The Catcher in the Rye | The Catcher in the Rye

At a glance:

Author: J. D. Salinger
First Published: 1951
Type of Work: Novel
Type of Plot: Social realism
Time of Work: Saturday to Monday in December, the late 1940’s
Setting: Pennsylvania and New York City
Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Social realism, Bildungsroman
Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Family or family life, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Adolescence, Sex or sexuality, New York City, 1940’s, Alienation, Friendship, Brothers and sisters, Mental illness, Truthfulness and falsehood, Students or student life, Psychiatry or psychiatrists, Private schools
Locales: New York, NY, Pennsylvania

Holden Caulfield, a tall seventeen-year- old with prematurely graying hair. In a California sanatorium where he is undergoing treatment for a physical and mental collapse, he narrates the very subjective account of his almost two-day sojourn in New York City shortly before his breakdown. In the narrative, he flees Pencey, an exclusive boys’ preparatory school in Pennsylvania from which he had been expelled, just before the Christmas break. Alienated, lonely, sad, and afraid to go home until the date his parents expect him, Holden roams New York City...

The Catcher in the Rye | The Catcher in the Rye

At a glance:

Characters Discussed

Join eNotes