Premium Essay

Catcher In The Rye, By J. D. Salinger

Submitted By
Words 1018
Pages 5
The Impact of American Literature
American Literature, which may seem like a worn out topic taught in school, actually contains various vital lessons for all. Writers find an emotional outlet in their work, therefore giving readers an insight into the minds of the authors. This was proven at the time that slave narratives were written, when the authors used their work to share the saddening realities they faced. In many instances, readers have used this literature as a guide to assist in experiences similar to what they are going through. JD Salinger’s, “Catcher in The Rye,” is a good example of how American Literature, past and present, can teach readers empathy and understanding. Furthermore, it aids in the display of the evolved culture in our country. American Literature allows both parties to find an emotional outlet from life experiences, it supplies readers with compassion, and it showcases the changes in our society in a distinct way.
There is a common belief that people write what they know, meaning that most writing comes …show more content…
American Literature has burgeoned into a variety of genres all packed into one, but it is valuable for students to study both the old and new works. Sally Law discusses how literature allows students to grasp the previous cultural aspects in the following quote: “Through literature, we can visit cultures impossible for us to experience ourselves. From our reading, we can begin to understand what it must have been like to live in a particular time, under certain conditions, in different parts of the world,” (theguardian.com). Not only do students learn historical events, they even discover how speech and writing styles have blossomed into what is seen today. American Literature, which equips teenagers with wisdom and history of the former America, is crucial in the study of grammar and

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Catcher In The Rye By J. D. Salinger: An Analysis

...The question one must face later in life is why must someone need to lose innocence to mature? Innocence in a deeper complex understanding means absence of knowledge and our understanding of the fast paced life. Ordinarily one must face a fear and or take a leap of faith towards a dream to unmask oneself to the real world. Wrongfully some don't take those risks that life requires and can't accept that adolescence is a part of life. In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, Holden the main character displays the moral message of how adolescence plays a tremendous role in creating fear of the future. Salinger talks about himself as the 3rd person of a 16 year old boy who has many struggles of the everyday life. Holden had been kicked out...

Words: 279 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Catcher in the Rye

...The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage angst and alienation. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major languages. Around 250,000 copies are sold each year with total sales of more than 65 million books. The novel's protagonist Holden Caulfield has become an icon for teenage rebellion. The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923, and it was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2003, it was listed at number 15 on the BBC's survey The Big Read. The novel also deals with complex issues of identity, belonging, connection, and alienation. Plot summary Holden begins his story at Pencey Prep, an exclusive private school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania, on the Saturday afternoon of the traditional football game with rival school Saxon Hall. Holden misses the game. As manager of the fencing team, he loses their equipment on a New York City subway train that morning, resulting in the cancellation of a match. He goes to the home of his History teacher named Mr. Spencer. Holden has been expelled and is not to return after Christmas break, which begins the following Wednesday. Spencer is a well-meaning but long-winded middle-aged man. To Holden's annoyance, Spencer reads aloud Holden's History paper, in which Holden...

Words: 3119 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Cherished and Cursed: Toward a Social History of the Catcher in the Rye

...4141- 4141--- Cherished and Cursed:Towarda Social History of The Catcher in the Rye STEPHEN J. WHITFIELD THE plot is brief:in 1949 or perhaps 1950, over the course of three days during the Christmas season, a sixteen-yearold takes a picaresque journey to his New YorkCity home from the third private school to expel him. The narratorrecounts his experiences and opinions from a sanitarium in California. A heavy smoker, Holden Caulfield claims to be already six feet, two inches tall and to have wisps of grey hair; and he wonders what happens to the ducks when the ponds freeze in winter. The novel was published on 16 July 1951, sold for $3.00, and was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Within two weeks, it had been reprinted five times, the next month three more times-though by the third edition the jacket photographof the author had quietly disappeared. His book stayed on the bestseller list for thirty weeks, though never above fourth place.' Costing 75?, the Bantam paperback edition appeared in 1964. By 1981, when the same edition went for $2.50, sales still held steady, between twenty and thirty thousand copies per month, about a quarter of a million copies annually. In paperback the novel sold over three million copies between 1953 and 1964, climbed even higher by the 1980s, and continues to attract about as many buyers as it did in 1951. The durabilityof The author appreciates the invitationof Professors Marc Lee Raphaeland Robert A. Gross to present an early version...

Words: 12326 - Pages: 50

Premium Essay

The Catcher Esay

...trying to say by using symbols and imagery. To someone who does not examine the book, The Catcher in the Rye, it may seem to be about a “messed up” teenager who wanders around town and doesn’t care about life. But when a range of ______ are explored, one will find that this book has common themes of innocence, changing, growing up and also death.... [tags: Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, ] 501 words (1.4 pages) $6.95 [preview] Symbolism in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye - Many novels cannot be fully understood and appreciated if only read for face value, and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is no exception. The abundant use of symbolism in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is of such significance that it “proclaims itself in the very title of the novel” (Trowbridge par. 1). If the symbolism in this novel is studied closely, there should be no astonishment in learning that The Catcher in the Rye took approximately ten years to write and was originally twice its present length.... [tags: The Catcher in the Rye] :: 6 Works Cited 2836 words (8.1 pages) $49.95 [preview] Catcher In The Rye - From the Outside, Looking In Despite the debate that may wage on regarding the status to be afforded J. D. Salinger's writings, the author's books have not quietly faded into obscurity. Although published almost a half-century ago, the author's most famous work, Catcher in the Rye, enjoys almost as healthy and devoted a following today as the book did when it was first...

Words: 595 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Grammatical Transformations

...порядок следования его членов определяется правилами синтаксиса, а в русском порядок слов в структуре предложения определяется коммуникативным членением предложения. b)«Иногда в процессе перевода наблюдается перестановка того или иного слова из одного предложения в другое, как, например, в нижеследующем случае: ...I put on this hat that I'd bought in New York that morning. It was this red hunting hat, with one of those very, very long peaks. (J. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, 3) Я… надел красную шапку, которую утром купил в Нью-Йорке. Это была охотничья шапка, с очень-очень длинным козырьком. Возможность такого переноса здесь обусловливается повторением существительного «шапка». c) При переводе нередко имеет место также явление изменения порядка следования частей сложного предложения (clauses) — главного и придаточного предложения. If he ever gets married, his own wife'll probably call him "Ackley". (J. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, 3). Наверное, и жена будет звать его «Экли» — если только он когда-нибудь женится. d)В следующем примере в английском предложении главное предшествует придаточному, в русском же переводе порядок следования предложений меняется и одновременно сложноподчиненное предложение заменяется на сложносочиненное, то есть перестановка сопровождается характерной для перевода с английского языка на русский заменой типа синтаксической связи. The silver saucer clattered when he replaced the pitcher. (H. Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, 3) Он быстро...

Words: 1191 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

...Reading Response to "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger Dear Mr. /Mrs. I have read the book ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ that expresses its content in a total of 214 pages. The book, authored by J. D. Salinger, represents the coming-of-age genre which compares to the traditional period literature such as Mark Twain’s ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Indeed, the two texts tend to feature naïve and adolescent runaways as the spectators. Also, they both comment on the problems that existed in their timelines. This reading response seeks to explore the question of freedom and independence as portrayed in the book. "The Catcher in the Rye" begins with the protagonist directly addressing the audience and as the he starts to retell the events that cover three days from the past December. His story begins at Pencey Prep and the disillusioned departure from what could be the last in a number of educational institutions that failed to inspire and support him followed by a painful, and sleep deprived journey through the streets of New York. Interestingly, the author tends to create a harsh atmosphere from the start of the text with the main character being portrayed as lazy and a bit clueless about his future (Lomazoff, 1996). The entire story revolves around a flashback of the three day period with some few references to the present. The thing that separates the text from other literary works is the usage of profanity. There exists a significant measure of colloquialism which...

Words: 767 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Assessment of Salinger’s Concept of Sexuality in the Catcher in the Rye

...through with it, sabotaging himself and in a way preserving his innocence. Salinger also ties in the theme of innocence, Holden subconsciously tries to preserve his innocence and it’s evident in the way he views things, he sees the prostitute as a person, not as an object, and thinks of Jane as friend rather than a sexual being. It seems as though he prefers non-intimate relationships and resorts to just talking things out like with the prostitute and with Jane he does not make any advances towards her, he prefers to hold hands and talk. It is also evident that Holden was sexuality abused, and when his former teacher Mr. Antolini makes advances towards him, it adds to his negative idea of sexuality. Through Holden Caulfield, Salinger presents sex and sexuality as something that is shameful and private. ENG 2D1h May 21st, 2014 Assessment of Salinger’s Concept of Sexuality in The Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield, the protagonist Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye represents the Western teen in the 1950’s, and through Caulfield’s ‘misadventures’ the themes of sex and sexuality come into play. Holden’s negative view of sex and sexuality stems from many things, he presents sex as something ‘crumby’ even though as he mentions he would not mind doing it if he opportunity came up but when the time comes he does not go through with it, sabotaging himself and in a way preserving his innocence. Salinger also ties in the theme of innocence, Holden subconsciously tries to preserve...

Words: 1257 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

The Catcher in the Rye: a Hint to the Past

...the time period that their stories take place in. They can say it outright in the narrative, include obviously dated references, or attempt to vaguely hint at the time’s culture and events. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is set in the late 1940s, early 1950s. Salinger paints an image for the readers, giving hints to let them figure out the time setting on their own. He mentions events just a few years past, references things that only would make sense in such a time, and goes even deeper, writing characters that most plausibly would have existed in such a culture, in such a time. When examining the historical aspects of The Catcher in the Rye, a reader can see how J. D. Salinger conveys the essence of the late 1940s; he does this through basic, obvious references to forms of entertainment, as well as through the more complex depths of the time period’s social constructs and the impending counterculture revolt of the 1960s. In the novel, many references are made to things that limit the possible time period for this novel. Many of these references dealt with forms of entertainment, from bar pianists to old-timey movies. Holden talks about his visit to a night club called Ernie’s which “was jam-packed…[but] it was pretty quiet, though, because Ernie was playing the piano” (Salinger 83). Compared to the nightclubs of today, this is pretty bland. Modern night clubs are overflowing with sweaty bodies dancing suggestively on top of one another. Today’s clubs are beaten with...

Words: 1774 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Catcher in the Rye

...Ena Mišković Leonarda Lovrović Modern English Practice 1 15 January 2013 J. D. Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by the American author Jerome David Salinger. From its first publishing the novel has arose a lot of controversy. Salinger wrote his novel in the first person, addressing the readers in its very beginning, so the readers have a feeling that he speaks directly to them. Furthermore, sequences follow the exact thought processes of the main character, which brings him, as well as the complete novel, even more close to the readers. The story takes place mostly in New York in December 1949, just before the Christmas holidays. The plot follows a seventeen-year-old boy protagonist Holden Caulfield who retells several days in his life, giving his personal opinion of the society that surrounds him after being expelled from the third school in a row. The novel is presented as his own monologue written in a subjective style, which reflects the teenage colloquial speech of that period of time. A drop-out Holden has attracted a wide audience of adolescent readers, yet gained many negative critiques due to his rebellious way of thinking and acting, and his common use of street language; he expresses himself in slang, in a very witty manner, also using curses and swearwords quite often. However, the Catcher in the Rye has experienced a great success, and has been translated into many languages. It was and still is very influential book...

Words: 1163 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Holden Caulfield: Protector of Innocence

...Holden Caulfield: Protector of Innocence The novel The Catcher in the Rye is a coming of age tale of a teenager’s journey into a mental breakdown. The main character, Holden Caulfield, sees the world as an extremely phony, cynical place that he wishes to escape from. As a result of this, he forms the idea that the only way to be free of the hypocrisy and cynicism of society is to maintain one’s childlike immaturity and innocence. Because of this idea, throughout the novel, Holden is trying desperately to hold on the shreds of innocence that he has left, all while trying to protect the innocence of those around him as well. Two minor characters mentioned in the novel that Holden tries to protect, Sunny and Phoebe, both display to the reader signs of developing maturity. Holden’s interactions with both Sunny and Phoebe provide prime examples of how even though Holden tries desperately to protect their innocence, growing up cannot be prevented. One of Holden’s most prominent traits throughout the novel is that he is has this urgent need to protect the people around him from losing their innocence like he did when his brother passed. Even though he constantly drinks, smokes, and curses, Holden’s main goal throughout the text is to make sure that innocence is maintained as long as possible before a person grows up and matures. “He struggles to preserve his own tenuous hold on youthful innocence-or as he sometimes puts it, ‘niceness’-and despairs when he finds that innocence lost...

Words: 1343 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

New York Times Book Review

...| July 16, 1951 Books of The Times By NASH K. BURGER | THE CATCHER IN THE RYE  By J. D. Salinger.  | t is just before Christmas and 16-year-old Holden Caulfield has been kicked out of exclusive Pencey Prep, a boys' school in Pennsylvania. Considering everything, this reflects more credit on Holden than on Pencey. Life at Pencey is dreary, regimented, artificial and, of course, expensive. This happens, however, to be only the latest of a series of schools from which Holden has been expelled. Understandably he is in no hurry to encounter his parents, but he is also reluctant to linger a moment longer than necessary at Pencey. He therefore takes what money he has and departs for New York, where he passes several days in a weird jumble of adventures and experiences, is involved with a variety of persons including taxi drivers, two nuns, an elevator man, three girls from Seattle, a prostitute, and a former teacher from whom Holden thinks it best to flee in the middle of the night and most of all from himself. Holden's story is told in Holden's own strange, wonderful language by J. D. Salinger in an unusually brilliant novel, "The Catcher in the Rye." The Book-of-the-Month Club has chosen it as its current selection. Adolescence Speaking for Itself Holden is bewildered, lonely, ludicrous and pitiful. His troubles, his failings are not of his own making but of a world that is out of joint. There is nothing wrong with him that a little understanding and affection, preferably...

Words: 974 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Catcher in the Rye

...2015 Catcher in the Rye Jerome David (J.D.) Salinger was born on New Year’s Day in the year 1919, in New York City, “the second and last child of Sol and Marie (Miriam) Jillich Salinger” (Alexander 1). As a young boy, Salinger was interested in theatre and dramatics. Growing up, he attended a public school on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. He was always a very quiet and polite young man. His parents, Sol and Marie, thought he would fit in perfectly in a private school – seeing how well-mannered that young Salinger was – they “enrolled him in McBurney School in Manhattan in 1932” (Alexander 2), but, just as one of his most famous characters, Holden Caufield, he did not fit in very well in the private school, struggling to keep his grades satisfactory. Concerned, Salinger’s parents sent him to Valley Forge Military Academy when he was just 15 years old. “There he was active in drama and singing clubs. He sometimes wrote fiction by flashlight under his blankets at night and contributed to the school’s magazine” (Alexander 3). Salinger graduated in June of 1936 from Valley Forge, and then went on to pursue a brief, but significant college career. He began his education at New York University, but quickly dropped out “to try performing as an entertainer on a Caribbean cruise ship” (Alexander 4). When he was 20 years old, he worked toward his college career once again. He enrolled in a class at Columbia University to learn and improve on writing short stories. “Salinger sold...

Words: 2078 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Holden Caulfield Alienation

...“The Catcher in the Rye” is written by J.D Salinger which focuses on the reality of life through the eyes of a teenager who sees the world as a painful existence. The novel is written from the perspective of Holden who has been expelled from his fourth school. After a fight with his roommate, Holden leaves early to explore New York City alone. Holden battles with the reality of adulthood that has turn a different turn on his life. We get to this stage where we fear to grow up and see what will be coming for us next in the future. Salinger’s novel clearly displays the experience of being isolated from multiple activities which can lead to the theme of alienation, the creation of the character (Holden) and also the symbolism which can be unnoticed. Salinger tries to convey a message with his writing to also displaying human connection is a must. The theme of “The Catcher in the Rye” is alienation which connects to Holden (the protagonist)...

Words: 1692 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Holden - Donnie Darko Comparison

...Parjit Sigh Dhaliwal Mr. Mannello ENG3U0-I 2015-12-10 Donnie Darko and The Catcher in the Rye Comparative Essay: The Transition into the Adult World When one’s views contrast with those of society’s, a societal phenomenon of alienation occurs. Both, J.D Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, and director Richard Kelly’s film, Donnie Darko, emphasise this estrangement by contextually presenting protagonists who suggest that teen discordance is universal due to their opposing collective perspectives. The book, The Catcher in the Rye, is about a young-adult’s three-day experience living in New York city after being kicked out of his school. The narrator, Holden Caulfield, recounts his experiences and interactions within those three days through thorough analyzation. The film, Donnie Darko, is about a teen, Donnie Darko, who is supernaturally transported to a tangent universe, guided by a ghost, Frank, in which his actions determine the future of the normal universe. In both the book and the novel, the ironic nature of societal seclusion being self-inflicted shown through the rejection of society by the protagonists themselves, both works are able to reinforce the universality of teen discord. Although there is trust to be found in adults, superficiality is present in the mass majority of the adult society. This phoniness amongst adults is present in both the book and the movie ultimately which contributes to the prevalence of distrust amongst the adolescent protagonists...

Words: 1866 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Holden Caulfield Symbolism

...Symbols and Life: The Catcher in the Rye "The Catcher in the Rye", written by J. D. Salinger in 1951, is a story about a sixteen-year boy named Holden Caulfield. The story begins with Holden being expelled from Pencey Prep. He decides to not go home, and chooses to leave three days early. The entire novel follows these three days that Holden spends in New York. There are many clear and meaningful symbols in “The Catcher in the Rye”. Some of these symbols include the carousel in the park, and Holden’s hat. The most important symbols in the novel that are also relevant in a “real life” setting are Allie Caulfield, Phoebe Caulfield, and the museum that Holden visits. Allie Caulfield is Holden's younger brother that died many years earlier, and he was one of the major symbols in...

Words: 944 - Pages: 4