The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
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Book Summary Information
Author: J.D. SalingerBrand: Little, Brown and Company
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1991-05-01
ISBN: 0316769487
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780316769488
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Catcher in the Rye
Book Review: Points of view in these books delineate their events & chars
Summary: 5 Stars
The points of view delineated in Catcher In The Rye, A Separate Peace, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest utilized unique methods of expressing the events and characters in the novels. Holden reflected upon his escapades through his clouded, obstructed outlook on the events which took place during adolescence. Gene Forrester reminisced, also in the first person, about the trials and tribulations of his high school relationships. An outsider, looking in upon the daily shenanigans of Randall McMurphy in a psychiatric ward of an urban hospital, told the third literary work from omniscient third person point of view. Thus, the way an author expressed point of view was crucial to the understanding of the characteristics of the protagonist, the way he related to others, and the main character's developmental maturity at the end of the work. The similitude of the protagonists' traits in these three literary works was strikingly synonymous although they were told from dissimilar viewpoints. Salinger allowed Holden's sub-conscious and conscious thoughts to permeate his pages while keeping the interference between thought and reality a distinct dichotomy. Holden's reactions to adversity also illustrated his strengths and weaknesses in dealing with his peers. Holden was an introvert, except in confrontations, where he would turn into a verbose, overzealous authority on the topic at hand. Holden responded with rage when his roommate denounced the quality of an essay he had written. "What the hell's the difference if it's about a baseball glove?" (Catcher p. 41) He then proceeded to tear up hours of hard work due to frustration. Randall McMurphy's eccentric attitudes and constant rebellions were demonstrated by Kesey's narrator in a purely physical form. We were unaware of the psychological processes occurring in his mind. McMurphy was thought to be lacking full faculty and reasoning, but perhaps had the story been told in first person, we could have gained a better understanding of his modus operandi and motivations for his idiosyncratic actions. Gene's value system established by Knowles was disclosed by Gene himself. We would not have been able to understand Gene's deranged, ulterior motives, had it not been for Gene telling the story. His irrational actions and lack of remorse obviated any other narrative interpretations. All three protagonists had outspoken personalities and were determined to use their forceful volition to have their way at all costs. The level on which each protagonist related to his peers was evidenced by conversation, physical interaction, and thoughts of the characters. Holden's superior attitude isolated himself from his peers. He felt all people with common activities such as sports or seeing movies were phony. Holden's words epitomized his negative thoughts of humanity while trotting down Pencey's dormitory hallway during his final departure. "Sleep tight, ya morons!" (Catcher p. 52) It was McMurphy's solitary goal to have Chief assimilate into the social circles of the psychiatry ward. "C'mon Chief, take the ball, take the ball, c'mon!" (Cuckoo's Nest p. unknown) Randall could be heard encouraging his companions during exercise time. He tried to better the lives of his fellow patients by exposing them to the ways of the world during card games and basketball matches he organized. McMurphy was all for conformation, but unfortunately, this belief clashed with the rules of the hospital. He rallied his peers voices together in a biased attempt to further his own desires. A fishing expedition involving the entire company of deranged men was organized and executed under the authority McMurphy bestowed upon himself. Unlike Holden, McMurphy was a social extrovert, always including others in his adventures. No thoughts of McMurphy were expressed due to the third person viewpoint of the novel. Phineas and Gene were best friends. Gene was always cordial to his teachers and other students. The deep boyhood bond between these two compatriots was demonstrated by their frequent outings to the river, beach, and late-night activities. Gene's jealousy of Finny's athletic abilities overtook his psyche and he was compelled to put a damper on them by causing Finny to break his leg. After this event, Gene became more and more isolated and began his incorrigible lying spree. During an interrogation by his peers in the smoke room, Finny was heard fibbing, "Yes, huh, yes there was a small, a little contretemps at the tree." (Separate Peace p. 82) Gene's thoughts were of truth and justice, but his actions rarely vindicated them. In order to understand a character's relationships with others, we must first be able to rationalize their thoughts and belief system and put them into the environment in which the character reacts with others. The maturity and worldly knowledge each character gained as a result of their experiences are portrayed in a variety of ways. Caulfield's acceptance of rules and consequences demonstrated his growth in maturity. The realization he came to at the end of his escapades was that one's family is always there for one, no matter what trouble one is in. During strolls in Central Park, and long, lonesome nights, the truth of Holden's heartache and cover-up came to the surface. Had this novel been written in third person, our insight into Holden's aspirations would have been solely based upon his limited conversations with his sister. The acceptance and mutual respect of Nurse Ratched surfaced during the end of McMurphy's life. Randall's actions indicated his acceptance of his fate and of others' conditions. McMurphy voiced his concerns to Chief, and through those conversations, we learned of his adult like maturity. Both Holden and Randall used their life experiences as basis for future decisions. Gene, unlike the former protagonists, started out with a great deal of knowledge. His maturity level atrophied and he continued to partake in the same childish activities such as cutting class and teasing as he did in years past. As expressed in first person during Gene's inner struggles, he did show emotional maturity and remorse for actions he had completed. Each character seemed to grow and develop in stages, as we learned through their dialogue, actions, and thoughts. Therefore, the portrayal of the characteristics of the protagonist, his relation to other characters, and the main character's developmental maturity defend the fact that point of view was essential to the understanding of Catcher In The Rye, A Separate Peace, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Qualities shared by the three protagonists were portrayed differently, however the message remained the same. Some other habits they had in common were smoking and the love to be challenged and debated. Holden, Gene, and Randall all confided in someone, although they expressed their companionship in distinctive ways customary to their individual personality. The stages of maturity each protagonist reached as a direct result of their interaction with others demonstrated emotional and psychological growth. There are various ways to portray key elements in literary works, but one must take into consideration that each point of view has its specific benefits and drawbacks.
Summary of The Catcher in the Rye
Anyone who has read J.D. Salinger's New Yorker stories ? particularly A Perfect Day for Bananafish, Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut, The Laughing Man, and For Esme ? With Love and Squalor, will not be surprised by the fact that his first novel is fully of children. The hero-narrator of THE CATCHER IN THE RYE is an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield. Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days. The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it. There are many voices in this novel: children's voices, adult voices, underground voices-but Holden's voice is the most eloquent of all. Transcending his own vernacular, yet remaining marvelously faithful to it, he issues a perfectly articulated cry of mixed pain and pleasure. However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, he keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself. The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart. It is there for the reader who can handle it to keep.Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins,
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."
His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.
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