PRIMARY SOURCE TITLE OF NOVEL: The Catcher in the Rye (I used a pdf of the novel and need to get a real copy of the book to redo my page numbers) CITATION Salinger, J. D. , E. Michael Mitchell, and Lotte Jacobi. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1951. Print.
NOTES (DIVIDE BY SUBTOPICS; INCLUDE PAGE NUMBERS) Interactions with roommates His relentless emotional connection to Jane Gallahger when he realizes Stradlater (17-19) Possessive over Jane Indirectly becoming infuriated by the thought of Stradlater with Jane and childishly tackling Stradlater to the ground, causing Stradlater to become furious and punching Caulfield (22-25) Consistency of lying to others – immaturity in society Using false identities out of boredom to manipulate other characters Constantly trying to buy drinks at bars but failing Babbling while conversing with Sally, cutting her off multiple times (70-71) “Trying to convince Sally to runaway with him:
“I have about a hundred and eighty bucks in the bank. I can take it out when it opens in the morning, and then I could go down and get this guy’s car. No kidding. We’ll stay in these cabin camps and stuff like that till the dough runs out. Then, when the dough runs out, I could get a job somewhere and we could live somewhere with a brook and all and, later on, we could get married or something. I could chop all our own wood in the wintertime and all. Honest to God, we could have a terrific time! Wuddaya say? C’mon! Wuddaya say? Will you do it with me? Please! ” (71)
Representation of Holden’s hopelessness to run away from the fears he face while trying to grow up Refusing to all home Trying to avoid home by traveling to New York Thinking about calling various people: Phoebe and Jane His emotional struggle and the peace he finds in his sister Phoebe He relates to her and envies her youth almost because he feels that he is growing up too quickly Finds himself constantly thinking about his little sister, trying to contact her Phoebe on the carousel – represents his inner childhood that he comes to peace with Phoebe is a symbol of truth because he know he has to face his parents eventually but also a symbol of peace because he finds himself at peace the most when thinking about her SECONDARY SOURCE #1 SOURCE TYPE: Electronic Journal CITATION Han, Xiaomei. “A study on the painful transition of adolescent in J. D. Salinger’s writing. ” Theory and Practice in Language Studies, vol. 4, no. 11, 2014, p. 2384+, Literature Resource Center, go. galegroup. com.
NOTES (DIVIDE BY SUBTOPICS; INCLUDE PAGE NUMBERS IF POSSIBLE) Connections between Holden and his search for idealism in society “Holden represents the uniqueness in man in a world which has lost its spirit for the idealism. ” (1) He continues to pursue idealistic actions with other characters, making him realize the childishness behind idealism “They are part of the truth which Holden doesn’t see, is never able to see, or in fact refuse to see. The phonies, the bores, and the deceivers are one part of humanity.
It is the reality that everyone must accept. And perhaps this is the main reason that Holden’s search for idealism is finally broken. (1) The people Holden react with are part of the underlying truth about society. Humanity is corrupted with phonies, bres, and deceivers. “Holden, as many adolescents, is extremely sensitive to the god and evil in society. ” (2) Very black and white perspective on society Views society as the evil The phonies, the bores, and the deceivers Holden is hypocritical for disliking them in society even though he is apart of those groups The phonies, the bores, and the deceivers are one part of humanity. It is the reality that everyone must accept. And perhaps this is the main reason that Holden’s search for idealism is finally broken. ” (1) It is impossible for Holden to escape all the cheats of the world.
Another example the sad truth of reality that Holden must face to become an adult and move forward in life”… cannot resign themselves to the existence of injustice, ugliness, and pain… refusal to accept the status quo in the world… ” (1) Does not want to face the evil’s of reality Childish in a sense that he refuses to grow up SECONDARY SOURCE #2 SOURCE TYPE: Electronic Journal CITATION Bungert, Hans. “Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye: The Isolated Youth and His Struggle to Communicate. ” Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Lawrence J. Trudeau, vol. 378, Gale, 2015. Literature Resource Center, go. galegroup. com. Originally published in Studies in J. D. Salinger, edited by Marvin Laser and Norman Fruman, Odyssey, 1963, pp. 177-185.
NOTES (DIVIDE BY SUBTOPICS; INCLUDE PAGE NUMBERS IF POSSIBLE) “He is in that unhappy phase of life, that transitional stage, where he has outgrown the relatively well-ordered world of his childhood and must find his way in the world of adults” Holden in stuck in the transition from child to adult, finds himself perplexed between the two stages in life. Seems to be an outsider to society, running from his responsibilities in his life Isolates himself to escape from reality which contrasts the time the story takes place, around Christmas which is a festive holiday where people come together “Unlike his schoolmates Stradlater and Ackley, Holden possesses a refined moral instinct, an unusually critical but also creative intellect, a lively imagination, a passion for asking questions and, above all, a great desire for contact and love.
His level of maturity undermines those of his roommates His thoughts revolve around critical yet creative analyses He cannot control his desire for love Dead brother Allie – symbol of inescapable death, peace, and loneliness Holden finds peace when thinking about his brother and all the memories they’ve had together Holden wishes for death upon himself multiple times throughout the novel, trying to rid himself of his loneliness, but loneliness cannot be controlled SECONDARY SOURCE #3 SOURCE TYPE: Print CITATION Lee, Robert A. “Flunking Everything Else Except English Anyway’: Holden Caulfield, Author. ” Critical Essays on Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, edited by Joel Salzberg, G. K. Hall & Co. , 1990, pp. 185-197.
NOTES (DIVIDE BY SUBTOPICS; INCLUDE PAGE NUMBERS IF POSSIBLE) Loneliness “Doubtless the ‘loneliness’ that tears at him always, together with his fear of disappearance and sheer nervous fidget, proper him more and more into these impersonations” (191) Holden uses impersonation to avoid loneliness because he is afraid of it Holden needs attention to stay sane even if that means pretending to be someone he is not “He wants, indeed needs, to be in the actin, the absolute participant observer. ” (191)
Holden only wants to watch society from a third person point of view instead of living in it because he is afraid of the phonies and all the other people Phoebe “Holden recognizes in Phoebe not just a sister but a figure whose creative quirks amount to perfection” (192) Phoebe represents Holden’s clarity in a world of adults Her pureness and innocence create a perfect version of reality for Holden SECONDARY SOURCE #4 CITATION Seng, Peter J. “The Fallen Idol: The Immature World of Holden Caulfield. ” Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Lawrence J. Trudeau, vol. 378, Gale, 2015. Literature Resource Center, go. galegroup. com.
Originally published in College English, vol. 23, no. 3, 1961, pp. 203-209. NOTES (DIVIDE BY SUBTOPICS; INCLUDE PAGE NUMBERS IF POSSIBLE)) Holden and Adulthood “… Holden’s thoughts, language, and activities as ‘immoral… ” (1) Holden’s own self does not fit the morals of society He goes against the rules of society Not considered as “innocent” because of his age Caught between adolescence and adulthood “… realistic’ representation of the adolescent world… ” (1) Holden relates to the average teen in reality Symbol of adolescence and youth Holden’s Judgement in the novel “Sensitive and perceptive Holden is, he is still an adolescent and so an immature judge of adult life. (2)
His view on the society he lives in can not be trusted by the reader because he is still growing His outlook on society is negative based on the tragic events in his life He is extremely in touch with his emotions, which alters his reality and logic “While Holden is quick to pass severe judgements on others he is not so quick to see the faults in himself. ” Extremely judgemental yet hypocritical Sees the faults in society but not himself His ego gets in the way “It might be said that Holden’s chief fault is his failure ‘to connect’ (to use Foster’s phrase); he hates lies, phoniness, pretese, yet these are often his own sins” (2) He avoids the fact that he is a phony himself even though he despises them in society SECONDARY SOURCE #5 ?? CITATION Mitchell, Susan K. “To Tell You the Truth… ” Novels for Students, edited by Diane Telgen, vol. 1, Gale Research, 1997, pp. 130-133.
NOTES (DIVIDE BY SUBTOPICS; INCLUDE PAGE NUMBERS IF POSSIBLE)) The False Perspective of Holden “Because Holden avoids investigating deeply, he sees the same story everywhere. ” (131) Holden is shortsighted and only sees things black and white He only focuses on the evil in society, emphasizing the amount of phoniness around him even though it is apart of him Holden paints his parents as “irresponsible, alienated, skittish parents” even though little is said about the Caulfields (131) Holden refers to his brother D. B. as a “prostitute” who writes in Hollywood (131) hyperbole/exaggeration of his brother Holden’s narrative is not valid throughout the novel and is more biased as the story continues
