The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
GCSE English Literature
Study Guide
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The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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Narrative – Revision Questions
1. Where does the narrative begin and end?
2. Divide the narrative into four distinct sections – think about the moments when Holden
leaves places and arrives in others, as well as how particular characters mark distinctive
sections of the plot.
3. What is Holden watching at the beginning of the novel, and why do you think that
Salinger begins the narrative with this moment – think about what ideas or themes that
it foreshadows in the later narrative.
4. Why is Holden forced to return early to Pencey Prep and why does Holden recount this
event while watching the football game?
5. What significant item of clothing does Holden buy during his trip to New York and why
is it important that he purchased it during this particular trip. Given what else
happened in New York, what might it symbolize?
6. Who does Holden go to see to discuss his expulsion from Pencey Prep?
7. To whom does Holden introduce himself as ‘Rudolph Schmidt’ and what is the
importance of this deception?
8. Once in New York, what event demonstrates the complex nature of Holden’s
relationships with other people?
9. Holden checks into which hotel in New York?
10. When he has checked in what does he see from his window – what might be the
significance of what Holden sees?
11. Explain the events with Sunny and explain what they show us about Holden in relation
to the wider world of the narrative?
12. At breakfast, Holden is in conversation with whom and what does he discuss with them?
13. What surprises Holden about the nun?
14. What does this section that ends with Holden buying the tickets for his date signify in
Holden’s life?
15. Explain the narrative and significance of the events at the Natural History Museum.
16. When Holden goes to see Phoebe, how does she respond physically and what is the
significance of this?
17. Phoebe criticizes Holden for a variety of reasons: make a list of them and try to
determine why she criticizes him for these things specifically – i.e. what do they imply
about Holden and his vision of life that she might not understand or she finds
unpleasant?
18. While with Phoebe, Holden explains his fantasy of the ‘catcher in the rye’ – what is the
important of this moment in the narrative?
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The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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19. How does Phoebe’s generosity towards Holden at the end of this chapter suggest that
Holden is on the verge of a significant event within the context of the novel?
20. Explain the importance of the events with Mr Antolini – what happens, what do the
events symbolize and how do they serve an important function in the narrative?
21. As Holden prepares to leave New York, he is confronted with a series of visions of
everyday baseness – what are they and what significance do they have in terms of the
narrative as a whole?
22. Review the last two chapters of the novel – is Holden saved? Is he saveable? And if so,
how does Salinger save Holden?
23. Is it believable that a character like Holden might be redeemed at the end of the novel?
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The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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Characters
Holden is a complex character: that is, he is defined by a range of conflicting
characteristics which combine to make the whole of his personality.
1. Look at the list of descriptions below and complete spider charts for each one giving
textual references and chapter numbers to show which passages you might refer to in
order to prove the idea.
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Holden as ‘outsider’
Holden as ‘lonely’
Holden as ‘cynic’
Holden as ‘idealist’
Holden as ‘liar’
Holden as ‘intelligent’
Holden as ‘sensitive’
Holden as ‘hypocrite’
Holden as ‘phoney’
Holden as ‘adult’
Holden as ‘child’
Holden as ‘suicidal’
Holden as ‘optimist’
Holden as ‘nihilist’ – (one who rejects the value and meaning of life & people)
Holden as ‘fatalist’ – (one who sees life as predetermined and themselves powerless)
Holden as ‘redeemed’ – (saved from his own weakness)
2. Consider all of the interaction that Holden has with other characters – for each
character complete the table below:
Holden’s Interactions
Character’s
Name
Relationship to
Holden
Holden’s Attitude
to them
What does the
What does
character
this
symbolise/
interaction
represent in the
show us
narrative?
about Holden
in the wider
novel?
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The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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3. Some critics have suggested that Salinger uses the characters in the novel to ‘represent’
both positive and negative aspects of Holden’s world.

Group the characters according to whether they are representations of ‘positive’ or
‘negative’ aspects of Holden’s world, and then try to determine specifically what they
represent.
Use the table below to structure your ideas:
Characters as Representations of Holden’s World
Character’s Name
Positive
Negative
What do they
represent?
4. Now consider whether the characters that you have grouped can be as clearly defined as
wholly ‘positive’ or ‘negative’. Which ones are more complex and why is this – think
about Holden’s own complexity.
5. Think about the novel as a whole – how do Holden’s interactions throughout the novel
reflect on Holden as a character?
6. What does Holden learn from his interactions with other characters in the novel?
7. Think about the characters that we do not see in the novel –
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Who are they?
What do they have in common?
Why does Salinger choose not to give them a voice in the novel?
What function do these characters serve as opposed to the ones who appear in the
novel?
8. Which characters have the most significant influence over Holden’s perception of the
world?
9. Is Holden’s eventual salvation a consequence of himself or his interactions with other
characters?
Give textual evidence to support your answer.
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The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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Setting
The settings in the novel play a crucial role because they increasingly help to define
Holden’s descent into ill-health but also because they provide a mirror for his
emotions.
1. Complete the table below to show the location, events and their importance in each
chapter.
Setting in The Catcher in the Rye
Chapter Number
Location
Events
Importance
2. Using the locations listed below, complete the table to explain its significance in the
novel:
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Pencey Prep.
New York City
The Seton Hotel
Central Park
The Museum of Natural History
The Caulfield Household
Significance of Key Settings
Location
Chapter
Number(s)
Which events
take place
here?
What does
the setting
signify and
symbolise?
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Textual Evidence
The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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5. Salinger rarely, if ever, gives any clue as to when he is setting the novel in terms of its
date. However, certain contextual factors suggest that the novel is set in the 1950s.
What do you think Salinger does not give a specific date for the novel’s setting?
6. Salinger refers to some of the most famous landmarks in New York City at different
parts of the narrative – why do you think he does so and what is the effect?
7. Paul Goldberger, an architecture critic for The New York Times, once said of New York
City that it is:
The city of right angles and tough, damaged people.

With this quotation in mind, explain why New York City is an effective setting for the
later stages of the novel – think about what the words in the question suggest, and how
this might relate to the novel, its characters and themes.
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The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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Themes
The key themes in The Catcher in the Rye are all linked to Holden’s experience of the world
he inhabits within the novel. There are four key themes that you need to understand,
however, towards the end of this section, some more complex themes are explored and to
give yourself the opportunity to achieve the higher grades, you will want to make sure that
you think about them and how they relate to other ideas in the novel.
The four key themes are:
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Relationships
The Individual and Society
The effects of the environment
Childhood vs. Adulthood
1. Relationships
One of the central causes of Holden’s breakdown at the end of the novel is his feeling of
social isolation and dislocation, Holden repeatedly tells us that he feels lonely. Holden tries
to counteract his loneliness by befriending other people; however he is constantly
confronted by his own awkwardness when such moments arise. Eventually, Holden is
caught in a paradoxical cycle of wanting to be known while always finding safety from
rejection in his own solitude.

Look at the headings below – these are all elements of the narrative that present the
theme of relationships:
Pencey Prep.
Adults and Parents
Meaningful Conversation
Relationships in the past

Use the headings above and create a list of quotations that explore the theme of
relationships in the novel.
For each subsection, you should use the table below to help you structure your ideas:
Pencey Prep. & the theme of relationships
Quotation
Chapter Number
How this quotation presents the theme of
relationships
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2. The Individual and Society
America in the 1950s was the first modern ‘consumer society’ in which some sections of the
population had considerable wealth and opportunity. One of the key elements of Salinger’s
narrative is concerned with how Holden rejects the society that he sees around him. Some
of Holden’s most cynical and nihilistic ideas are witnessed when he is commenting on the
society to which he belongs. Holden attacks 1950s American society with charges of
superficiality and an unhealthy obsession with financial reward and material possessions.

Look at the headings below – these are all ideas in the narrative that present the theme
of the ‘individual and society’:
Materialism (an obsession with possessions)
The values of school
New York people
Pressure to conform

Use the headings above and create a list of quotations that explore the theme of
relationships in the novel.
For each sub-section you could use the table below to help you structure your ideas:
Materialism & the theme of the Individual and Society
Quotation
Chapter Number
How this quotation presents the theme of
individual/society
3. The Effects of the Environment
Holden experiences three distinct environments throughout the novel: Pencey Prep., New
York City and his family home. Each one has a direct impact on Holden and he tries to
escape from each one at different points. This is another of Holden’s many paradoxes, he
constantly claustrophobic – places where he one desired to be, soon become suffocating, and
he leaves them before he can become consumed by them.

Take the three locations listed below and briefly remind yourself of the key moments in
each location:
Pencey Prep.
New York City
The Caulfield Family Home

For each section complete a spider chart like the one below, and label it with quotations
that show how that particular environment affects Holden’s inner emotions:
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The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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Pencey Prep.
4. Innocence and Childhood
The principle project of Salinger’s novel is to explore the transition between adolescence
and adulthood. Salinger subverts the conventions of the ‘bildungsroman’ genre because
there is no definite affirmation of Holden’s maturity by the end of the novel. Instead, we are
left to interpret the final ending as we choose. However, it is clear that at the end of the
novel, Holden as, at least, regained his faith in childhood innocence, which might be taken to
imply a salvation of sorts.

Look at the headings below:
The transition between adolescence and adulthood.
Allie, Phoebe and Jane
Holden’s childlike qualities.

Using the headings above find quotations from the text that explore the theme of
‘Innocence and Childhood’
You should use a table like the one below to structure your ideas:
The transition between adolescence and adulthood
Quotation
Chapter Number
How this quotation presents the theme of
childhood and innocence
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The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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Additional Themes
You should think about the themes outlined below because they are more complex than the
four key themes discussed above. You should consider each theme and for each one find
some textual quotations which trace their development across the novel.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Alienation Vs. Self-Preservation
The superficiality of the adult world
Religion
Sex
Self-abnegation
Redemption
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The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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Motifs
The novel’s motifs are slightly different from its themes – motifs are used by a writer
in order to develop the broader themes that they are writing about.
1. Look at the list of motifs that are used by Salinger to develop his exploration of the
novel’s themes.
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Loneliness
Relationships, Intimacy and Sexuality
Lying and Deception
Faith & Faithlessness
Hope & Despair
Disappearance Vs. Visibility
Suicide
Re-birth
2. For each of the motifs complete a diagram like the one below – using each motif as a
heading, show which theme the motif is linked to and find a range of textual quotations
that explore each one.
For example:
Loneliness
Linked to the theme of RELATIONSHIPS
Quotation
Quotation
Quotation
3. Try to find some motifs of your own and complete a chart for each one like you have
above.
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The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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Symbols
The novel’s symbols are objects, characters, figures or colours that Salinger uses to
represent abstract ideas or concepts.
1. Look at the list of symbols that Salinger uses in The Catcher in the Rye.
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The ‘Catcher in the Rye’
Holden’s Red Hunting Hat
The Museum of Natural History
The Ducks in the Central Park Lagoon
The Carrousel
Holden’s Smoking
The Graffiti (‘fuck off)
The rain at the end of Chapter 25.
2. Complete a chart like the one below for each symbol.
Symbol:
Represents the idea of:
Quotation
Quotation
Quotation
3. Salinger’s novel uses symbolism heavily, however, in most other regards he chooses not
to employ many of the literary devices many novelists employ.
Explain, with close reference to the text, the importance of symbolism in The Catcher in
the Rye.
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TRACKING THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE NOVEL
DAY
CHAPTER
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EVENTS
The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
15
TRACKING PLOT, CHARACTERS & SETTINGS
CHAPTER
KEY EVENTS
CHARACTERS
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SETTINGS
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TRACKING THEMES, SYMBOLS AND MOTIFS
CHAPTER
THEME
SYMBOL
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MOTIFS
The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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TRACKING KEY QUOTATIONS
CHAPTER
CONTEXT
QUOTATION
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IMPORTANCE
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TRACKING LANGUAGE FEATURES
CHAPTER
FEATURE OF LANGUAGE
QUOTATION
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EFFECT
The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
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NOTES & KEY THINGS TO REMEMBER
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