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The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye. A Controversial Classic. J.D. Salinger. Born January 1, 1919 in NYC Full name Jerome David Salinger Wealthy Jewish family Failed McBurney School; transferred to Valley Forge Military Academy Attended NYU for one year

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The Catcher in the Rye

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  1. The Catcher in the Rye A Controversial Classic

  2. J.D. Salinger • Born January 1, 1919 in NYC • Full name Jerome David Salinger • Wealthy Jewish family • Failed McBurney School; transferred to Valley Forge Military Academy • Attended NYU for one year • Traveled to Europe, stayed in Vienna for a few months • Returned home; took night classes at Columbia • Professor Whit Burnett encouraged J.D. to publish some of his writing • Short stories were published in Collier’s and Saturday Evening Post

  3. J.D. Salinger

  4. Influence of WWII • Drafted into the army; served from 1942-44 • Landed at Normandy and fought in the Battle of the Bulge • Hospitalized for nervous breakdown • Began working on TheCatcher in the Rye

  5. Post War Writing • Returned to NYC in 1946 • Shorter work published in The New Yorker • 1951-The Catcher in the Rye • First and only published novel • Became very famous • Previously published short stories were combined into collections and published in 1960s • Last new published piece was June 1965 • “Hapworth 16, 1924” in The New Yorker

  6. Sold over 120 million copies to date

  7. Post War Life • Married three times • 1945- Sylvia Welter • 1955- Claire Douglas • 2 Kids- Margaret and Matthew • 1988- Colleen O’Neill • Moved to New Hampshire in 1953 • Led reclusive life • Avoided public contact • Died in 2010

  8. People interested by and joked about his isolation from society

  9. Hints and clues emerging • Daughter recently published memoir • Did not paint the most positive picture of her father

  10. Posthumous Work? • It is believed that Salinger continued to write novels while he lived in New Hampshire, but chose not to publish them • After his death people began to speculate whether these would be released • 2015 is the estimated date of publication

  11. Enduring Love • Why is The Catcher in the Rye so popular? • Coming of age novel • Many people identify with Holden’s struggles as a teenager • Unique writing style (for the time) • Stream of consciousness • Unstructured, unedited writing that reflects one’s observations or feelings • Might feel disjointed or “all over the place” • Feel like we are in the character’s head

  12. Enduring Controversy • Controversial things in the novel: • Vulgar language • Drinking • Smoking • Sex • Depression • Death • Lies • Violence

  13. Central Questions • What is the individual’s relationship to society? Do we have to conform to society? • What does it mean to grow up? Is it possible to grow up without becoming fake? • How do we deal with trauma or loss? • What is Holden searching for? What do we search for in life? • Is Holden a likeable character?

  14. Why is there no movie? • Salinger refused to sell the rights for the novel • Many famous directors, actors, producers etc. have tried to obtain the rights but failed

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