the catcher in the rye test

who is the author of the catcher in the rye?

j.d salinger

when was the catcher in the rye published?

- 1951
- publishing caused controversy and debate

j.d salinger's war trauma

- drafted into us army in 1942
- first combat was d-day
- checked himself into a mental hospital due to post-traumatic stress syndrome

genre of the catcher in the rye

bildungsroman (coming of age story)

point of view of the catcher in the rye

first person

narrative style of catcher in the rye

colloquial stream of conciousness

structure of the catcher in the rye

flashback

setting of the catcher in the rye

- 1950s
- new york city
- takes place over a week

central themes of the catcher in the rye

- importance of family
- loss of innocence
- need for self love and the love of others
- learning the ways of the world

tone of the catcher in the rye

- critical
- melancholy
- rebellious
- informal

stream of concoiusness

- AKA interior monologue
- organized thoughts
- attempt to imitate the way our minds flow (can be unconnected, disorganized, biased)

standard narration

polite, collected thoughts

how did j.d salinger feel about his picture being taken?

- did not approve
- hid from cameras

characterization

the act of building a character by use of specific, intentional detail

direct characterization

what the narrator tells you directly about a character

indirect characterization

what the reader learned through character's responses and actions

voice

characteristic style of:
- speaking
- word choice
- repeated phrases
- repeated sentence structure
- tone/style
- pitch/pace

syntax choice in the catcher in the rye

short, fragmented sentence

conversational habits in the catcher in the rye

- exaggeration
- digression
- tangents

vernacular in the catcher in the rye

1950's slang

favorite words in the catcher in the rye

- "phony"
- "(god)damn"
- "old"
- "anyway"

repeated phrases in the catcher in the rye

- "if you really want to know the truth"
- "it kills me"
- "i'm not kidding"

the catcher in the rye influences: holden

character of rebellion and distrust

the catcher in the rye influences: novels of teen angst and rebellion

- perks of being a wallflower
- me and earl and the dying girl
- 60 years later: coming through the rye

the catcher in the rye influences: music and writing

- the who "baba o' riley"
- "sally take my hand"

the catcher in the rye influences: shootings

- mark david chapman shooting john lennon
- john hinckley jr. shooting president reagan

protagonist

main character, can be good or bad

anti-hero

- character who is at odds with "heroic" character

everyman

character whose experiences are "universal" to some degree

bildungsroman (coming of age) novel

- growing up or coming of age of a person who looks for answers and experiences
- usually in the beginning of the story, there is an emotional loss that leads to a journey
- goal = maturity, which is achieved with difficulty
- often has a main conflict = man vs. society

holden

- protagonist
- anti-hero
- has grey hair and looks somewhat old, so he can sometimes pass as an adult
- personality: depressed, unreliable, in denial

horwitz

- 2nd cab driver
- amateur zoologist
- talks about ducks and fish with holden
- personality: grouchy

robert ackley

- AKA "ackley kid," a nickname he does not like
- holden's roomate at pencey prep
- no hygiene, "public slob"
- personality: irritating

phoebe

- holden's younger sister and his only source of happiness
- personality: smart, emotional

mr. antolini

- holden's favorite teacher at elkton hills
- calls holden handsome, pets holden's head
- gives holden good advice
- one of the only people holden does not think is "phony"

stradlater

- holden's roommate at pencey prep
- clean looking but actually gross, "secret slob"
- conflict created between him and holden because stradlater goes out with jane gallagher

richard kinsella

- holden's classmate in oral expression class
- always "digressed" from the main topic, but holden liked that he did that

digressed

to move away from the main point of a topic

sally hayes

- holden used to date
- holden calls her when drunk and he regrets it
- goes ice skating with holden
- holden yells at her, she cries
- personality: social, shallow, sensitive

rudolf schmidt

- janitor at ossenburger hall
- the person holden pretends to be when talking to mrs. morrow on the subway

d.b.

- holden's older brother
- lives in hollywood as a movie script writer

carl luce

- holden's friend that loves to talk about sex at the whooton school
- holden suspects him to be gay
- tells holden that he should see a physcoanalyst

james castle

- boy at elkton hills that killed himself due to torment
- wore holden's turtleneck sweater

maurice

- told holden about sunny
- harasses and beats up holden for paying $5 instead of $10

jane gallagher

- holden's friend that he may have had feelings for
- neighbors with holden in maine
- has a drunk step dad that made her cry, holden comforts her by kissing her everywhere on her face other than her lips
- holden tried to call her many times but never actually did

allie

- holden's younger brother
- died from leukemia
- wrote poems in a baseball mitt that holden kept
- his death caused a bad mental state for holden

mr. spencer

- holden's history teacher at pencey
- old and sick
- gives advice to holden about his future

ed banky

- basketball coach
- gives stradlater his car for his date with jane

sunny

- prostitute hired by maurice
- holden's age
- wears a green dress to go see holden

jim steele

- the person holden pretends to be that he tells sunny and the 3 girls in the lavender room about

mrs. morrow

- ernest morrow's mom
- meets holden on the train
- holden lies to her because he tells her that he has a brain tumor and also tells her that her son is super modest and kind

the nuns

- teachers from chicago who collect money
- talks with holden about romeo and juliet
- holden gives the nuns money

mrs. caulfield

- holden's mom
- checks in on phoebe when holden visits, but she does not know that he is home

location: lavender room

- a nightclub downstairs in the edmont hotel
- where holden meets 3 older women (marty, laverne, and bernice)
- holden tries to order alchol but is not allowed since he is underaged

location: grand central station

- holden leaves his bags in a lockbox here before meeting sally
- holden meets two nuns at the sandwich bar here
- holden comes here after running away from mr. antolini's house and he sleeps on a bench

location: ernie's

- greenwich village nightclub
- holden used to come here with d.b.
- ernie plays piano here
- holden talks about fish, ducks, and winter with the driver
- meets d.b.'s ex lillian simmons here

location: edmont hotel

- first hotel that holden stays at when in nyc after getting kicked out of pencey
- holden thinks this hotel is weird because he sees a man crossdressing and a man and woman spitting water in each other's faces

location: elkton hills

- a former school that holden went to before pencey prep
- where james castle kills himself
- mr. antolini teaches here

location: saxon hall

- rival school of pencey prep
- football match at the beginning of the book at pencey prep is against this school

location: wicker bar

- a posh bar located in the fancy seton hotel
- where holden meets carl luce
- french cocktail singer performs
- holden drinks scotch and soda

location: radio city

- hosts a christmas show (the rockettes)
- where holden realizes that actors are "phony"
- sally and holden go skating here

location: pencey prep

- school that holden gets kicked out from in the beginning of the book due to bad grades
- mr. spencer works here

location: central park

- holden's fixation of ducks arises here
- holden thinks about things never changing here (all while he's in a taxi that passes central park)