Summary Holden returns to Pencey where he lives in the Ossenburger Memorial Wing of the new dorms, reserved for juniors and seniors. Ossenburger is an alumnus who has made a fortune in the undertaking business. Pencey named a wing of the new dormitories after him in thanks for a large […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 3Summary and Analysis Chapter 2
Summary Spencer’s farewell turns into a lecture on discipline, and Holden’s mind drifts. He wonders about the ducks down at the lagoon near Central Park South in New York City. Where do they go when the lagoon freezes in the winter? Does someone take them to a zoo? Do they […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 2Summary and Analysis Chapter 1
Summary As the novel opens, the narrator, Holden Caulfield, speaks directly to the reader from a mental hospital or sanitarium in southern California. He says that he will tell us (the readers) of events occurring around Christmastime of the previous year. First, however, he mentions his older brother, D.B., a […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 1Character List
Holden The protagonist and narrator of the novel, he tells his story from a sanitarium in California. Phoebe Holden’s 10-year-old sister is his most trusted link to family. Allie Holden’s younger brother died on July 18, 1946, when he was 11 and Holden was 13. When he needs help, Holden […]
Read more Character ListAbout The Catcher in the Rye Reception and Reputation
In retrospect, it might be easy to assume that The Catcher in the Rye was an immediate smash hit, critically and commercially, when it was published by Little, Brown and Company on July 16, 1951. In fact, the reviews were mixed. Although the book sold well, it was not an […]
Read more About The Catcher in the Rye Reception and ReputationAbout The Catcher in the Rye Historical Setting
Introduction Holden Caulfield’s America was a nation of contrasts. World War II was over, and the boys had come home, but to what? Financially, life had improved significantly for the average worker since the Great Depression of the 1930s, but inflation presented new problems. The political scene generally moved toward […]
Read more About The Catcher in the Rye Historical SettingBook Summary
Holden Caulfield, the seventeen-year-old narrator and protagonist of the novel, addresses the reader directly from a mental hospital or sanitarium in southern California. He wants to tell us about events that took place over a two-day period the previous December. Typically, he first digresses to mention his older brother, D.B., […]
Read more Book SummaryThe Catcher in the Rye at a Glance
J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield recounts the days following his expulsion from Pencey Prep, a private school. After a fight with his roommate, Stradlater, Holden leaves school two days early to explore New York before returning home, interacting with teachers, prostitutes, nuns, an old girlfriend, and […]
Read more The Catcher in the Rye at a Glance