GRADE 11 ENGLISH STUDY GUIDE
The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
Author J. D. Salinger was born in New York City in 1919 and now lives in seclusion in Cornish, New Hampshire.
Structure: The novel is a frame story, with Holden as the narrator. He speaks to us with his own voice and in
his own language, the dialect of the typical teenager. He is so personal that his story becomes a conversation
with the reader.
Setting: The design of the frame is determined by the setting: Holden is in some sort of institution for the
emotionally ill; the institution is in California, not far from Hollywood, and Holden is talking to his analyst or
therapist. The first paragraph is a very brief prologue. He actually begins his story, skipping “all that David
Copperfield kind of crap,” with paragraph 2, page 2. The story itself takes place over a few days in the late
1940s. It concludes at the amusement park with an upbeat episode involving his little sister, Phoebe. Chapter
26, the final brief chapter, is really an epilogue addressed to the analyst.
Archetypal Journey: The story itself is a quest, probably the most universal archetypal structure. However,
the quest in this novel may be stated in a variety of ways. Obviously, it can be read as a fall from innocence into
the darkness of hell, followed by the struggle back up to light and redemption. It can also be read as a rite of
passage—psychological, emotional, and physical maturation—from innocence to knowledge and awareness and
acceptance into the adult world—initiation.
Language and Interpretation: The Catcher in the Rye presents a dramatic illustration of a common
phenomenon, the act of misreading a work by failing to recognize its achievement. This novel has received more
abuse than any other work of the past four decades. It is important for the student to know why, but it is more
important for the serious student to know Holden, because he is the opposite of what his critics assume him to
be. First, he is not a rebel. There is no more straight-laced, conservative sixteen-year-old in all literature. His
values are strictly middle-class American, and he wants very much to maintain the status quo. “Certain things
should stay the way they are,” he says, and he envies the implied permanence of the exhibits at the Museum of
Natural History. He does not want to destroy or even change the world; he merely wants to purge it of its evils,
represented by the vulgarities; and he is distraught when he discovers that the vulgarities are so pervasive that it
is impossible to expunge them. So he decides to dedicate himself (a religious vocation perhaps) to saving all the
little children in the world—to catch them before they fall over the “crazy cliff” into the abyss—an absurd notion,
he discovers in the conclusion, but a discovery he must make for himself. When he acquiesces to the evil Maurice
and agrees to the prostitute, he does not want sex; he wants love and understanding; he wants to talk, to
communicate. His refusal is a distinctly moral act. Holden is an innocent, a virgin. Language does not destroy
innocence; carnal knowledge does, the primal sin for which Dante reserved the upper levels in hell.
Holden’s language, however, is the primary reason his critics attack him. Paradoxically, though, his language is a
futile attempt to preserve purity and innocence. If he can just erase all the ugly language, he can “catch” the
innocent and save them from falling over the cliff. Their purity intact, they will not have to endure his suffering;
he will suffer for them.
Another paradox worth noting: the novel has of ten been removed from the shelves in libraries, but this simplistic
act does not expunge the language any more than Holden himself did. The reason? Because every reference
work for the past forty years treats this novel and quotes Holden's language. Do we also expunge all these
reference works? As Holden found out, it is a “crazy cliff.”
GRADE 11 ENGLISH STUDY GUIDE: The Catcher in the Rye
The Hero: Finally, Holden is a new kind of hero. He is a 100% American who represents the continuing tradition
we have come to expect—the continuity that preserves our national character and psyche. But there is a
difference, a vital one. The world has changed, not Holden. Holden is doomed to contend with sinister forces
filled with ambiguities that defy easy answers in a world regarded by many as senseless and absurd, a
fragmented, distorted world. And the literature that must deal with this absurd world is often itself absurd in
many respects. This literature can be either optimistic or pessimistic, depending on whether the character or the
environment triumphs, whether the character is motivated by humanistic or nihilistic impulses, and, finally,
whether he can find sufficient spiritual strength to enable him to resist and overcome despair. The hero who
maintains a moral stance in a world perceived to be immoral, or even amoral, is an absurd hero. Holden, like
Don Quixote, is that absurd hero—standing on the brink of a cliff, crying in a wilderness, a voice that demands to
be heard.
Salinger struggles with this absurd world, obviously perplexed. He may be swallowed by the wilderness of this
modern wasteland, but he suggests paths through the maze. Perhaps Salinger recognizes the supremacy of
the human spirit, able to explore despondency without surrendering to it. Redeemed by moral awareness, the
absurd hero achieves fulfillment by seeking the truth.
Themes and Motifs
1.
night journey into the nether world
2.
the quest: search for meaning—self, love,
lost Eden
3.
rites of passage, loss of innocence, coming
of age
4.
spiritual death and rebirth
5.
suffering and redemption
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
the individual versus society
the ideal versus the real
good versus evil
man’s inhumanity to man
virtue versus depravity
hypocrisy
loneliness and isolation
Imagery and Symbolism
1.
the ducks
2.
Allie’s baseball mitt
3.
tombstone
4.
Christmas season
5.
carousel
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
gold ring
hunting cap
luggage
Hollywood
Ivy League
Questions and concepts to think about after you read:
1.
To understand Holden’s character and problems, we need to consider his family. What is his
mother like, and how does she exacerbate his problems? What is his father like, and what sort of
role model does he present to Holden?
2.
What is the symbolic value of the season? How does the exact season exacerbate Holden's
problems?
3.
Holden is quick to criticize the shortcomings of others. What are his own shortcomings? What
ironies are involved?
4.
Holden is obviously in need of companionship. Whose companionship does he seek? What are
the results of his efforts? What does each prospective companion reveal about his character and
his problems?
5.
What is the function of his dead brother Allie? Examine the many references to Allie and the mitt.
6.
Holden is passing through the maturation process. What is his current physical condition, and
how might it affect him? What is his current emotional \psychological condition, and how did it
get that way? What is his current intellectual growth like, and what does it reveal about him?
7.
What are some of the probable reasons for his continued problems and failures at school, the
origins and implications?
8.
9.
10.
11.
Holden constantly denigrates himself: “I’m a liar,” “I’m illiterate,” “ I’m a coward, I’m crazy.”
Why does he do this, and what is the effect?
How does Holden perceive the adult world? How does his perception exacerbate his problem?
How does the perception change?
Why does Holden fantasize so often? What is the nature of his fantasies, and what do they reveal
about him and his state of mind?
The final episode involves Phoebe, who is the key to the resolution of Holden’s problems and the
structural denouement. What has just happened to Holden when he sees her for the last time?
How has he changed, and how is his change presented? How does Phoebe illustrate the change,
and what is the function of the carousel?