The Catcher in the Rye Review – J.D Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye – J.D Salinger



The Catcher in the Rye is a book that I feel every adolescent would benefit from reading. Salinger uses an extremely realistic narration from Holden to allow us to relate to him. We are placed amongst Holden in his own journey referring to himself as ‘I’ and us as ‘you’.” Salinger uses this to express to us, the reader the honest realisations of life that Holden and we experience. I find it an exciting and compelling read, with a gallon of brutal reality poured in along with some humour, contrasting with moments of depression.” – Aimen A The Guardian



We follow Holden in the limbo between childhood and adulthood as he struggles to find his place in society. One of the main aspects The Catcher in the Rye deals with is the different ideals and values between the child and the adult world. Holden is a very contradictory character; he says one thing but means another, he admits he’s a coward yet refuses to let go of his values. Holden although being able to be perceived as immature, irrational and emotionally unstable is able to stick to his moral values showing that he does have a sense of moral insight.



I feel that there are two different view points to The Catcher in the Rye; Holden’s, which from the beginning Salinger immediately sides us with, and the perception of the adult world. We stand on common ground with Holden, which Salinger uses to push the reader into reflecting on the adult world, adult society and the way we and others choose to live their lives. This not only makes us reflect on our own world but we begin to see Holden as although intellectually immature, mentally and emotionally mature in his ideals and understanding of moral integrity. Yet if we place ourselves amongst the common ground of the adult world we begin to criticise the thinking of Holden as some of his ideas have little or no thought process in them. For instance Holden’s idea of the cabin in the woods, Salinger uses this to illustrate that although the adult world does not have the answers, that maybe neither does Holden. Salinger also uses the situation of the cab driver and the fish to highlight the difference between child and adult worlds, the difference with Holden is that he is still willing to ask the questions. Salinger is trying to show us that it’s not having the answers that are important but asking the questions.



Holden struggles to find his place in society as he never commits to anything or any idea. We follow Holden’s journey all over the city, from different hotels, bars, cabs and walkways. Holden is trying to escape the idea of society. He can never stick to one place and is moving from venue to venue, yet all within the areas in Manhattan that he is familiar with. This leads me to believe that Holden can never feel comfortable anywhere, can never find his place, yet he is scared to venture to unfamiliar places to find comfort. This creates a vulnerability in Holden as we see that he does not know which way to turn and we start to understand why he lacks direction, this provokes sympathy from us as we start to understand the implications society has on Holden and other adolescents.



The Catcher in the Rye has been criticized with having no storyline and being a book which disappoints the expectations of potential events and encounters, and I agree it does. “The plot isn’t exactly a gripping, thrills-a-minute ride. He just meanders around New York, wasting money on hotel rooms, cab rides, and non-hookers.” – Sabrina Pajiba Book Reviews. The Catcher in the Rye fails to be categorised into the 7 basic plot lines. Yet I feel Salinger intentionally created no real plot to emphasise to the reader the reality of life. Salinger wanted us to find meaning in this novel to push us to relate it upon our own lives. This Salinger uses to reveal to us that our lives are not like that of fiction and that we may finish the book feeling unfulfilled and underwhelmed but that life is not always fulfilling. “I do appreciate that Holden doesn’t magically grow up by the end of the book. That’s a manifestation of the cynical nature of the book — people don’t change” – Sabrina Pajiba Book Reviews. We are left after finishing the book in the same state in which Holden is left watching the carousel.