Author Information-J.D. Salinger

2. Author Information-J.D. Salinger • Born in New York City on January 1,1919 • Family moved several times during his childhood • Age 13-enrolled in McBurney School but flunked out within a year and was sent to the Valley Forge Military Academy in PA • Became interested in writing and produced his earliest short stories before he graduated in 1936

3. Author Information • Briefly enrolled in Ursinus College-wrote a humorous column for school newspaper • Drafted into U.S. Army and performed intelligence services in WWII • 1951-Published Catcher in the Rye, his only novel • 1953-Published first collection of short stories titled Nine Stories

4. Author Information • 1953-Married Claire Douglas, had two children • Lived in almost total seclusion and self-imposed alienation • His work is essentially autobiographical and based on real life experiences • Ironic Fact: After a certain point, he would only allow his books to be published with a plain white cover-wanted people to read the book for what it was, not what it looked like

5. Overview • Classic coming of age novel • Occurs over the span of four days • Holden Caulfield, 17 years-old, is the narrator • He is an emotionally unstable, highly intelligent, old-for-his-years, but lonely boy who belongs to the Manhattan elite • Wants to escape the expectations that his parents have set out for him

6. Themes • Growing up • Money and class • Authenticity • Adulthood • Alienation • Isolation • Change • Teen angst

7. Literary Concepts • Allusion • Metaphor • Simile • Foreshadowing • Unreliable narrator • Stream of consciousness • Symbol

8. Stream of Consciousness • The continuous, unedited, chronological flow of conscious experience through the mind

9. Chapter 1 • Holden Caulfield writes his story from a “crumby place” in CA, not too far from Hollywood, where his brother D.B. lives • He refuses to talk about his early life and begins his story with his departure from Pencey Prep, a famous school he attended in Agerstown, PA • The Saturday before Christmas vacation begins, Holden stands on Thomsen Hill watching the football game, uninterested.

10. Chapter 1 • Holden wasn’t there to watch the game, he was just looking for a way to “say goodbye”. He fondly remembers throwing a football with friends even after it grew dark outside. • He is the manager of the school’s fencing team and is supposed to be in New York for a meet, but he lost the team’s equipment on the subway, forcing everyone to return early. • Holden gets kicked out for failing four out of five subjects (he only passed English). • He goes to say goodbye to Mr. Spencer, a former history teacher who is very old and ill, and is greeted warmly by Mr. Spencer’s wife.

11. Chapter 2 • Mr. Spencer tries to lecture Holden about his academic failures. He confirms Pencey’s headmaster’s assertion that “life is a game” and tells Holden that he must learn to play by the rules.  • Although he clearly feels affection for Holden, Mr. Spencer bluntly reminds the boy that he flunked him, and even forces him to listen to the terrible essay he handed in about the ancient Egyptians • He tries to convince Holden to think about his future. Not wanting to be lectured, Holden interrupts Spencer and leaves.

12. Chapter 3 • In his room, Holden sits and reads Isak Dinesen’s Out of Africa while wearing his new hunting hat, a bright red cap with a long-peaked brim and earflaps. • He is interrupted by Ackley, a pimply student who lives next door. He constantly barges into Holden’s room, exhibiting disgusting personal habits and poor hygiene. • He prevents Holden from reading and aggravates him by cutting his fingernails on the floor, even after being asked to stop. • Holden’s handsome and popular roommate, Stradlater, enters and Ackley quickly leaves. Stradlater mentions he has a date waiting for him.

13. Chapter 4 • Holden contrasts Stradlater’s personal habits with Ackley’s: Ackley is an obvious slob while Stradlater is a “secret slob” • Stradlater asks Holden to write an English composition for him • Stradlater’s date is Jane Gallagher, a girl Holden has strong feelings for • He wants to say hello to her, but decides he isn’t in the mood • Stradlater borrows Holden’s jacket • After Stradlater leaves, Holden is tormented by thoughts of Jane and Stradlater

14. Chapter 5 • Holden spends the day with Mal Brossard and Ackley in Agerstown • When they return, Holden begins to work on the English composition for Stradlater. It is supposed to be a descriptive paragraph about something simple, like a house or a room • Holden writes about a baseball glove that his brother Allie used to copy poems onto in green ink

15. Chapter 5 • Several years earlier, Allie died of leukemia. He was two years younger than Holden. • Holden says Allie was the most intelligent member of his family • Holden recounts the night Allie died and how he slept in the garage and broke all the windows with his fingers. Holden still feels Allie’s loss strongly.

16. Chapter 6 • Stradlater barges into the room, home from his date. He reads Holden’s composition and becomes annoyed, asserting that it has nothing to do with the assignment and it’s no wonder Holden is being expelled. • Holden tears the composition up and throws it away angrily. • The tension between the two increases when Holden asks Stradlater about his date with Jane Gallagher

17. Chapter 6 • When Stradlater refuses to tell Holden any of the details, Holden attacks him. Stradlater pins Holden to the floor and tries to get him to calm down. • Holden relentlessly insults Stradlater until he punches Holden and gives him a bloody nose. • Stradlater then worries that he has hurt Holden and will get in trouble. He finally leaves the room and Holden gets up and goes into Ackley’s room, his face covered in blood.