The Catcher in the Rye: Encyclopedia - The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J. D. Salinger. First published in serial form in the United States in 1945-46 and in book form in the U.S. and Britain in 1951, the novel remains controversial to this day, especially to noted book critic EJ Carver, "I enjoyed the book immensely, despite being asleep for half of it. I would call it a masterpiece of modern times". It has long been considered "inappropriate" and "immoral" in more conservative areas of the United States. It was the 13th most frequently challenged book of the 1990s, according to the American Library Association [1].

Its protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has become an icon for teenage angst. The book, written in the first person, relates Holden's experiences in the days following expulsion from his University-preparatory school.

The Catcher in the Rye - Characters

• Holden Caulfield. The protagonist and narrator of the story. Holden is a sixteen-year-old junior who has just been expelled for academic failure from a school called Pencey Prep. Although he is intelligent and sensitive, Holden narrates in a cynical and jaded voice. He finds the hypocrisy and ugliness of the world around him almost unbearable, and through his cynicism he tries to protect himself from the pain and disappointment of the adult world. However, the criticisms that Holden aims at people around him are also aimed at himself. He is uncomfortable with his own weaknesses, and at times displays as much phoniness, meanness, and superficiality as anyone else in the book. As the novel opens, Holden stands poised on the cliff separating childhood from adulthood. His inability to successfully negotiate the chasm leaves him on the verge of emotional collapse.
• Phoebe Caulfield. Phoebe is Holden's younger sister who, in Holden's eyes, has retained her innocence. However, she can be even more mature than he, at times criticizing him for his childishness.
• Allie Caulfield. Allie is Holden's deceased younger brother and possibly the root of Holden's turbulent maturation process.
• D. B. Caulfield. D.B. is Holden's older brother who has become a successful screenwriter in Hollywood. Although Holden enjoys his stories, he regards him as a phony for "selling out".
• Robert Ackley. Ackley occupies the room adjacent to Holden's at Pencey Prep, and Holden portrays him as "pimply" social outcast and a generally annoying person.
• Jane Gallagher. Jane does not appear in the novel, but Holden thinks of her frequently as one of the few girls he had felt truly intimate with.
• Ward Stradlater. Stradlater is Holden's popular roommate, and one of the few sexually active boys at Pencey Prep. Holden is infuriated by his date with Jane and provokes a violent encounter with him.
• Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer was Holden's History teacher at Pencey. He feels guilty for failing Holden, and he unsuccessfully attempts to make Holden understand the "game of life".
• Mr. Antolini. Antolini was Holden's English teacher at Elkton Hills, another school he attended before, who Holden seeks for guidance. Like Mr. Spencer, he too tries to make Holden understand maturity and he almost reaches him, but Holden fears that Mr. Antolini may be making homosexual advances and flees from his apartment.
• Carl Luce. Carl is a student at Columbia University that Holden knows from Whooton, a school he once attended. Holden meets up with him at a bar and is anxious to discuss sex, but his childish and irritating behavior causes Carl to leave.
• Sally Hayes. Sally is a girl that Holden asks out on a date, but ultimately he ruins the affair by calling her a "pain in the ass" in frustration and then later phoning her house while intoxicated.
• George Andover. George Andover is a close friend of Sally Hayes. Sally and George accidentally meet at a theater, while Holden is on a date with Sally. Holden becomes increasingly bitter towards George while George and Sally have conversations during the intermissions.
• Maurice. Maurice is the elevator operator at the Edmont Hotel who procures a prostitute for Holden, and then later barges into Holden's hotel room and forces him to pay more than (ostensibly) agreed upon.
• Sunny. Sunny is the young prostitute Holden hires through Maurice; he is uncomfortable with the prospect of sex with her, and she leaves.
• Ossenberger. Ossenberger is a graduate of Pencey Prep who has become very rich since he left. He started an undertaking business where he would take a dead body away for just five dollars. Holden sarcastically claims that Ossenberger probably just wraps the bodies up in bags and throws them in a river.
• Ernest Morrow. Holden meets Mrs. Morrow, Ernest's mother, on a train to New York, and has a conversation with her. Holden describes Ernest to the reader as one of the biggest jerks he's ever met, but tells his mother that Ernest is kind, sensitive, shy, and smart.
• Anne Louise Sherman. Anne Louise Sherman is one of Holden's ex-girlfriends.
• Valencia. Valencia is a dancer at a The Wicker Bar. Holden tries to make an advance on her, but he is ignored.
• Faith Cavendish. Holden is told that Faith Cavendish gives up sex to anyone very easily, and therefore decides to call her in New York while he is bored and aroused. They have a phone conversation, but she tells Holden that she cannot go out on a date that night, so Holden gives up on her.
• Eddie Birdsell. Birdsell, who attends Princeton, is the person that tells Holden that Faith Cavendish is "easy." Holden met him once at a party, but otherwise knows nothing about him.
• Ernie. Ernie is a very skilled piano player at a bar in New York. Holden believes that Ernie is a "phony" because he is very good at his job and gladly accepts all the positive praise that he receives.
• Horwitz. Horwitz is a cab driver that picks up Holden. They have a conversation about where ducks go in winter (a predominant symbol in the novel).
• Lillian Simmons. Lillian Simmons is an old friend of D.B. Caulfield, whom Holden runs into at a bar that the three of them used to visit often. Holden regards her as a phony.
• Hazle Weatherfield. Hazle Weatherfield is a recurring character in stories made up by Phoebe Caulfield.
• Rudolf Schmidt. Rudolf Schmidt is the janitor on Holden's floor in Pencey Prep. Holden uses Rudolf's name as his own, as a false identity when he meets Mrs. Morrow.
• Jim Steele. This is another false identity used by Holden. This alias is made up.
• Arthur Childs. While at Whooton, Holden meets Arthur Childs. The two share an interest in tennis, and converse about the sport. Eventually Arthur alters the conversation to where the nearest Catholic Church is located, thus souring their relationship for Holden.
• James Castle. (deceased) James Castle commits suicide while Holden is attending Whooton. Holden is taking a shower when he hears Castle fall. Holden assumes that it was a desk or a radio, but heads downstairs and finds Castle's bloody corpse on the pavement as well as observers gathered around it. Mr. Antolini is the only person at the whole scene who comes near Castle's body. Antolini checks Castle's pulse, then puts his coat over Castle, and carries the dead body to the infirmary.
• Phil Stabile. Phil Stabile is responsible for James Castle's suicide. James Castle had said something about Stabile, and Stabile responded by gathering some friends to go lynch Castle. When they break into his room, Castle refuses to take back his comment, and ends up jumping out of the dorm room window. Stabile is expelled for the death, but receives no further punishment.
• Ed Banky. Ed Banky is the baseball coach at Pencey who frequently lends his car to students so they can have sex.
• Fredrick Woodruff. Fredrick buys Holden's 90-dollar typewriter for $20 as Holden leaves Pencey.
• Mal Brossard. Mal is an acquaintance of Holden's. Holden and Ackley go to see a movie with Mal on Holden's last night at Pencey.
• Mr. Haas. Mr. Haas is headmaster at Elkton Hills. Holden remembers him as a big phony, because he would not talk to parents who were "funny-looking" at open houses.
• Dr. Thurmer. Dr. Thurmer is the headmaster at Pencey Prep.
• Selma Thurmer. Selma Thurmer is the daughter of the headmaster of Pencey Prep. She goes to Pencey's football games often and had a conversation with Holden on a bus from Agerstown.
• Pete. Pete is the regular elevator controler at Holden's aprtment.

The Catcher in the Rye - Themes

Given that J.D. Salinger never commented on the work and its true meanings, interpretations are fractured and vary from reader to reader. However, there are certainly a few themes which are discussed in the book - it is what Salinger was meaning to say that is under contention.

A major theme is what Holden calls "phoniness." He feels surrounded by dishonesty and false pretenses, and throughout the book is frequently picking out the "phonies" he sees around him. Many of the people that Holden sees as phony are seemingly happy or successful people, though this may or may not be significant. Some readers feel that Holden exhibits the same "phoniness" he denounces. For example, at the start of the novel, the character Ackley barges in on Holden's privacy, and asks intrusive questions. Later, when Holden's roommate Stradlater is getting ready for a date, Holden follows him into the bathroom, asks Stradlater personal questions, and then tackles him while he is shaving. Holden also puts on pretenses, lies, and makes irrational and contradictory assumptions and generally masks his feelings from other people, which alienate him from society, thus questioning if he is a phony himself. However, others say that this is a misinterpretation of Holden's use of "phoniness", and that while he lies and exhibits other flaws, he doesn't fall into his own category.

Another theme is Holden's conflicted, obviously strong desire to be an adult and live in the adult world, though he is not yet ready and doesn't succeed, to his immense frustration. He repeatedly tries to fit into adult society, but in nearly each situation, he says something wrong, or is simply seen as a physical adolescent by the adults around him. After being rejected, Holden's response is an even stronger rejection of the people he was trying to fit in with a few seconds ago. This resentment, combined with his observations of "phoniness" in many of the people around him, cause him to be repelled by adult society and to sometimes view himself as a loner with outsider status — though this attitude does not prevent him from trying to fit into adult society again.

Another theme in the book is whether or not Holden's education is important. Holden has failed out of quite a few schools in his career, and exhibits no signs of remorse or promise to improve. In the final chapters of the book, his former teacher, Mr. Antolini, gives a short monologue to the effect that it is imperative to Holden's future that he apply himself at school. He tells Holden that he believes that education helps to organize the thoughts of brilliant and creative people - a group whom he presumably believes Holden to belong to. Whether this speech is intended to be considered to be true is convoluted by the ambiguous actions of Mr. Antolini shortly after Holden goes to sleep. At the end of the book, Holden states that he thinks he will apply himself in the next school he's going to, but that he isn't sure and that he won't be until he gets there.

The Catcher in the Rye - Style

The Catcher in the Rye - Sarcasm

Though the tone of the novel is gloomy, Holden's sarcastic comments add humor. When Holden watches some men unloading a Christmas tree while taking God's name in vain, he comments: "It certainly was a gorgeous way to talk about a Christmas tree."

The Catcher in the Rye - Stream of consciousness

This style, used throughout the novel, refers to the use of seemingly disjointed ideas and episodes used in a pseudorandom and highly structured way that is used to illustrate a theme.

The Catcher in the Rye - Controversy

The Catcher in the Rye has been shrouded in controversy since its publication. Reasons for banning have been the use of offensive language, premarital sex, alcohol abuse, and prostitution. According to some extremist theories, the book is an FBI or CIA tool for mind control.

Mark David Chapman, murderer of musician John Lennon, was carrying the book when he was arrested immediately after the murder and referred to it in his statement to police shortly thereafter. Oddly enough, Lennon had been reading the book at the time of his death. [2]. John Hinckley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was also reported to have been obsessed with the book.

Critics see Holden as a disturbing influence on youths they consider to be "social outcasts". Holden is portrayed as a juvenile who rejects and is rejected by many peers and individuals. People like Chapman and Hinckley come to relate themselves to Holden, the person that nobody understands and that can't understand anybody else.

Thirty years after its publication in 1945-46, The Catcher in the Rye was both the most banned book in America as well as the second most taught book in public schools.

The Catcher in the Rye - Time period

The Catcher in the Rye clearly takes places in the late 1940s to the early 1950s, which is about the time the novel was written. The death of Allie, Holden's younger brother, is given to be July 18, 1946 and it is stated Holden was thirteen at that time. It follows, therefore, that the bulk of the story takes place in approximately December of 1949 and the story's "present" is the summer of 1950. Given that in 1949 Christmas fell on a Sunday, the two days that consume most of the novel are most likely December 18 and 19 (if it was one week later, the second day of Holden's romp would be Christmas and, if it was one week earlier, Pencey would be letting its students out two full weeks before Christmas.)

The Catcher in the Rye - Memorable and significant quotes

• "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera."
• "I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. That way I wouldn't have to have any goddam stupid useless conversations with anybody."
• "Anyway, I'm sort of glad they've got the atomic bomb invented. If there's ever another war I'm going to sit right the hell on top of it. I'll volunteer for it, I swear to God I will."
• "What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy."
• "I think, even, if I ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and I have a tombstone and all, it'll say "Holden Caulfield" on it, and then what year I was born and what year I died, and then right under that it'll say "Fuck you." I'm positive."
• "Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules."
• "If you want to know the truth, I don't know what I think about it....Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." These are the three last sentences of the book.
• Recurrent: "No kidding.", "I'm a madman.", "That killed me.", "Goddamn.", "I did. I really did.".
• "Girls. Jesus Christ."
• "If you had a million years to do it, you couldn't rub out even half the "Fuck you" signs in the world."

The Catcher in the Rye - Cultural references

• In the 1965 British film The Collector, the book is briefly discussed leading to a heated exchange between the film's two main characters. Ironically, given the book's reputation as a favorite among loners and outcasts, the film's lonely and troubled "hero" Freddie Clegg (Terence Stamp) professes a great hatred of the book.
• The 1997 film Conspiracy Theory, featuring Mel Gibson, uses the book quite prominently, although it does not explicitly link the book's content to the theme of mind control but rather to bibliomania.
• In Grant Morrison and Paul Grist's comic book, St. Swithin's Day, the lead character shoplifts a copy before trying to assassinate Margaret Thatcher.
• In the 1993 film Six Degrees of Separation, the character Paul (played by Will Smith) pretends to be writing a thesis on the book and gives a brief analysis of it.
• Dumb Luck, an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, featured Mandy lying on a hammock reading the book.
• "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel made reference to the book in the song.
• The anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex has references to the book throughout the series. The main story arc involves the case of a cyber-terrorist known as The Laughing Man, whose name is taken from one of Salinger's short stories, and the use of symbolism referring to the novel as well as some quotes of it. The most notable quote is the one plastered on the Laughing Man's logo: "I thought what I'd do was pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes".
• The film Igby Goes Down borrows heavily from the plot of Catcher in the Rye, and contains numerous allusions to the work throughout the film.
• American rock band Green Day, in their Kerplunk! album, has a song titled "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?" The song is based on how frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong, could relate to the main character in a sense of being an outcast.
• "Life Is A Flower", featured on Swedish band Ace Of Base's 1998 album "Flowers", includes the line "No catcher in the rye can help you from yourself".
• One of the main characters in the film The Good Girl calls himself Holden and is seen reading the book and constantly referring to it.
• Kevin Smith’s 1997 film Chasing Amy features the characters named Holden McNeil (a reference to Holden Caulfield) and Banky Edwards (a reference to the Pencey baseball coach Ed Banky).
• The song 'Magna Cum Nada' on The Bloodhound Gang's album Hooray for Boobies refers to Holden Caulfield. The opening lines of the song are:

• The song "Get It Right" on The Offspring's album Ignition alludes to Holden Caulfield. The singer states: 'Like Holden Caulfield, I tell myself/There's gotta be a better way/Then I lay in bed and stare at the ceiling/Dream of brighter days'
• Christian ska band "Five Iron Frenzy" makes reference to Holden Caulfield in their song "Superpowers." It feautures the line "Sometimes I feel like Holden Caulfield, sometimes Jack Kerouac. I wanted to be famous, now I want to take it back."
• The song "Here's to Life," written by Tomas Kalnoky and played by Streetlight Manifesto on their album Everything Goes Numb, alludes to both Holden Caulfield and writer J.D. Salinger. The lyrics state: "Holden Caulfield is a friend of mine, we go drinking from time to time, and I find it gets harder everytime" and "Hey there Salinger what did you do? Just when the world was looking to you; to write anything that meant anything, you told us you were through, And it's been years since you passed away and I've seen no plaque and I've seen no grave, and I can't help but believing you wanted it that way." This is in reference to Holden's loathing attitude towards cemeteries and headstones (see famous quotes above).
• The song "Good Year" from The Refreshments' album Bottle and Fresh Horses mention trading Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle for a Catcher in the Rye.
• The song "Machination" by Nothingface alludes to the book with the lyrics "Read Catcher In The Rye/One hundred and ten ------- times/Brain washed and programmed/Obsession defined."
• It is referred to in the movie Jerry Maguire. Tom Cruise comments that his memo "even looked like The Catcher in the Rye"
• The Secret Goldfish, a Scottish band of the 1990s, took their name from the title of D.B. Cauldfield's book of short stories, which is mentioned in the opening paragraph of the book.
• A character in the comic strip Frazz is named Caulfield in Holden's honor, and has a unique outlook on the world.
• Green Day's punk opera American Idiot, has the main character, Jesus of Suburbia, having an attitude like Holden Caufield's.
• The song "William Holden Caulfield" by Too Much Joy on their "Cereal Killers" album (1990), contains a description of part of the Catcher phenomenon: "I'm afraid of people who like Catcher in the Rye/ Yeah, i like it too, but someone tell me why/ People he'd despise say i feel like that guy..."
• In the episode "Reese Cooks" of Malcolm in the Middle at the end, Malcolm finds himself alone at a party, with no one to talk to. Finding himself in a social predicament, Malcolm shows true Holden Caulfield attitude, and begins to complain about the small problems of the party, and accusing those who properly blend as "phonies", one of most often used insults for people. To continue the allusion, when the prospect of someone talking to him comes, he leaps at the oppurtunity, showing the hypocrisy that Holden shows all throughout the novel. In the end, Malcolm ends up alone and friendless, like Holden, a victim of his own anti-social behavior.
• In the film Annie Hall, Woody Allen says that he only has books with the word death or dying in them. But Diane Keaton holds a copy of the The Catcher in the Rye and says, "What about this one?"
• In the episode "Frat Aliens" of Aqua Teen Hunger Force at the end, Frat Alien "DP" asks Frylock if he is 'holdin'. After which he asks if William Holden was at the party last night, then if Holden Caulfield was inside the house. All indirect references to the possession of marijuana.
• In the movie "Ghost World", the main character Enid acts like "a female version of Holden", showing a lot of the same themes that run throughout the novel. Enid is somewhat of a social outcast, she has trouble relating to the adult world, and she wants to run away and get away from the people around her.

The Catcher in the Rye - Trivia

• Publishers Weekly has reported that the majority of current readers of The Catcher in the Rye are women.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The Catcher in the Rye", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki