Catcher in the Rye

JD Salinger

“Breakdown on Fifth Avenue”

Salinger started this story as a short story and later turned it into a novel

Chapter 25

Fifth Avenue

Point of View

1st Person (naïve) Direct Address

“If you really want to hear about it…” Flashback

Holden tells about the day he left Pencey Prep just before Christmas break

Digression Reference to D.B. in Hollywood

Setting The novel is framed by the first and last

chapters which are set somewhere in California during the 1950s

Agerstown, Pennsylvania Pencey Prep Boarding School

Various places in NYC Grand Central Station Greenwich Village Radio City Music Hall Central Park

“Oh, the places you’ll go…”

“Oh, the places you’ll go…”

Plot

Quest (journey) motif Actual journey Metaphorical journey

Structure

Picaresque (rogue) Framework Escapades of the hero

Holden and his misadventures Realistic

NYC is accurately represented NYC is a metaphor for the commercial world

which is devoid of feelings Satiric

Holden’s loss of human connectedness He cannot connect to Jane because the “phone

didn’t answer”

bookends

Salinger’s Technique and Style

First Person Narration Flashback Holden’s memory of situations Sarcasm Humor

Conflicts External

Man vs Man Man vs Society Man vs Nature

Internal Man vs Himself

Ultimate ConflictHolden’s external conflicts meet his internal conflict

Protagonist and Antagonist Holden Caulfield

16 years old Troubled Values:

Honesty Friendship Compliments Neatness Down to earth people Manners Respect Usefulness Getting things we really

need Does Not Value:

Money Superficiality Fakeness

Holden Caulfield Holden is unable to fit

into society and is at odds with Different Characters Social Situations Educational

Environments Technology the World in general

Chapters 1-3 Holden/expelled/Pencey Prep

now 17/16 when action takes place D.B./Hollywood/prostitute Fencing Team/foils/subway Spencer/history essay/crud/sarcastic/ cover

up lack of knowledge/Spencer reads/to shock Holden

English/passed NYC/red hunting cap Ackley/roommate/annoying/lonely/dirty/

intrusive

Chapters 4-6

Stradlater/ladies’ man/thinks highly of himself/player

Jane Gallagher/Holden/Stradlater Stradlater/favor/Holden agrees Allie/Holden/death/composition/base-

ball glove/poems Holden/fight Stradlater/Jane/

protection

Chapters 7-11 Holden/decision/NCY Holden/train/Ernie Morrow/lie Penn Station/call Holden/cabbie/ducks Hotel/perversions Faith Cavendish/companionship Phoebe/Holden’s relationship Phoebe/Allie’s relationship

“She killed Allie, too” (68). Holden/3 girls/movie stars Jane/kiss/stepfather

Chapters 12-14 Ernie’s/depression/Ernie’s piano playing/people clap Holden/cabbie/ducks/fish

Holden/fear/change Holden/drunk/Lillian Simmons Holden/”yellow”/virgin/Sunny/talk/

operation Human companionship Adult situations

Holden/religion/parents Maurice/$5.00/cries/Holden insults Maurice Holden/the movies

Reality Holden/suicide/”rubbernecking”

Chapters 15-16 Sally/phony Holden/parent’s finances Holden/nuns/Dick Slagle/suitcases

Compassion/respect Money “making you blue” Holden/walking/kid singing Phoebe/Little Shirley Beans Jane/phone/Mom Museum of Natural History

Chapters 17-18 Sally/good looking/Holden phony/run

away/”pain in the ass”/yelling (doesn’t know it) “break down”

Phone calls/Jane/Carl Luce/Wicker Bar 3 people in phone book (Jane, dad’s work,

teacher) Movies/crying woman Atomic bomb/war

Chapters 19-23 Wicker Bar/Luce (Whooten School)/sex/psychiatrist

Adult situations Phone/Sally Hayes/hangs up Central Park/ducks/Phoebe’s record/ Allie’s

funeral/Holden’s death/ Holden’s hand “All you have to do is say something nobody

understands and they’ll do practically anything you want them to” (158).

Holden/home/DB’s room/Phoebe and record Phoebe/Holden like?/why? James Castle/Elkton/suicide/Mr. Antolini Holden/catcher in the rye/innocence Holden/Phoebe dancing/money/red hunting cap

Chapters 24-26 Mr. Antolini/”headed for a fall”/pat on the head Kinsella/oral expression/digression Grand Central Station/psychological and physical

symptoms/street/Allie “Don’t let me disappear.” Holden/deaf-mute Holden/Phoebe’s school/”FUs”/his tombstone

Can’t get rid of all the “FUs” in the world Phoebe/suitcase/red hunting cap Play Benedict Arnold Carrousel/Phoebe

Permanent (round and round, same song) Holden/rest home

”Don’t tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”

Comin thro’ the Ryeby Robert Burns

ChorusO, Jenny’s a’weet, poor body,

Jenny’s seldom dry:She draigl’t a’ her petticoatie,

Coming thro’ the rye!I

Coming thro’ the rye, poor body.Coming thro’ the rye,

She draigl’t a’ her petticoatie,Coming thro’ the rye!

IIGin a body meet a body

Coming thro’ the rye.Gin a body kiss a body,

Need a body cry?III

Gin a body meet a bodyComing thro’ the glen.Gin a body kiss a body,

Need a warld ken?Chorus

O, Jenny’s a’weet, poor body,Jenny’s seldom dry:

She draigl’t a’ her petticoatie,Coming thro’ the rye!