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The Catcher in the Rye explores themes of alienation, the phoniness of adult society, and the desire to preserve the innocence of childhood. Its protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has become an iconic and often controversial figure in literature, sparking discussions about teenage rebellion and the search for authenticity.
- Chapters 1 & 2
A summary of Chapters 1 & 2 in J. D. Salinger's The Catcher...
- Themes
A summary of Themes in J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the...
- Symbols
A summary of Symbols in J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the...
- Key Facts
Full title The Catcher in the Rye. Author J. D. Salinger....
- Plot Summary
A short summary of J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye....
- Character List
The Catcher in the Rye characters include: Holden Caulfield,...
- Motifs
A summary of motifs in J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the...
- Mr. Antolini
A detailed description and in-depth analysis of Mr. Antolini...
- Central Idea Essay: What Does The Title Mean
The line about a catcher in the rye is taken from a Robert...
- Chapters 1 & 2
- Summary: Chapter 18
- Summary: Chapter 19
- Summary: Chapter 20
- Analysis: Chapters 18–20
After leaving the skating rink, Holden goes to a drugstore and has a Swiss cheese sandwich and a malted milk. Once again, he thinks about calling Jane, but his mind begins to wander. He remembers the time he saw her at a dance with a boy Holden thought was a show-off, but Jane argued that the boy had an inferiority complex. Holden decides that girl...
At the Wicker Bar, located in the posh Seton Hotel, Holden thinks about Luce. Luce is three years older than Holden and now a student at Columbia University. At the Whooton School, Luce used to tell the younger boys about sex. Holden says that he finds Luce amusing, even though he is effeminate and a phony. When Luce arrives, he treats Holden cooll...
After Luce leaves, Holden stays at the bar and gets very drunk. He stumbles to the phone booth and makes an incoherent late-night call to Sally Hayes, angering both her and her grandmother. He then tries to make a date with the lounge singer, an attractive woman named Valencia. When that fails, he tries, with no more success, to make a date with th...
Holden’s off-kilter ramblings in Chapter 18 about being killed by an atom bomb sound like the bravado of a frightened, threatened boy. We have seen Holden’s bravado throughout the novel—when he worries that he is a coward, when he screams at Maurice, when he imagines himself as a vengeful movie character seeking justice through extreme force. But b...
A comprehensive overview of the novel by J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye. Follow Holden Caulfield's adventures as he leaves his boarding school, travels to New York, and encounters various phonies and strangers.
LitCharts offers a comprehensive and concise guide to J. D. Salinger's classic novel The Catcher in the Rye. Find plot summary, analysis, themes, quotes, characters, symbols, and more.
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According to most analyses, The Catcher in the Rye is a bildungsroman, a novel about a young character’s growth into maturity. While it is appropriate to discuss the novel in such terms, Holden Caulfield is an unusual protagonist for a bildungsroman because his central goal is to resist the process of maturity itself.
