Catcher In The Rye

The catcher in the rye is about a young kid Holden Caulfield. The whole book is the view of the world from the eyes of Holden. The book shows the adolescent age confusion about love, alienation, sex etc. It shows the relation Holden shares with his friends, his brother Allen who passed away due to Blood cancer and his sister Phoebe whom he loves very dearly.

The kid is a straggler in school and has recently been dismissed from Pency based on his grades. The book begins with the last couple days of school before Christmas. He has to be home on Wednesday but he leaves school a couple days early. The rest of the book is his days in New York before he finally gets home. In The 2-3 days he spends in New York are characterized by under-age drinking, smoking, prostitution, his date and finally his sister Phoebe. Phoebe seems to be the only character in the book with whom Holden is able to communicate. He is able to make her understand and she shares similar love and concern.

The title of the book 'Catcher in the Rye' is the ideal job Holden would want to do when he grows up. Holden imagines himself as a catcher for young children who are playing in the rye at the edge of a cliff. 

The book was written by J.D. Salinger and published in 1951. Since then the book has been a part of many controversy and had been censored for its language and as a bad influence on adolescents. In spite all this the book has been among the top 100 best sellers English language novels written since 1923. In today's world i think the language does not need be censored and the young adolescents in the 21st century are way ahead of Holden. However, the basic theme of confusion and identity will relate to every  young boy even today.

My Rating: 7.0/10.0