English 11 Book Report
I. Introduction/General Information about the Book
Title: Catcher in the Rye
Author: Jerome David Salinger
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
II. Characters
Main Character:
The protagonist in the novel is Holden Caulfield, this terrible student at Pencey who was expelled because of failing four out of his five subjects – he only passed English. I think, his life was difficult for him because first, he didn’t have a role model; and second, it’s with what happened with Allie, which could have caused why he was flunking at school and all.
Supporting Characters:
Mr. Antolini was Holden's favorite teacher at Elkton Hills, one of the two schools he previously attended before Pencey. For Holden, he admires and respects him because Antolini is not only intellectual and perceptive, but he has a heart.
Another supporting character in the novel is Phoebe, Holden’s ten-year-old sister who is matured for her age, and the one Holden trusts among the family. Phoebe later convinces Holden to come back home.
III. Setting
The story, as Holden was narrating it, took place at New York City. Holden was at a mental institution recovering from a mental breakdown. The entire story is his flashback of the events of those three important days before he ended up to his emotional devastation.
IV. Plot
On the first part he talked about his visit to his history teacher at Pencey, Mr. Spencer. Holden went to Mr. Spencer’s house because he left him a note saying that he should drop by and say farewell. Then, Holden leaves and takes a train to New York and stays on Edmont Hotel. There, he spent a night with three tourist girls and an encounter with a young prostitute around his age named Sunny. Holden spends three days in New York, described basically by drunkenness and solitude. In the long run, he sneaks into his parents' apartment while they are away to visit Phoebe. Holden shares a dream he has been thinking about – being the one who looks after children who’re in a huge rye field on the edge of a cliff. Upon leaving his parents’ apartment, he visits his former English teacher, Mr. Antolini who offered him a place to sleep. Mr. Antolini then adviced Holden of things to do. He rebuked Holden's thoughts of becoming a "catcher in the rye," who representatively saves children from "falling off a crazy cliff" and being open to the elements to the evils of adulthood. Holden leaves and uses up his last afternoon traveling the city. Holden takes Phoebe to the Central Park Zoo, where he gazes with a bittersweet joy as she rides a carousel. He mentioned, at the end of the book, that he’d be attending another school by September.
V. Theme
The story basically tells the readers about the confusions of adolescents, even though not all have the kind of life Holden has. Holden did not want children to grow up because he felt that adults are corrupt. He does not have any friends and cannot keep relationships. Early in his life, his brother Allie died. This had many negative effects on him. He also disliked his parents. This led to his mental instability. Holden believed that children were innocent because they viewed the surroundings without unfairness. This leads to Holden's ambition to be the catcher in the rye, where the catcher prevents children from falling off a cliff, symbolically referring the cliff as the evil of adulthood.
VI. Evaluation of the Book
For me, the book was very interesting to read. Actually, my sister recommended it to me, and told me that it was worth reading. After reading the story, I was able to look into another teenager’s life and related to it. Though we don’t have the same decisions in life, I sort of have the same confusions as him. Everybody, I think, experiences breakdowns, deaths of loved ones, the feeling of rejection, and the difficulty of dealing with others.
When I was reading the first five pages of the novel, I thought, "Whoa, this guy sure uses vulgar language." That didn't discourage me to continue reading the book. I'm not really much of a reader, to be honest. It took me a while to convince myself to read the book; but when I started reading it, I never stopped. It was the kind of story that will keep you wondering what will happen next. Reading it was a good experience.