• Title: The Catcher in the Rye
• Author: Jerome David Salinger
• Type of Book: Humor, Non-fiction
II. Characters
Main Character: Holden Caulfield
• Holden, the main character, is a sixteen-year-old junior that has just been expelled from his school, Pencey Prep. He acts as a critic of the society, stating the ugliness of the world that surrounds him. An immature guy who knows nothing about choosing the right decisions, his life is filled with misery as he is uncomfortable with his own weaknesses. Despite that, he loves his younger sister, Phoebe. In the end part of the story, we see a complete twist in relation to Holden’s life.
• I can relate to the character in a way that, at some points also in my life, I am driven by my weaknesses and therefore I can’t fully appreciate the beauty of the world that I’m living in. Like Holden, I also tend to be immature especially in dealing with my correct actions. And in the end, I see myself being optimistic with what the future will bring because I have encountered God (whom I can equate to Phoebe Caulfield in Holden’s case) who accepts me for who I really am.
Supporting Characters:
• Robert Ackley is Holden’s neighbour in his dorm. He is an insecure boy having dental problems and bad hygiene. He is this guy Holden doesn’t like but turns out to be the companion left for him in the dorm.
• Phoebe Caulfield is Holden’s 10-year-old sister who is loved dearly by Holden. At times when Holden was in crises and filled with worries, he was longing for his sister’s grins and listening. She corrects Holden and although she’s still ten, she is mature enough to know Holden’s moods and thoughts.
• Jane Gallagher is Holden’s almost girlfriend. Holden has known this girl since he was young and had celebrated Friday Nights with her. But when Jane got out with Stradlater, Holden became more worried knowing how phony Stradlater is, or at least how phony Holden thinks Stradlater is.
• Sally Hayes is attractive but shallow. Holden is bothered in thinking that the world is full of Sally Hayes when in fact she is a social climber and thinks that she is a hot stuff (according to Holden). But anyway, Holden has a picture of Sally in his room.
III. Setting
The story happened in 1950s and Holden Caulfield, the main character himself, was the narrator of the story. Although he didn’t mention where the story took place, we can say that the story started when he was still in Pencey Prep, his school. However, majority of the story happened in the various parts of New York City. Aside from knowing more about the protagonist’s character through his hometown, I was also exposed to the different parts of the city and felt like I have been there because I was given a slight preview of how life goes in their city.
• Holden Caulfield was again expelled in his school, Pencey Prep, the third school he flunked, after failing four out of five classes.
• He was to return home to Manhattan by next Wednesday but he goes to Manhattan anyway so that he is three days early before his actual date of going home, stays in a hotel and not inform his parents that is home.
• Holden spends the next three days wandering in the New York City- going to cheap bars and night clubs.
• After being with other people Holden used to be friends with, he found that he had no one else left to relate to but his sister.
• Holden sneaks to his parents’ apartment and tells his sister about his dream to be the “catcher in the rye” and that he wants to go away.
• He met with his former teacher Mr. Antolini and had a good conversation with him.
• He met with his sister who has decided to run away with him and not go to school again.
• Seeing himself in his sister, he decided to go back to his parents.
• In the later part, Holden was sent to the mental hospital for treatment.
V. Theme
• The novel emphasized on self-discovery. Since Holden is trapped in his own weaknesses, he tends to be insecure and unappreciative on the things that he already has, we see that there is a need to discover his own self for him to understand the main reason of his existence. Another, he can only uncover himself through human relationships, which, Holden is weak at.
• The story revealed to me the significance of socialization. As what we have tackled in our Sociology Class, a being that is secluded will be isolated also from development because in building relationships with others we learn to adjust, blend in and learn as well.
State a problem in the story and how it was solved
One of the problems stated in the story was Holden’s dissatisfaction, thus, unhappiness. Since he never felt good about his weaknesses and he lacked to know himself, he was never really happy. This problem was solved with the help of his sister, Phoebe. We can read in the end parts of the story that Holden’s change in perspective (from pessimism to optimism) began when he took his sister to a ride in the carousel after knowing that Phoebe has forgiven him. When Phoebe was spinning in the carousel, he saw how beautiful she is and even cried. He missed everybody.
Reading the book meant like seeing the world in a different view because in the first place, this type of book is not my cup of tea. But it gave me the idea to look beyond the bad words used in the story (which I’m not that exposed to), and instead look at a guy with different personality and see how his life goes. This is a challenging book to read because I believe sometime in our lives, we also have the kind of thoughts Holden Caulfield had, only, we didn’t convey them to the public. I also like it when Holden said “Life is being in a game and all, and how you should play it according to the rules,” because indeed, life is but a game and we just have to be wise enough to play it right by abiding in the rules. We have to grow up and become mature because the calendar tells us we won’t be forever sixteen.
