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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)