The Catcher In The Rye

By J.D Salinger

Lian Peled
7Th Grade A+ English Class
24.12.2012

Holden Caulfield is a 16 years old boy who learns at an exclusive private

school named Pencey in Pennsylvania, U.S.A, in December 1949.
The Story Starts when the football team of his school was playing vs. school
rival Saxon Hall. Holden misses the game because he went to the house of
his history teacher, Mr. Spencer to say goodbye. Holden was expelled
because he failed all subjects except English, so he won't return after the
Christmas break that starts on Wednesday. Holden also went to Spencer's
house because he wanted to apologize that he had failed in his subject.
After he has left Spencer's house he walked straight to his room. He started to
read a book, but he couldn't concentrate because his room neighbor Robert
Ackley disturbed him and then he argued with his roommate Stradlater. The
two roommates fight, Stradlater has won and Holden was bleeding all over his
face. Holden decides that he had enough from Pencey, so he catches a train
to New York City. He plans to stay in a hotel until Wednesday, and then he
will go to his parents to tell them he got expelled.
He checked at the Edmond Hotel. Then he went to a nightclub. There were 3
women's about 30 years old. Holden tried to have a conversation with them,
because he was bored, but they were empty headed and tried to look for
celebrities all the time. He got depressed, but then he ordered some liquor
and felt better. He was only 16 years old but everyone thought that he's about
30 years old because he was very tall, and had gray hair. He went to the hotel
and went to sleep. Then he woke up, and called his old friend, Sally Hayes.
He asked her if she wants to meet with him and see a show on Broadway.
She agreed, and he waited for her. Meanwhile, he went to have breakfast. He
met two teachers and discusses with one of them about Romeo and Juliet.
Then, he buys a record to his 10 years old sister, Phoebe. In his way back to
Broadway, he hears a little boy singing: "if a body catch a body coming
through the rye", which makes Holden feel less depressed. Then he saw the
play with Sally, and then they went ice skating. Holden says something that
annoyed Sally, so she was gone.
Then he thought about what happened to the ducks at central park's lake
when the lake is freezing, and thought about the Museum Of Natural History,
that he visited a lot when he was a kid. He thought about the Eskimos statues
and how they remained unchanged when he and the world changed. Then, at
night, he sneaked in the apartment of his parents when they wasn't home and
he said hello to his little sister and his good friend, Phoebe, and he felt she's
the only person in the world that can really communicate with him. Holden told
her about his fantasy: there were a lot of children's playing in a big rye field at
the edge of a cliff. His job was to catch the children's before they will fall to the
world of adults. He was calling himself "The catcher in the Rye''. When his

parents came home, Holden sneaked out and went to the house of his former
English teacher, Mr. Antolini. Mr. Antolini told Holden that he better live
humbly for a cause then dye nobly for it. Then he sleeps in his house and in
the morning he goes. Holden had a crazy idea about going west, get a job
and pretend to be a deaf-mute, so everyone who wanted to talk with him will
have to write it on a note. Holden said that thats how he will finally have no
longer these stupid and depressing conversations. He told Phoebe that he is
going and that he loved her, but she said she wanted to go with him. Then he
said to her he isn't leaving at all. Then they went to a zoo and all that time
Holden thought about what Mr. Antolini told him. Then they went to the zoo's
carousel, and when he watched Phoebe doing it he felt joy and happiness.
Then Holden says that he wouldn't tell more about those days in New York,
but he told that he got sick and lived in mental hospital. He said that he will go
to a new school in the fall, and when someone asked him will he apply himself
at the new school, he says that this question has no meaning until he'll start
learning. Holden dont want to tell us anymore about him because he is
missing his old classmates, Ackley and Stradlater, and he tell us that telling
others about your experiences will lead you to miss the people that you told
them about.
I liked the book because it is very interesting and it is written with a lot of
sarcasm and jokes in it, and it mostly written in slang. It is also very
sophisticated book with all the part of Holden catches the children's from
falling to the world of adults.
I would definitely recommend this book; I had great time reading it.

Extra Task (No. 1)

It was just that she looked so nice, the way she kept going around and
around, in her blue coat and all. God, I wish you could've been there.
After she went down from the carrousel we went to our house. The first
reaction of my mom was that she hugged me pretty strong. I can say it pretty
much hurted.
"Holden! Why did you come home so early?" She said. "You were supposed
to come tomorrow!"
"I'm glad to see you too, mom." I said. "But listen. I've got some bad news."
"What did you've done now?"
"Look, mom. I've got expelled. I failed all subjects except English."
"Well, I knew it will happen sometime." She said. "I'm not mad. I'm just a little
disappointed of you."
A little disappointed of me. It can be very frustrating when your mom tells you
that.
"But, you can go to a new school." She said. "I know an excellent school in 5th
Avenue."
"Well, I think I can definitely give it a shot."