The Catcher In The Rye - J.D. Salinger

[VanessaB16]

Gin a body meet a body comin thro' the rye

The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger is a classic, fiction novel set in the 1950's and is narrated by a young man named Holden Caulfield. Holden recounts his events after his expulsion from Pencey Prep, a private school in Pennsylvania throughout the novel. Holden's biggest fan is his little sister, Phoebe, and supports him through all his life endeavours. Holden refrains from telling his sister to prevent tarnishing her view of him. He tries to come in contact with his friends from New York but has a difficult time contacting them. He eventually meets with a girl named Sally, but does not feel as though he connects well with her.

Holden hears a little boy reciting a children's song about a body catching a body coming through the rye. Holden imagines himself catching children while they play through the rye to prevent them from falling and getting hurt. During this novel, Holden embarks on a journey of self discovery and grows a great amount.

Holden Caulfield manages to alienate himself in order to feel protected and comfortable. He wears his red hunting hat to symbolize his uniqueness from the rest of the world because he believes that he is better than everybody else. He even tells his teacher, Mr. Spencer, that he feels trapped on "the other side" of life and tries very hard to fit into a world in which he doesn't belong.

Though this book was a little slow at times, I believe that the themes and symbols present throughout the book are very important and can teach people a lot about seeing through the phoniness of humanity.

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars! Beautifully delivered and extremely inspiring.

[gali]

Duplicated topic

The Catcher In The Rye