The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D.Sallinger published in 1951. The story follows Holden Caulfield’s experiences in New York after leaving Pencey Prep, a boarding school he has just been expelled from. The novel explores complex issues such as isolation, alienation, innocence, loss and identity.
Holden tells his story from a rest home, where he spends his days after getting tuberculosis. A psychoanalyst encourages him to write about the events which led him to getting tuberculosis, and so “The Catcher in the Rye” is born. Holden spends three days just before Christmas roaming around in New York city, drinking and smoking a lot, and with no winter coat. Combined with his intense emotional distress, this is what caused him to get sick.
At the start of the novel, Holden has just been expelled from Pencey Prep, and is watching a football game from a hill top. Everyone at his school is attending the football game, and Holden is contemplating going down to say goodbye to his classmates. However, he decides against it. This …show more content…
After his brother Allie died, he does not want to grow up himself or watch other children grow up. Especially his little sister Phoebe, which he does his best to protect (Green & Muller, 2013).
Holden is very interested in sexuality and he even acknowledges his sexual desire. However, he knows that the adult world of sex is very scary and might even be abusing. At the end of the novel, after a possible sexual advance from his trusted old English teacher Mr. Antolini, he says that “That kind of stuff’s happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid.”
This gives the reader significant insight in his previous life and also why he resists adulthood. The only adult who actually pays attention to him in the entire novel has ulterior motive. He wants to stop time to protect both himself and the people he cares about from that world (Green & Muller,
Holden tells his story from a rest home, where he spends his days after getting tuberculosis. A psychoanalyst encourages him to write about the events which led him to getting tuberculosis, and so “The Catcher in the Rye” is born. Holden spends three days just before Christmas roaming around in New York city, drinking and smoking a lot, and with no winter coat. Combined with his intense emotional distress, this is what caused him to get sick.
At the start of the novel, Holden has just been expelled from Pencey Prep, and is watching a football game from a hill top. Everyone at his school is attending the football game, and Holden is contemplating going down to say goodbye to his classmates. However, he decides against it. This …show more content…
After his brother Allie died, he does not want to grow up himself or watch other children grow up. Especially his little sister Phoebe, which he does his best to protect (Green & Muller, 2013).
Holden is very interested in sexuality and he even acknowledges his sexual desire. However, he knows that the adult world of sex is very scary and might even be abusing. At the end of the novel, after a possible sexual advance from his trusted old English teacher Mr. Antolini, he says that “That kind of stuff’s happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid.”
This gives the reader significant insight in his previous life and also why he resists adulthood. The only adult who actually pays attention to him in the entire novel has ulterior motive. He wants to stop time to protect both himself and the people he cares about from that world (Green & Muller,