The+Catcher+in+the+Rye

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Plot Events:
 * Holden decides to leave Pencey prep school before classes end. He becomes fed up with the school after he becomes annoyed at the people there. His history teacher, Spenser, tells Holden that he should try harder, which Holden takes as "reprimanding" even though the advice is in Holden's best interest. Back in his dorm, Holden is annoyed by and disgusted with Ackley. He then gets in a fight with his roommate, Stradlater.
 * Holden takes a train to New York and takes a cab to a hotel. In the cab he asks the driver where the ducks go when the lake freezes over *see symbols.
 * Holden calls a maybe-hooker, but nothing comes of it.
 * Holden goes to the hotel bar and flirts with the women there; he then goes to another bar (Ernie's jazz club/piano bar) and watches people.
 * Holden has a stripper sent to his hotel room, but only wants to talk. After she leaves, her pimp comes to his room demanding more money. The pimp beats Holden up and takes his money.
 * Holden goes to the Museum of Natural History, but doesn't go in. Instead he goes to meet Sally Hayes. They see a play then go skating. Holden insullts Sally and then laughs at her, so she leaves.
 * Holden meets an old friend, Carl Luce, at a bar notice the pattern of drinking alcohol. Luce leaves when Holden starts acting immature.
 * Holden sneaks into his own house because he wants to see his sister, Phoebe. He wakes her up, and they talk. Holden tells Phoebe about his vision of himself being the catcher in the rye "see symbols. When he leaves, he gives her his red hunting hat.
 * Holden goes to Mr. Antolini's house. Mr. Antolini gives Holden a place to sleep, but Holden leaves when he wakes up to his former teacher stroking his head.
 * Holden leaves a note at Phoebe's school telling her that he is running away. At the school, Holden tries to scrub away the "F--- you"s written on the walls and steps. Phoebe meets Holden at the museum for lunch before Holden leaves, and she tells him that she will go with him. When Holden says no, Phoebe becomes upset. Phoebe follows Holden to the zoo, where Holden watches Phoebe ride the carousel see symbols. Phoebe then gives Holden back his red hunting hat.
 * Holden's story ends here, but Holden the narrator says that is in a mental institution because of his breakdown.

**Characters** : The novel is set in the 1940s. Holden's journey begins at his school in Pennsylvania, continues in New York City, and concludes at a mental hospital. The course of the novel is set over a time period of four days, but we see him in the mental hospital a year later.
 * Holden Caulfield - the narrator and protagonist of the novel. He is a 16 year old teenager struggling with his coming of age from childhood to adulthood. Holden doesn't really fit in with other people his age - he fails out of schools and doesn't seem to have any real friends. He notices a lot around him when he people-watches, but spends more time examining others than himself. He calls other people phonies, but he himself is also a phony, often telling lies. It is important to note that Holden is narrating his own story from a mental hospital after the events have occured.
 * Phoebe Caulfield - Holden's younger sister. Holden loves his younger sister whereas he becomes fed up with a lot of other people in the novel. Phoebe offers Holden advice and often knows what is better for him (like not running away or letting go of Allie), appearing much wiser than her age would permit. Holden says that Phoebe is a great dancer and she writes stories in her notebook.
 * Allie Caulfield - Holden's younger brother who died of leukemia. Allie is described as having red hair and being very smart. Holden cherishes Allie's old baseball glvoe with poems written all over it. Allie's death greatly impacted Holden on an emotional level, and Holden never fully recovers.
 * D.B. Caulfield - Holden's older brother. He writes for Hollywood.
 * Ackley - at Holden's school, has pimples and bad hygiene.
 * Stradlater - at Holden's school, Holden's roommate, gets in a fight with Holden.
 * Jane Gallagher- represents Holden's good memories. Holden never sees her during the course of the novel, but often thinks of her when he is alone.
 * Sally Hayes - who Holden meets up with in New York. They used to date and upon reuniting, Holden sees Sally as a phony.
 * Mr. Antolini - one of Holden's old teachers. Holden goes to his house to talk to him. Mr. Antolini creeps Holden out by petting Holden's head in the middle of the night. Essentially, Holden finally found someone whom he could talk to and feel companionship rather than isolation, but when Mr. Antolini pets Holden, Holden is left alone again.
 * Setting (time and place** ):

**Symbols** : Images **:​
 * red hunting hat - Holden's red hunting hat is a symbol of his nonconformity. The hunting hat looks ridiculous, but gives Holden the satisfaction of being different. Holden wears the "people shooting" when he is alone, and the hat Holden then acts as a security blanket - the hat gives him comfort while everything else in the adult world does not. The color of the hat also mimicks the color of Allie's red hair, so the hat allows him to cling onto the good memories before Allie died, before Holden became so alone and depressed, and before he was caught in this limbo of growing up.
 * catcher in the rye - The title of the novel comes from Holden's recollection of the song "Comin' Through the Rye" (although incorrectly, as the actual words are "if a body //meet// a body coming through the rye" and not Holden's "if a body //catch// a body coming through the rye"). Holden imagines many children playing in a field of rye, and envisions himself as the "catcher" who literally catches the children so that they do not fall off the nearby cliff. This scene of Holden protecting children from falling off the cliff symbolizes Holden's inherent desire to protect innocence. Falling off the cliff is the fall into adulthood (an adulthood marred with phonies and the "F--- you"'s that Holden tries to scrub away).
 * carousel in Central Park - symbolizes Holden growing up. When Holden doesn't join Phoebe on the carousel, he accepts his change into adulthood. He cannot prevent the loss of innocence.
 * the ducks - Holden asks the taxi driver where the ducks go when the pond freezes over. While at first it seems like a silly question, it is really about where Holden will go when the pond freezes over/he is forced to grow up and move on. The ducks have to go somewhere, and so does Holden, but this change into adulthood is scary to him. There is reassurance in the fact that the ducks leave but return when the ice melts. In the end, the ducks are fine once they have essentially crossed over to adulthood.
 * Allie's left-handed baseball mitt: Allie wrote poems in green ink on his baseball mitt so he could read them during downtime in the outfield. Holden writes a descriptive essay on the mitt for a homework assignment, but rips it up after Stradlater does not understand its meaning. The mitt represents Holden's love for his brother and Allie's individuality and uniqueness.
 * The color red: often associated with urgency, this color is displayed throughout the novel and represents the vexation that Holden feels with the world. Urgency also suggests a desire for action which interestingly enough contrasts Holden's apathetic attitude. The color then represents an ideal of motivation for the disgruntled youth. The color is synonymous with holden because it stands out (as it awkwardly complements his hat). This shows Holden's break from society, but also shows an intense connection with others in his life such as his sister and his deceased brother who had red hair. Red also symbolizes passion and love. Although Holden uses frequent profanity, in actuality, he feels strongly for those around him as evidenced by his courtesy toward the prostitute, love for his sister, and even the desire to silently be the "catcher" who helps others.

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Themes

 * Alienation as form of Self Protection: In the novel the reader sees Holden as being victimized and excluded from society. However as the book continues, the audience finds that Holden alienates himself as a possible form of self-protection. Holden uses his alienation as proof that he is actually better than everyone else. Unfortunately, Holden actually needs love and support in his life but human interactions often overwhelm him because of his wall of bitterness towards others.
 * Phoniness of Adult World: Describes the superficiality, pretension, hypocrisy, and shallowness that he experiences in the world which eventually leads to his cynical view of the world around him. Holden's claims are not all dramatic however, most of his claims are correct as Holden is a highly intelligent narrator. Characters such as Sally Hayes, Maurice and Sunny, and Carl Luce really are superficial and hypocritical, however, Holden fails to recognize his own phoniness. Holden admits to being a compulsive liar and unusually cruel towards others. Holden cannot live up to the standards he creates for others, proving his phoniness.
 * Misinterpretation by society: Holden seems to not fit into school so his decision to leave is immediately rendered a failure by others. His flippant remarks about the world externally show a pessimistic view. However, Holden has many moments of tenderness that occur in a private manner. He respects women as merely talks to a prostitute he has ordered. He longs for a role in society where he would not be acclaimed. By being a protector of innocence for the world, he would save children being the "catcher in the rye". When he scrubs away the explicit profanity he sees at an eariler school, he is once again fulfilling this obligation. His goals of obscurity challenge the American ideal of fame and fortune, therefore he is shunned by society.

Structural Elements **: The novel is told in Holden's point of view as a first person narrative. It opens with Holden telling the reader that he will explain the "madman" stuff that happened to him a year ago, which indicates that the events are taking place in the past. The novel then traces Holden's journey through New York. The chapters could be seen as being disconnected - while they follow a sequence of events, the events appear unrelated. In one chapter Holden has a brawl with a prostitute's pimp, and in the next he is conversing with nuns over breakfast. Each step along his journey is essentially a story in itself. In the final chapter the narration returns to the time of the Holden telling the story, and he explains that he is in a mental hopsital. Finally Holden (the Holden telling the story) finds the help that he was reaching out for and unable to achieve when he was the Holden in the story. Not only in the fact that he is getting mental help but that he was able to reach out to the reader and finally talk to someone who will listen. The Holden telling the story then gives the hope that the Holden within the story was unable to find.