Salinger, J.D. __Catcher in the Rye__. New York: Little Brown and Company, Jul 1951.

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #21b538; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive; msoBidiFontFamily: Arial">__Other Outstanding Books__

<span style="COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-underline: none"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive"><span style="COLOR: #20bacb; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive"> <span style="COLOR: #333399; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-underline: none"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive"><span style="COLOR: #20bacb; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive">The Good Earth http://park204.wikispaces.com/Laura+Buck+The+Good+Earth A Death in the Family http://park204.wikispaces.com/Melissa+Agee%27s+A+Death+in+the+Family

A Separate Peace http://park204.wikispaces.com/Kyle+G+Knowles+A+Separate+Peace

A Yellow Raft in Blue Water http://michelleyo.wikispaces.com/