The Catcher in the Rye

Do you ever look around and get mad at someone just because they seem fake to you? As if they’re only purpose in life is to show off? Now imagine if you saw everyone you ever met like that. Everyone you ever looked at seemed phony, living a lie to impress others. Well that’s the life of Holden Caulfield, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye who can’t bring himself to trust anyone or want to be around anyone. Throughout the story he is trying to learn how to speak his mind and get people to feel how he feels.

In the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger the story is told in first person from the point of view of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year-old that has just been expelled from his junior year at Pencey Prep School. The book starts in December of 1947 at Pencey Prep School in New York before Holden has left the school. Holden has been failing in every subject in school and because of this he is being expelled from the school. But Holden has no problem with leaving the school. He doesn’t like anyone there anyway because he believes that everyone is a phony and are doing everything they do for attention. He chooses to exclude himself from interactions with others because he can’t stand being around people who he believes are phonies. This means everyone because in Holden’s mind, everyone has something phony about them. Because he is so eager to leave Pencey he decides to leave early and go to New York City until it’s time for him to finally go home. This is where Holden’s journey as the catcher in the rye begins. From this point on the book picks up speed and is almost impossible to put down.

The first journey Holden takes after leaving Pencey is a journey on the train to Manhattan, his home town. On the train he runs into the parent of one of his former peers who he truthfully thought was a jerk and who he never really liked. He ended up lying to this student’s mother and telling her all of these lies that made her proud of her son and that made Holden sound like him and her son were the greatest of friends. After this encounter, Holden finally arrives at Penn Station and goes to try and find a place to stay for the next two nights.

After arriving at a hotel the story then continues to Holden’s many confrontations with teachers, prostitutes, nuns, his old girlfriend, and his little sister, Phoebe. He then devotes his free time away from anything to protecting the innocence of children that he meets on his journey. He attempts to protect their innocence from the world around them so that they can understand Holden and not be phonies like everyone else. But will Holden’s work pay off? Or will lessons that he learns along the way change his thoughts and make him realize that no matter what he does, he can’t protect the children’s innocence?

I recommend this book to others to read because of the lessons that are taught throughout the book. After reading this book I can honestly say that I look at problems differently and will now try to get people to understand who I am before I judge them. The lesson in the book is one of the most important lessons I could ever think of learning. But you’re going to have to read the book to learn it. This will not take long to do because once Holden reaches Manhattan the book picks up speed and is practically impossible to put down. I rate this book a 10/10 because of the lesson in the book and also the way the story is told in the book. While reading, I honestly felt like I had known Holden my full life. You learn so much about him because the story is being told by him. You can feel what Holden feels and understand everything that is going on in his life. That is what truly gives this book the 10 it deserves. If you’re looking for a book that will teach a lesson that will change your life I strongly recommend reading this book. After learning the lesson of the story your life will honestly be changed in ways you never would’ve thought possible. You will feel as though you can teach the world anything, that you can change the world forever just by putting your ideas out there and helping people understand.

Book Review by Sam B.