Evan Gwynn Mrs. Maxey Mrs. Millner The Catcher in the Rye Book Report
The Catcher in the Rye By: J.D. Salinger
Characters Holden Caulfield: Holden Caulfield is the main character and narrator of The Catcher in the Rye. While very intellectual, he has just been expelled from Pencey Prep. School for poor academic performance. He himself is disgusted by “phonies”, even though he can be severely phony. Holden is still trying to stay a kid, even though he is becoming an adult. Phoebe Caulfield: Phoebe is Holden’s younger sister. She is one person that he actually enjoys being around. She is very intelligent for her age, which allows her to understand her brother more than anybody else. She is a very active young girl and possesses many talents.
Characters Continued Allie Caulfield: Allie is Holden’s dead younger brother. Allie died of leukemia, and it can be assumed that a lot of Holden’s feelings toward society come from his early death. D.B. Caulfield: D.B. is a writer and Holden’s older brother. Holden believes that D.B. is lowering himself by writing for Hollywood. Mr. Antolini: Mr. Antolini is one of very few adults that Holden trusts. Mr. Antolini is Holden’s old english teacher from a previous school. Holden’s trust is tested when he believes that Mr. Antolini is trying to molest him.
Setting The majority of The Catcher in the Rye is set in 1950’s New York City. The only other setting would be at the beginning of the novel when Holden was still at Pencey Prep. School.
Summary The Catcher in the Rye is set in 1950’s New York City. The entire book is narrated by Holden Caulfield who is also the main character. The book starts with Holden at Pencey Prep school, and he is failing out. Holden’s history teacher Spencer summons him to say goodbye, but when Spencer tries to give Holden a serious talk Holden gets very annoyed. This is the first point in the novel that we see Holden’s inherent disdain of other human beings, or as he would call them, “Phonies”. After the talk with Spencer, Holden returns to his dorm at Pencey where he finds out that his roommate Straddlater is going on a date with an old friend of his, Jane Gallegher. Upon Straddlater’s return Holden asks him many questions about Jane. The main one being wether or not Straddlater had sex with Jane. Straddlater doesn’t answer, so Holden attempts to hit him. But he fails and gets beat up instead. After the fight Holden decides that he is done with Pencey now so he leaves for Manhattan. While in NYC Holden has many encounters, with old friends, prostitutes, pimps, and his sister Phoebe. Through these encounters we learn about Holden eccentricity. In the end Holden sneaks into his old apartment to talk to Phoebe. He tells her he failed out of Pencey and she is very mad. Holden leaves and goes to a former teachers house, who puts a move on him so he leaves. Holden sends a letter to Phoebe at school telling her he is going to leave. She meets him later with a suitcase saying she is going with him. He gets angry at her and decides to stay, so that she will stay. The story ends with Holden telling us he is going to a new school in the Fall.
General Information Published: 1951 Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
My Opinon I found The Catcher in the Rye to be a wonderful book. It captures the feeling of a typical teenager very well, and can still be relatable today. The only problem that I had with it was the abrupt and uneventful ending. I want to know what happens to Holden, but I guess it’s up to the reader to decide. For providing me with a wonderful story I give The Catcher in the Rye four out of five stars.
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