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{{Short description|1951 novel by J. D. Salinger}}
{{other uses2|The Catcher in the Rye}}
{{Other uses}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2012}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox book {{Infobox book
| name = The Catcher in the Rye | name = The Catcher in the Rye
| border = yes | border = no
| image = Rye catcher.jpg | image = The Catcher in the Rye (1951, first edition cover).jpg
| alt = Cover features a drawing of a carousel horse (pole visible entering the neck and exiting below on the chest) with a city skyline visible in the distance under the hindquarters. The cover is two-toned: everything below the horse is whitish while the horse and everything above it is a reddish-orange. The title appears at the top in yellow letters against the reddish-orange background. It is split into two lines after "Catcher". At the bottom in the whitish background are the words "a novel by J. D. Salinger".
| caption = First edition
| author = ] | caption = First edition cover
| author = ]
| illustrator =
| illustrator =
| cover_artist = ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://calarts.edu/news/11-sep-2009/calartsremembersbelovedanimationinstructoremichaelmitchell |title=CalArts Remembers Beloved Animation Instructor E. Michael Mitchell |publisher=Calarts.edu |accessdate=2010-01-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2010/01/judging-the-book-50-most-captivating-covers-of-all-time/ |title=50 Most Captivating Covers |publisher=Onlineuniversities.com |accessdate=2010-01-30}}</ref>
| cover_artist = ]<ref>{{cite web |title=CalArts Remembers Beloved Animation Instructor E. Michael Mitchell |publisher=Calarts.edu |url=http://calarts.edu/news/11-sep-2009/calartsremembersbelovedanimationinstructoremichaelmitchell |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090928013312/http://calarts.edu/news/11-sep-2009/calartsremembersbelovedanimationinstructoremichaelmitchell |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 28, 2009 |access-date=January 30, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=50 Most Captivating Covers |publisher=Onlineuniversities.com |url=http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2010/01/judging-the-book-50-most-captivating-covers-of-all-time/ |access-date=January 30, 2010}}</ref>
| country = ]
| country = United States
| language = ]
| genre = ]<br>] | language = English
| genre = ], ]
| published = July 16, 1951 | published = July 16, 1951<ref name="burgernyt" />
| publisher = ] | publisher = ]
| media_type = Print | media_type = Print
| pages = 214 | pages = 234 (may vary)
| isbn = | isbn =
| oclc = 287628 | dewey = 813.54
| oclc = 287628
}}
}}
'''''The Catcher in the Rye''''' is a 1951 novel by ].<ref>{{cite web|last=Ulin |first=David L. |url=http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-et-salinger29-2010jan29,0,578438.story |title=J.D. Salinger: a gift of words and silence |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2010-01-29 |accessdate=2013-01-19}}</ref> A controversial novel originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage ] and ].<ref>Costello, Donald P., and Harold Bloom. "The Language of "The Catcher in the Rye.." Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations: The Catcher in the Rye (2000): 11–20. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. Dec 1, 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-28671475_ITM
| title = Carte Blanche: Famous Firsts
| last = Carte
| first = Michael
| work = ]
| date = November 15, 2000
| accessdate = 2007-12-20
}}</ref> It has been translated into almost all of the world's major languages.<ref>{{cite book |last=Magill |first=Frank N. |title=Magill's Survey of American Literature |chapter=J. D. Salinger |year=1991 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish Corporation |location=New York|isbn=1-85435-437-X |page = 1803}}</ref>
Around 250,000 copies are sold each year with total sales of more than 65 million books.<ref>According to ]. An earlier article says more than 20 million: {{cite news
| url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43680-2004Oct18.html
| title = J. D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield, Aging Gracelessly
| last = Yardley
| first = Jonathan
| authorlink = Jonathan Yardley
| work=The Washington Post
| date = October 19, 2004
| accessdate = 2007-01-21
}}</ref> The novel's protagonist ] has become an icon for ].<ref>''Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions'' By Elizabeth Webber, Mike Feinsilber p.105</ref> The novel also deals with complex issues of ], belonging, loss, and connection.


'''''The Catcher in the Rye''''' is a novel by American author ] that was partially published in serial form in 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of ] and ], and as a critique of ] in society.<ref>Costello, Donald P., and ]. "The Language of 'The Catcher in the Rye:' Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations: The Catcher in the Rye (2000): 11–20. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. December 1, 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=November 15, 2000 |title=Carte Blanche: Famous Firsts |work=Booklist |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-28671475_ITM |access-date=December 20, 2007}}</ref> The novel also deals with themes of innocence, identity, belonging, loss, connection, sex, and depression. The main character, ], has become an icon for teenage rebellion.<ref>'' Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions'' By Elizabeth Webber, Mike Feinsilber p. 105</ref> Caulfield, ], gives his opinion on a wide variety of topics as he narrates his recent life events.
The novel was included on '']''{{'}}s 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923<ref>{{cite news
| url= http://entertainment.time.com/2005/10/16/all-time-100-novels/
| title=All-Time 100 Novels: The Complete List |work=Time |last1=Grossman |first1=Lev |last2= Lacayo |first2=Richard |date=October 16, 2005}}</ref> and it was named by ] and its readers as one of the ].<ref name="ALA" /><ref>List of most commonly challenged books from the list of the one hundred most important books of the 20th century by Radcliffe Publishing Course</ref><ref name="Guinn">{{cite news
| url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ET&p_theme=et&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EDCAD301800C85B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D
| title = "Catcher in the Rye" still influences 50 years later
| last = Guinn
| first = Jeff
| work = ]
| date = August 10, 2001
| accessdate = 2007-12-18
| format = fee required
}} </ref> In 2003, it was listed at #15 on the ]'s survey '']''.<ref>, BBC, April 2003. Retrieved October 18, 2012.</ref>


''The Catcher in the Rye'' has been translated widely.<ref>{{cite book |last=Magill |first=Frank N. |year=1991 |title=Magill's Survey of American Literature |url=https://archive.org/details/magillssurveyofa02magi |url-access=registration |chapter=J. D. Salinger |publisher=Marshall Cavendish Corporation |location=New York |isbn=1-85435-437-X |page=1803}}</ref> About one million copies are sold each year, with total sales of more than 65&nbsp;million books.<ref>According to List of best-selling books. An earlier article says more than 20 million: {{cite news |last=Yardley |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Yardley |date=October 19, 2004 |title=J. D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield, Aging Gracelessly |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43680-2004Oct18.html |access-date=January 21, 2007|quote=It isn't just a novel, it's a dispatch from an unknown, mysterious universe, which may help explain the phenomenal sales it enjoys to this day: about 250,000 copies a year, with total worldwide sales over – probably way over – 10 million.}}</ref> The novel was included on ''Time''{{'}}s 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923,<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Grossman |first1=Lev |last2=Lacayo |first2=Richard |date=October 16, 2005 |title=All-Time 100 Novels: The Complete List |magazine=Time |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2005/10/16/all-time-100-novels/}}</ref> and it was named by ] and its readers as one of the ].<ref name="ALA" /><ref>List of most commonly challenged books from the list of the one hundred most important books of the 20th century by Radcliffe Publishing Course</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Guinn |first=Jeff |date=August 10, 2001 |title='Catcher in the Rye' still influences 50 years later |work=] |format=fee required |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ET&p_theme=et&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EDCAD301800C85B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |access-date=December 18, 2007}} </ref> In 2003, it was listed at number 15 on the BBC's survey "]".<!-- <ref>{{cite web |title=The Big Read – Top 100 Books |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml |website=bbc.co.uk |access-date=February 19, 2019}}</ref><ref>, BBC, April 2003. Retrieved October 18, 2012.</ref> -->
==Plot summary==
Holden begins his story at Pencey Preparatory, an exclusive private school (fictional, though based on Salinger's own experience at ]) in Agerstown, ], on the Saturday afternoon of the traditional ] game with rival school Saxon Hall. Holden ends up missing the game. He is manager of the ] team and loses their equipment on a New York City subway train that morning, resulting in the cancellation of a match. He goes to the home of his history teacher named Mr. Spencer. Holden has been expelled and isn't to return after Christmas break, which begins the following Wednesday. Spencer is a well-meaning but long-winded middle-aged man. To Holden's annoyance, Spencer reads aloud Holden's history paper, in which Holden wrote a note to Spencer so his teacher wouldn't feel badly about failing him in the subject.


==Plot==
Holden returns to his dorm, which is quiet because most of the students are still at the football game. Wearing the new red hunting cap he bought in New York City, he begins re-reading a book ('']''), but his reverie is temporary. First, his dorm neighbor Ackley disturbs him, although Holden is patient about it. Then later, Holden argues with his roommate Stradlater, who fails to appreciate a composition that Holden wrote for him about the baseball glove of Holden's late brother Allie. A womanizer, Stradlater has just returned from a date with Holden's old friend Jane Gallagher. Holden is distressed that Stradlater might have taken advantage of Jane. Stradlater doesn't appreciate Jane in the manner in which Holden does; Stradlater even refers to Jane as "Jean". The boys fight, and Stradlater wins easily. Holden decides he has had enough of Pencey Prep and catches a train to ], where he plans to stay in a hotel until Wednesday, when his parents expect him to return home for New Years vacation.
Holden Caulfield recalls the events of a long weekend, shortly before the previous year's Christmas. The story begins at Pencey Preparatory Academy, a ] in Pennsylvania, where he has been expelled after failing all his classes, except English.


Later, Holden agrees to write an English composition for his roommate, Ward Stradlater, who is heading out on a date. He is distressed when he learns that Stradlater's date is Jane Gallagher, with whom Holden has been infatuated. When Stradlater returns, hours later, he fails to appreciate the deeply personal composition Holden has written for him about the ] of Holden's late brother, Allie, who died from ] years earlier, and refuses to say whether he had sex with Jane. Enraged, Holden punches and insults him, but Stradlater easily wins the fight. Fed up with the "phonies" at Pencey Prep, Holden decides to catch a train to New York, planning to stay away from his home until Wednesday, when his parents will have received notification of his expulsion.
He checks into the dilapidated Edmont Hotel. After observing the behavior of the "perverts" in the hotel room facing his, he struggles with his own sexuality. He states that although he has had opportunities to lose his virginity, the timing never felt right and he was always respectful when a girl declined. He spends an evening dancing with three tourist women in their 30s, from Seattle, in the hotel lounge and enjoys dancing with one, but ends up with only the check (to pay). He is disappointed that the women seem unable to carry a conversation. Following an unpromising visit to Ernie's Nightclub in ], Holden agrees to have a prostitute named Sunny visit his room. His attitude toward the girl changes the minute she enters the room; she seems about the same age as he. Holden becomes uncomfortable with the situation, and when he tells her all he wants to do is talk, she becomes annoyed and leaves. Even though he still pays her the right amount for her time, she returns with her ] Maurice and demands more money. Sunny takes five dollars from Holden's wallet; Maurice punches Holden in the stomach.


Throughout the night, Holden has unpleasant encounters with a prostitute, Sunny, and her pimp, Maurice, who ends up in a physical altercation with Holden; a familiar date, Sally Hayes, who Holden invites to run away with him but is rejected; and an old classmate Carl Luce, who Holden unrelentingly questions about his sex life. Holden eventually gets drunk, awkwardly flirts with several adults, calls Sally again, and runs out of money.
After a short sleep, Holden, lonely and in need of personal connection, telephones Sally Hayes, a familiar date, and they agree to meet that afternoon to attend a play. Holden leaves the hotel, checks his luggage at ], and has a late breakfast. He meets two nuns, one an English teacher, with whom he discusses '']''. Holden shops for a special record, "Little Shirley Beans", for his 10-year-old sister Phoebe. He likes this record and knows Phoebe will enjoy it. He spots a small boy singing "]", which makes him feel less depressed. The play he sees with Sally features Broadway stars ] and ]. Afterward Holden and Sally go ice skating at ]. While drinking ], Holden impulsively invites Sally to run away with him to the wilderness. She declines, acts uninterested, and is too arrogant to try and understand Holden's point of view. Her responses deflate Holden's mood, prompting him to remark: "You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth." He regrets it immediately, apologizing many times. Sally won't accept his apology and doesn't let him take her home. She states, "No boy ever said that to me in my entire life." Sally storms off as Holden follows, pleading with her to accept his apology. When she won't do so and gets angry, Holden finally leaves. After that, Holden sees the Christmas show at ], endures a film, and gets very drunk. Throughout the novel, Holden has been worried about the ducks in the lagoon at ]. He tries to find them but breaks Phoebe's record in the process, causing him to almost cry. He feels that he may not be good enough, and the record was the only thing he thought he had to offer to his sister. Exhausted physically, mentally, and financially, Holden heads home to see Phoebe.


Holden recalls the ], which he often visited as a child. He contrasts his evolving life with the statues of ] in a ]: whereas the statues have remained unchanged through the years, he and the world have not. Eventually, he sneaks into his parents' apartment while they are out, to visit his younger sister—and close friend—Phoebe, the only person with whom he seems to be able to communicate his true feelings. Holden shares a selfless fantasy he has been thinking about (based on a ] of ]' '']''): he pictures himself as the sole guardian of thousands of children playing an unspecified "game" in a huge ] field on the edge of a cliff. His job is to catch the children if, in their abandon, they come close to falling off the brink; to be, in effect, the "catcher in the rye". Because of this misinterpretation, Holden believes that to be the "catcher in the rye" means to save children from losing their innocence. Nostalgic to see his younger sister Phoebe, Holden sneaks into his parents' apartment while they are out and wakes her. Though happy to see him, Phoebe quickly guesses he has been expelled and chastises him for his general aimlessness and disdain. When she asks if he cares about anything, Holden shares a fantasy (based on a ] of ]'s '']''), in which he imagines himself saving children running through a field of rye by catching them before they fall off a nearby cliff. Phoebe points out that the actual poem says, "when a body meet a body, comin' through the rye." Holden breaks down in tears, and his sister tries to console him.


When his parents come home, Holden slips out and visits his former and much-admired English teacher, Mr. Antolini, who offers advice on life along with a place to sleep for the night. Mr. Antolini, quoting psychologist ], advises Holden that wishing to die for a noble cause is the mark of the immature man, while it is the mark of the mature man to aspire to live humbly for one cause. This is at odds with Holden's ideas of becoming a "catcher in the rye", symbolically saving children from the evils of adulthood. During the speech on life, Mr. Antolini has a number of cocktails served in ]es. Holden is upset when he wakes up in the night to find Mr. Antolini patting his head in a way that he regards as "flitty" (homosexual). It makes Holden feel very uncomfortable and embarrassed. Confused and uncertain, he leaves as dawn is breaking and spends most of Monday morning wandering the city. He questions whether his interpretation of Mr. Antolini's actions was correct, and wonders how much it matters anyway. As his parents return home, he slips out and visits his former English teacher, Mr. Antolini, who expresses concern that Holden is headed for "a terrible fall". Mr. Antolini advises him to begin applying himself and provides him with a place to sleep. Holden awakens to find Mr. Antolini patting his head, which he interprets as a sexual advance. He leaves and spends the rest of the night in a train-waiting room at ], sinking deeper into despair.


Holden makes the decision that he will head out ] and live as a deaf-mute. When he explains this plan to Phoebe on Monday at lunchtime, she wants to go with him. Holden declines her offer, which upsets Phoebe, so Holden decides not to leave after all. Phoebe was looking forward to acting in a play that Friday. Despite his displaying outward frustration, it is clear Holden wants Phoebe to be happy and safe, and he didn't think she would be if she left with him. ("I think I hated her most because she wouldn't be in that play any more if she went away with me.") He tries to cheer her up by taking her to the ], and as he watches her ride the zoo's ], he is filled with happiness and joy at the sight of Phoebe riding in the rain. In the morning, having lost hope of ever finding meaningful connection in the city, he decides to head out ] to live as a deaf-mute gas station attendant in a log cabin. He arranges to see Phoebe at lunchtime to explain his plan and say goodbye. When they meet up at the ], she arrives with a suitcase and asks to go with him. Holden refuses, which upsets Phoebe. He tries to cheer her by allowing her to skip school at the ], but she remains angry. They eventually reach the carousel, where they reconcile after he buys her a ticket. The sight of her riding the carousel fills him with happiness.


He alludes to encountering his parents that night and "getting sick", mentioning that he will be attending another academy in September. The novel ends with Holden stating that he is reluctant to say more because talk of school has made him miss his former classmates.
At the novel's conclusion, Holden decides not to mention much about later events up to the present day, finding them inconsequential. He alludes to "getting sick" and living in some sort of institution, and mentions he will be attending another school in September; he relates that he has been asked whether he will apply himself properly to his studies this time around and wonders whether such a question has any meaning before the fact. Holden says that he doesn't want to tell anything more because, surprisingly, he has found himself missing two of his former classmates, Stradlater and Ackley, and even Maurice, the pimp who punched him. He warns the reader that telling others about their own experiences will lead them to miss the people who shared them.


==History== ==History==
Various older stories by Salinger contain characters similar to those in ''The Catcher in the Rye''. While at ], ] wrote a short story called "]" in ]'s class; one character from this story has been described as a "thinly penciled prototype of Sally Hayes". In November 1941, Salinger sold the story "]," which featured Holden Caulfield, to '']'', but it wasn't published until December 21, 1946 due to World War II. The story "]," which was published in the December 22, 1945, issue of '']'', contained material that was later used in ''The Catcher in the Rye''. A ninety-page manuscript about Holden Caulfield was accepted by ''The New Yorker'' for publication in 1946, but it was later withdrawn by Salinger.<ref>{{cite book|last=Salzman|first=Jack|title=New essays on the Catcher in the Rye|year=1991|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=3|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=ic6NhqIcWhQC&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false|isbn=9780521377980}}</ref> Various older stories by Salinger contain characters similar to those in ''The Catcher in the Rye''. While at ], Salinger wrote a ] called "The Young Folks" in ]'s class; one character from this story has been described as a "thinly penciled prototype of Sally Hayes". In November 1941 he sold the story "]", which featured Holden Caulfield, to '']'', but it was not published until December 21, 1946, due to ]. The story "]", which was published in the December 22, 1945 issue of '']'', contained material that was later used in ''The Catcher in the Rye''. In 1946, ''The New Yorker'' accepted a 90-page ] about Holden Caulfield for publication, but Salinger later withdrew it.<ref>{{cite book |last=Salzman |first=Jack |year=1991 |title=New essays on the Catcher in the Rye |publisher=] |isbn=9780521377980 |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780521377980|url-access=registration }}</ref> The school Holden attends is Pencey Preparatory Academy, a ] in Pennsylvania that Salinger may have based on the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/04/valley-forge-military-academy-problems-hazing-sexual-assault-lawsuits/ |title=Hazing, Fighting, Sexual Assaults: How Valley Forge Military Academy Devolved Into "Lord of the Flies" – Mother Jones |publisher=Motherjones.com |date=2005-10-30 |accessdate=2022-09-02}}</ref>


==Writing style== ==Writing style==
''The Catcher in the Rye'' is narrated in a ] style from the point of view of Holden Caulfield, following his exact thought processes. There is flow in the seemingly disjointed ideas and episodes; for example, as Holden sits in a chair in his dorm, minor events, such as picking up a book or looking at a table, unfold into discussions about experiences. ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is narrated in a ] style from the point of view of Holden Caulfield, ]. There is flow in the seemingly disjointed ideas and episodes; for example, as Holden sits in a chair in his dorm, minor events, such as picking up a book or looking at a table, unfold into discussions about experiences.


Critical reviews affirm that the novel accurately reflected the teenage ] speech of the time.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Costello |first=Donald P. |date=October 1959 |title=The Language of 'The Catcher in the Rye' |journal=American Speech |doi=10.2307/454038 |jstor=454038 |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=172–182 |quote=Most critics who glared at ''The Catcher in the Rye'' at the time of its publication thought that its language was a true and authentic rendering of teenage colloquial speech. |issn = 0003-1283}}</ref> Words and phrases that appear frequently include:<ref>{{cite web |title=Study Help Full Glossary |url=https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-catcher-in-the-rye/study-help/full-glossary |website=CliffsNotes |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref>
Critical reviews agree that the novel accurately reflected the teenage ] speech of the time.<ref>{{cite journal
| title = The Language of "The Catcher in the Rye"
| last = Costello
| first = Donald P.
| journal = American Speech
| volume = 34
| issue = 3
| pages = 172–182
| date = October 1959
| quote = Most critics who glared at ''The Catcher in the Rye'' at the time of its publication thought that its language was a true and authentic rendering of teenage colloquial speech.
| doi = 10.2307/454038
| jstor=454038
}}</ref> Words and phrases that appear frequently include:


* "Phony" – superficial and pretentious * "Flitty" – ]
* "Give her the time" – ]
* "That killed me" – I found that hilarious or astonishing
* "Necking" – kissing, hugging, and caressing passionately
* "Flit" – homosexual
* "Phony" – people who are dishonest or fake about who they really are<ref>{{cite web |title=The Catcher in the Rye: Questions and Answers |url=https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/catcher/key-questions-and-answers/# |website=SparkNotes |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref>
* "Crumbum" – inadequate, insufficient, and/or disappointing
* "Prince" – a fine, generous, helpful fellow (often used in sarcastic fashion)
* "Snowing" – sweet-talking
* "Rubbernecks" – people who turn their heads to gaze in curiosity
* "I got a bang out of that" – I found it hilarious or exciting
* "Snowing" – deceiving, misleading, or winning over by glib talk, flattery, etc.
* "Shoot the bull" – have a conversation containing false elements
* "Give her the time" – sexual intercourse
* "Chew the fat" – small-talk

Spoken pauses, such as "and all", "I really did" pepper the narration as well as Holden's dialogue.


==Interpretations== ==Interpretations==
] held that Holden's attitude remains unchanged at story's end, implying no maturation, thus differentiating the novel from ].<ref>{{cite news ] held that Holden's attitude remains unchanged at story's end, implying no maturation, thus differentiating the novel from ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=Bruce |author-link=Bruce Brooks |date=May 1, 2004 |title=Holden at sixteen |work=] |url=http://archive.hbook.com/magazine/articles/2004/may04_brooks.asp |access-date=December 19, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20071221100107/http://archive.hbook.com/magazine/articles/2004/may04_brooks.asp |archive-date=December 21, 2007}}</ref>
In contrast, ] thought that teachers assign the novel because of the optimistic ending, to teach adolescent readers that "alienation is just a phase."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Menand |first=Louis |author-link=Louis Menand |date=September 27, 2001 |title=Holden at fifty |magazine=The New Yorker |url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2001/10/01/011001fa_FACT3?currentPage=all |access-date=December 19, 2007}}</ref> While Brooks maintained that Holden acts his age, Menand claimed that Holden thinks as an adult, given his ability to accurately perceive people and their motives. Others highlight the dilemma of Holden's state, in between adolescence and adulthood.<ref name="Onstad" /><ref>Graham, 33.</ref> Holden is quick to become emotional. "I felt sorry as hell for..." is a phrase he often uses. It is often said that Holden changes at the end, when he watches Phoebe on the carousel, and he talks about the golden ring and how it's good for kids to try to grab it.<ref name="Onstad">{{cite news |last=Onstad |first=Katrina |date=February 22, 2008 |title=Beholden to Holden |work=] |url=http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/bartlett.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225165543/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/bartlett.html |archive-date=February 25, 2008}}</ref>
| url = http://archive.hbook.com/magazine/articles/2004/may04_brooks.asp
| title = Holden at sixteen
| last = Brooks
| first = Bruce
| authorlink = Bruce Brooks
| work = ]
| date = May 1, 2004
| accessdate = 2007-12-19
}}</ref>
In contrast, ] thought that teachers assign the novel because of the optimistic ending, to teach adolescent readers that "alienation is just a phase."<ref name="Menand">{{cite news
| url = http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2001/10/01/011001fa_FACT3?currentPage=all
| title = Holden at fifty
| last = Menand
| first = Louis
| authorlink = Louis Menand
| work=The New Yorker
| date = September 27, 2001
| accessdate = 2007-12-19
}}</ref> While Brooks maintained that Holden acts his age, Menand claimed that Holden thinks as an adult, given his ability to accurately perceive people and their motives. Others highlight the dilemma of Holden's state, in between adolescence and adulthood.<ref name="Onstad" /><ref>Graham, 33.</ref> Holden is quick to become emotional. "I felt sorry as hell for..." is a phrase he often uses.<ref name="Onstad">{{cite news
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/bartlett.html
| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080225165543/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/bartlett.html
| archivedate = 25 February 2008
| deadurl = yes
| title = Beholden to Holden
| last = Onstad
| first = Katrina
| work = ]
| date = February 22, 2008
}}</ref>
] in '']'']]
Peter Beidler, in his ''A Reader's Companion to J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye"'', identifies the movie that the prostitute "Sunny" refers to. In chapter 13 she says that in the movie a boy falls off a boat. The movie is '']'', starring ]. Sunny says that Holden looks like the boy who fell off the boat. Beidler shows (page 28) a still of the boy, played by child-actor ].


Peter Beidler in his ''A Reader's Companion to J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye"'' identified the movie that the prostitute "Sunny" refers to. In chapter 13 she says that in the movie a boy who looked like Holden fell off a boat, and from this detail, Beidler deduced that the movie was '']'' (1937), with the boy played by child-actor ].<ref>{{cite web |last=Press |first=Coffeetown |date=2011-06-16 |title=A Reader's Companion to J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (Second Edition), by Peter G. Beidler |url=https://coffeetownpress.com/2011/06/16/the-second-edition-of-peter-g-beidlers-a-readers-companion-to-j-d-salingers-the-catcher-in-the-rye/ |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=Coffeetown Press |page=28 |language=en}}</ref>
Each Caulfield child has literary talent: D. B. writes screenplays in Hollywood; Holden also reveres D. B. for his writing skill (Holden's own best subject), but he also despises Hollywood industry-based movies, considering them the ultimate in "phony" as the writer has no space for his own imagination, and describes D. B.'s move to Hollywood to write for films as "prostituting himself"; Allie wrote poetry on his baseball glove; and Phoebe is a diarist.<ref name="Svougon">{{cite news
| url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9553015&site=ehost-live
| title = J.D. Salinger's The catcher in the Rye
| last = Svogun
| first = Margaret Dumais
| journal= Explicator
| volume=2
| issue= 2
| pages= 110–113
| date= Winter 2003
| accessdate= 2008-02-26
}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2010}}
This "catcher in the rye" is an analogy for Holden, who admires in kids attributes that he struggles to find in adults, like innocence, kindness, spontaneity, and generosity. Falling off the cliff could be a progression into the adult world that surrounds him and that he strongly criticizes. Later, Phoebe and Holden exchange roles as the "catcher" and the "fallen"; he gives her his hunting hat, the catcher's symbol, and becomes the fallen as Phoebe becomes the catcher.<ref name="Takeuchi">{{cite news
| url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7592838&site=ehost-live
| title = The Burning Carousel and the Carnivalesque: Subversion and Transcendence at the Close of ''The Catcher in the Rye''
| author = Yasuhiro Takeuchi
| journal= Studies in the Novel
| volume=34
| issue= 3
| pages= 320–337
| date= Fall 2002
| accessdate= 2008-02-26
}}</ref>


Each Caulfield child has literary talent. D.B. writes screenplays in Hollywood;<ref>{{harvtxt|Salinger|1969|p=67}}</ref> Holden also reveres D.B. for his writing skill (Holden's own best subject), but he also despises Hollywood industry-based movies, considering them the ultimate in "phony" as the writer has no space for his own imagination and describes D.B.'s move to Hollywood to write for films as "prostituting himself"; Allie wrote poetry on his baseball glove;<ref>{{harvtxt|Salinger|1969|p=38}}</ref> and Phoebe is a diarist.<ref>{{harvtxt|Salinger|1969|p=160}}</ref>
In their ], ] and ] argue that "''The Catcher in the Rye'' can best be understood as a disguised ]." Salinger witnessed the horrors of ], but rather than writing a combat novel, Salinger, according to Shields and Salerno, "took the trauma of war and embedded it within what looked to the naked eye like a coming-of-age novel."<ref>{{cite book|author1=Shields,David|author2=Salerno, Shane|title=Salinger|date=2013|publisher=Simon & Schuster|page=xvi|edition=Hardcover|url=http://www.amazon.ca/Salinger-David-Shields/dp/1476744831|accessdate=23 August 2015|quote=The Catcher in the Rye can best be understood as a disguised war novel. Salinger emerged from the war incapable of believing in the heroic, noble ideals we like to think our cultural institutions uphold. Instead of producing a combat novel, as Norman Mailer, James Jones, and Joseph Heller did, Salinger took the trauma of war and embedded it within what looked to the naked eye like a coming-of-age novel.}}</ref>
This "catcher in the rye" is an analogy for Holden, who admires in children attributes that he often struggles to find in adults, like innocence, kindness, spontaneity, and generosity. Falling off the cliff could be a progression into the adult world that surrounds him and that he strongly criticizes. Later, Phoebe and Holden exchange roles as the "catcher" and the "fallen"; he gives her his hunting hat, the catcher's symbol, and becomes the fallen as Phoebe becomes the catcher.<ref>{{cite news |author=Yasuhiro Takeuchi |date=Fall 2002 |title=The Burning Carousel and the Carnivalesque: Subversion and Transcendence at the Close of ''The Catcher in the Rye'' |journal=Studies in the Novel |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=320–337}}</ref>

In their ], ] and ] argue that: "''The Catcher in the Rye'' can best be understood as a disguised ]." Salinger witnessed the horrors of World War II, but rather than writing a combat novel, Salinger, according to Shields and Salerno, "took the trauma of war and embedded it within what looked to the naked eye like a coming-of-age novel."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shields |first1=David |last2=Salerno |first2=Shane |date=2013 |title=Salinger |edition=Hardcover |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=xvi |id={{ASIN|1476744831|country=ca}} |quote=The Catcher in the Rye can best be understood as a disguised war novel. Salinger emerged from the war incapable of believing in the heroic, noble ideals we like to think our cultural institutions uphold. Instead of producing a combat novel, like Norman Mailer, James Jones, and Joseph Heller did, Salinger took the trauma of war and embedded it within what looked to the naked eye like a coming-of-age novel.}}</ref>


==Reception== ==Reception==
''The Catcher in the Rye'' has been consistently listed as one of the best novels of the twentieth century. Shortly after its publication, in an article for '']'', Nash K. Burger called it "an unusually brilliant novel,"<ref name="burgernyt">{{cite news |last=Burger |first=Nash K. |date=July 16, 1951 |title=Books of The Times |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/13/specials/salinger-rye02.html |access-date=March 18, 2009}}</ref> while James Stern wrote an admiring review of the book in a voice imitating Holden's.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stern |first=James |date=July 15, 1951 |title=Aw, the World's a Crumby Place |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/13/specials/salinger-rye01.html |access-date=March 18, 2009}}</ref> ] called it a "marvelous book," listing it among the books that inspired him.<ref>{{cite web |title=Academy of Achievement – George H. W. Bush |work=The American Academy of Achievement |url=http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bus0int-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970213181840/http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bus0int-1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 13, 1997 |access-date=June 5, 2009}}</ref> In June 2009, the ]'s Finlo Rohrer wrote that, 58 years since publication, the book is still regarded "as the defining work on what it is like to be a teenager."<ref name="finlo rohrer">{{cite news |last=Rohrer |first=Finlo |date=June 5, 2009 |title=The why of the Rye |work=BBC News Magazine |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8084931.stm |access-date=June 5, 2009}}</ref> ] considers it one of the "three perfect books" in American literature, along with '']'' and '']'', and believes that "no book has ever captured a city better than ''Catcher in the Rye'' captured New York in the fifties."<ref name=":0">Gopnik, Adam. ''The New Yorker'', February 8, 2010, p. 21</ref> In an appraisal of ''The Catcher in the Rye'' written after the death of J. D. Salinger, Jeff Pruchnic says the novel has retained its appeal for many generations. Pruchnic describes Holden as a "teenage protagonist frozen midcentury but destined to be discovered by those of a similar age in every generation to come."<ref>Pruchnic, Jeff. "Holden at Sixty: Reading Catcher After the Age of Irony." Critical Insights: ------------The Catcher in The Rye (2011): 49–63. Literary Reference Center. Web. February 2, 2015.</ref> ] said that ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is one of his favorite books,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/Best-Books-2013 |title=The Best Books I Read in 2013 |last=Gates |first=Bill |work=gatesnotes.com|access-date=August 7, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref> as has ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://parade.com/76929/parade/books-that-changed-celebrity-lives/|title=Celebrities Share With PARADE: 'The Book That Changed My Life'|date=June 8, 2012|website=Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays}}</ref>
''The Catcher in the Rye'' has been listed as one of the best novels of the twentieth century. Shortly after its publication, writing for '']'', Nash K. Burger called it "an unusually brilliant novel,"<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/13/specials/salinger-rye02.html
| title = Books of The Times
| last = Burger
| first = Nash K.
| work=The New York Times
| date = July 16, 1951
| accessdate = 2009-03-18
}}</ref> while James Stern wrote an admiring review of the book in a voice imitating Holden's.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/13/specials/salinger-rye01.html
| title = Aw, the World's a Crumby Place
| last = Stern
| first = James
| work=The New York Times
| date = July 15, 1951
| accessdate = 2009-03-18
}}</ref> ] called it a "marvelous book," listing it among the books that have inspired him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bus0int-1|title=Academy of Achievement – George H. W. Bush|work=The American Academy of Achievement|accessdate=2009-06-05}}</ref> In June 2009, the ]'s Finlo Rohrer wrote that, 58 years since publication, the book is still regarded "as the defining work on what it is like to be a teenager. Holden is at various times disaffected, disgruntled, alienated, isolated, directionless, and sarcastic."<ref name="finlo rohrer">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8084931.stm|title=The why of the Rye |last=Rohrer|first=Finlo|date=June 5, 2009|work=BBC News Magazine|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2009-06-05}}</ref> ] considers it one of the "three perfect books" in American literature, along with '']'' and '']'', and believes that "no book has ever captured a city better than ''Catcher in the Rye'' captured New York in the fifties."<ref>Gopnik, Adam. ''The New Yorker'', February 8, 2010, p. 21</ref> Jeff Pruchnic wrote an appraisal of The Catcher in the Rye after the death of J.D. Salinger. In this article, Pruchnic focuses on how the novel continues to be received incredibly well, even after it has aged many generations. Pruchnic describes Holden as a “teenage protagonist frozen midcentury but destined to be discovered by those of a similar age in every generation to come”. <ref>Pruchnic, Jeff. "Holden at Sixty: Reading Catcher After the Age of Irony." Critical Insights: ------------The Catcher in The Rye (2011): 49-63. Literary Reference Center. Web. 2 Feb. 2015.</ref>


However, not all reception has been positive; the book has had its share of critics. Rohrer writes, "Many of these readers are disappointed that the novel fails to meet the expectations generated by the mystique it is shrouded in. J. D. Salinger has done his part to enhance this mystique. That is to say, he has done nothing."<ref name="finlo rohrer"/> Rohrer assessed the reasons behind both the popularity and criticism of the book, saying that it "captures existential teenage angst" and has a "complex central character" and "accessible conversational style"; while at the same time some readers may dislike the "use of 1940s New York vernacular" and other things. Not all reception has been positive. The book has had its share of naysayers, including the longtime '']'' book critic ], who, in 2004, wrote that the experience of rereading the novel after several decades proved to be "a painful experience: The combination of Salinger's ] prose and Caulfield's ] narcissism produced effects comparable to mainlining castor oil." Yardley described the novel as among the worst popular books in the annals of American literature. "Why," Yardley asked, "do English teachers, whose responsibility is to teach good writing, repeatedly and reflexively require students to read a book as badly written as this one?"<ref>{{cite news|last=Yardley |first=Jonathan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jd-salingers-holden-caulfield-aging-gracelessly/2013/08/27/04127c00-0f5b-11e3-85b6-d27422650fd5_story.html |title=J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield, Aging Gracelessly |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2004-10-19 |accessdate=2022-09-02}}</ref> According to Rohrer, many contemporary readers, as Yardley found, "just cannot understand what the fuss is about.... many of these readers are disappointed that the novel fails to meet the expectations generated by the mystique it is shrouded in. J. D. Salinger has done his part to enhance this mystique. That is to say, he has done nothing."<ref name="finlo rohrer" /> Rohrer assessed the reasons behind both the popularity and criticism of the book, saying that it "captures existential teenage angst" and has a "complex central character" and "accessible conversational style"; while at the same time some readers may dislike the "use of 1940s New York vernacular" and the excessive "whining" of the "self-obsessed character".


==Censorship and use in schools== ==Censorship in the United States==
In 1960, a teacher in ], was fired for assigning the novel in class. She was later reinstated.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dutra |first=Fernando |date=September 25, 2006 |title=U. Connecticut: Banned Book Week celebrates freedom |publisher=The America's Intelligence Wire |url=http://www.dailycampus.com/focus/banned-book-week-celebrates-freedom-1.1060005 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130215192024/http://www.dailycampus.com/focus/banned-book-week-celebrates-freedom-1.1060005 |url-status=dead |archive-date = February 15, 2013 |access-date=December 20, 2007 |quote=In 1960 a teacher in Tulsa, Okla. was fired for assigning "The Catcher in the Rye". After appealing, the teacher was reinstated, but the book was removed from the itinerary in the school.}}</ref> Between 1961 and 1982, ''The Catcher in the Rye'' was the most ] book in high schools and libraries in the United States.<ref name="In Cold Fear review">{{cite news |date=April 1, 2003 |title=In Cold Fear: 'The Catcher in the Rye', Censorship, Controversies and Postwar American Character. (Book Review) |work=] |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-4139523_ITM |access-date=December 19, 2007}}</ref> The book was briefly banned in the ], high schools in 1978 when three members of the School Board alleged the book was part of an "overall communist plot".<ref>{{cite book |last=Reiff |first=Raychel Haugrud |year=2008 |title=J.D. Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye and Other Works |publisher=Marshall Cavendish Corporation |location=Tarrytown, NY |isbn=978-0-7614-2594-6 |page=80 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oBPBiaBBF24C&pg=PA80}}</ref> This ban did not last long, and the offended board members were immediately recalled and removed in a special election.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jenkinson |first=Edward |date=1982 |title=Censors in the Classroom |publisher=Avon Books |page=35 |isbn=978-0380597901}}</ref> In 1981, it was both the most censored book and the second most taught book in public schools in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |last=Andrychuk |first=Sylvia |date=February 17, 2004 |title=A History of J.D. Salinger's ''The Catcher in the Rye'' |page=6 |url=http://www.slais.ubc.ca/courses/libr559f/03-04-wt2/projects/S_Andrychuk/Content/history_book_catcher.pdf |quote=During 1981, ''The Catcher in the Rye'' had the unusual distinction of being the most frequently censored book in the United States, and, at the same time, the second-most frequently taught novel in American public schools. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928072611/http://www.slais.ubc.ca/courses/libr559f/03-04-wt2/projects/S_Andrychuk/Content/history_book_catcher.pdf |archive-date=September 28, 2007}}</ref> According to the ], ''The Catcher in the Rye'' was the 10th most frequently ] book from 1990 to 1999.<ref name="ALA">{{cite web |title=The 100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999 |publisher=] |url=http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_1999/index.cfm |access-date=August 13, 2009}}</ref> It was one of the ten most challenged books of 2005,<ref>{{cite web |title="It's Perfectly Normal" tops ALA's 2005 list of most challenged books |publisher=] |url=http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=119074 |access-date=March 3, 2015}}</ref> and although it had been off the list for three years, it reappeared in the list of most challenged books of 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2009 |publisher=] |url=http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10#2009 |access-date=September 27, 2010}}</ref>
In 1960, a teacher in ] was fired for assigning the novel in class; however, he was later reinstated.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.dailycampus.com/focus/banned-book-week-celebrates-freedom-1.1060005
| title = U. Connecticut: Banned Book Week celebrates freedom
| last = Dutra
| first = Fernando
| publisher = The America's Intelligence Wire
| date = September 25, 2006
| accessdate = 2007-12-20
| quote = In 1960 a teacher in Tulsa, Okla., was fired for assigning "The Catcher in the Rye". After appealing, the teacher was reinstated, but the book was removed from the itinerary in the school.
}}</ref> Between 1961 and 1982, ''The Catcher in the Rye'' was the most ] book in high schools and libraries in the United States.<ref name="In Cold Fear review">{{cite news
| url = http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-4139523_ITM
| title = In Cold Fear: 'The Catcher in the Rye', Censorship, Controversies and Postwar American Character. (Book Review)
| work = ]
| date = April 1, 2003
| accessdate = 2007-12-19
}}</ref> The book was banned in the ], high schools in 1978 as being part of an "overall communist plot".<ref>{{cite book| last=Reiff| first=Raychel Haugrud| title=J.D. Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye and Other Works| year=2008|publisher=Marshall Cavendish Corporation| location=Tarrytown, NY| isbn=978-0-7614-2594-6| page=80|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=oBPBiaBBF24C&pg=PA80}}</ref> In 1981, it was both the most censored book and the second most taught book in public schools in the United States.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.slais.ubc.ca/courses/libr559f/03-04-wt2/projects/S_Andrychuk/Content/history_book_catcher.pdf
| title = A History of J.D. Salinger's ''The Catcher in the Rye''
| last = Andrychuk
| first = Sylvia
| date = February 17, 2004
| format = PDF
| page = 6
| quote = During 1981, ''The Catcher in the Rye'' had the unusual distinction of being the most frequently censored book in the United States, and, at the same time, the second-most frequently taught novel in American public schools.
| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070928072611/http://www.slais.ubc.ca/courses/libr559f/03-04-wt2/projects/S_Andrychuk/Content/history_book_catcher.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate =2007-09-28}}</ref> According to the ], ''The Catcher in the Rye'' was the 10th most frequently ] book from 1990 to 1999.<ref name="ALA">{{cite web
| url =http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_1999/index.cfm
| title = The 100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999
| publisher = ]
| accessdate = 2009-08-13
}}</ref> It was one of the ten most challenged books of 2005,<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=119074
| title = "It's Perfectly Normal" tops ALA's 2005 list of most challenged books
| publisher = ]
| accessdate = March 3, 2015
}}</ref> and although it had been off the list for three years, it reappeared in the list of most challenged books of 2009.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10#2009
| title = Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2009
| publisher = ]
| accessdate = 2010-09-27
}}</ref>


The challenges generally begin with Holden's frequent use of vulgar language;<ref>{{cite news |date=October 6, 1997 |title=Art or trash? It makes for endless, unwinnable debate |work=] |url=http://www.cjonline.com/stories/100697/snider.html |access-date=December 20, 2007 |quote=Another perennial target, J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye," was challenged in Maine because of the "f" word. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080606032330/http://www.cjonline.com/stories/100697/snider.html |archive-date=June 6, 2008}}</ref><ref name="Boron" /> other reasons include sexual references,<ref>{{cite news |last=MacIntyre |first=Ben |date=September 24, 2005 |title=The American banned list reveals a society with serious hang-ups |work=The Times |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-1792974,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111104410/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-1792974,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 11, 2008 |access-date=December 20, 2007}}</ref> ], undermining of family values<ref name="Boron" /> and moral codes,<ref name="Frangedis">{{cite journal |last=Frangedis |first=Helen |date=November 1988 |title=Dealing with the Controversial Elements in ''The Catcher in the Rye'' |journal=The English Journal |doi=10.2307/818945 |jstor=818945 |volume=77 |issue=7 |pages=72–75 |quote=The foremost allegation made against ''Catcher'' is... that it teaches loose moral codes; that it glorifies... drinking, smoking, lying, promiscuity, and more.}}</ref> encouragement of rebellion,<ref>{{cite news |author=Yilu Zhao |date=August 31, 2003 |title=Banned, But Not Forgotten |work=The New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E2DF1438F932A0575BC0A9659C8B63 |access-date=December 20, 2007 |quote=''The Catcher in the Rye,'' interpreted by some as encouraging rebellion against authority...}}</ref> and promotion of drinking, smoking, lying, ], and sexual abuse.<ref name="Frangedis" /> The book was written for an adult audience, which often forms the foundation of many challengers' arguments against it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.bl.uk/english-and-drama/2016/09/banned-from-the-classroom-censorship-and-the-catcher-in-the-rye.html|title=Banned from the classroom: Censorship and The Catcher in the Rye – English and Drama blog|website=blogs.bl.uk|access-date=January 30, 2019}}</ref> Often the challengers have been unfamiliar with the plot itself.<ref name="In Cold Fear review" /> Shelley Keller-Gage, a high school teacher who faced objections after assigning the novel in her class, noted that "the challengers are being just like Holden... They are trying to be catchers in the rye."<ref name="Boron">{{cite news |last=Mydans |first=Seth |date=September 3, 1989 |title=In a Small Town, a Battle Over a Book |work=] |page=2 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1D7103CF930A3575AC0A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 |access-date=December 20, 2007}}</ref> Censorship of the book often causes a ], as such incidents cause many to put themselves on the waiting list to borrow the novel, where there was no waiting list before.<ref name="Whitfield">{{cite journal |last=Whitfield |first=Stephen |date=December 1997 |title=Cherished and Cursed: Toward a Social History of The Catcher in the Rye |journal=The New England Quarterly |doi=10.2307/366646 |jstor=366646 |volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=567–600 |url=http://www.northeastern.edu/neq/pdfs/Whitfield%2C_Stephen_J.pdf |access-date=November 2, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912144104/http://www.northeastern.edu/neq/pdfs/Whitfield%2C_Stephen_J.pdf |archive-date=September 12, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |year=2001 |title=J.D. Salinger |publisher=] |location=Philadelphia |isbn=0-7910-6175-2 |pages=77–105}}</ref>
The challenges generally begin with Holden's frequent use of vulgar language,<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.cjonline.com/stories/100697/snider.html
| title = Art or trash? It makes for endless, unwinnable debate
| work = ]
| date = October 6, 1997
| accessdate = 2007-12-20
| quote = Another perennial target, J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye," was challenged in Maine because of the "f" word.
}}</ref><ref name="Boron" /> with other reasons including sexual references,<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-1792974,00.html
| title = The American banned list reveals a society with serious hang-ups
| last = MacIntyre
| first = Ben
| work=The Times
| date = September 24, 2005
| accessdate = 2007-12-20
| location=London
}}</ref> ], undermining of family values<ref name="Boron" /> and moral codes,<ref name="Frangedis">{{cite journal
| title = Dealing with the Controversial Elements in ''The Catcher in the Rye''
| last = Frangedis
| first = Helen
| journal = The English Journal
| volume = 77
| issue = 7
| pages = 72–75
| date = November 1988
| quote = The foremost allegation made against ''Catcher'' is... that it teaches loose moral codes; that it glorifies... drinking, smoking, lying, promiscuity, and more.
| doi = 10.2307/818945
| jstor = 818945
}}</ref> encouragement of rebellion,<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E2DF1438F932A0575BC0A9659C8B63
| title = Banned, But Not Forgotten
| author = Yilu Zhao
| work=The New York Times
| date = August 31, 2003
| accessdate = 2007-12-20
| quote = ''The Catcher in the Rye,'' interpreted by some as encouraging rebellion against authority...
}}</ref> and promotion of drinking, smoking, lying, and ].<ref name="Frangedis" />
Often the challengers have been unfamiliar with the plot itself.<ref name="In Cold Fear review" /> Shelley Keller-Gage, a high school teacher who faced objections after assigning the novel in her class, noted that "the challengers are being just like Holden... They are trying to be catchers in the rye".<ref name="Boron">{{cite news
| url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1D7103CF930A3575AC0A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2
| title = In a Small Town, a Battle Over a Book
| last = Mydans
| first = Seth
| work=The New York Times
| date = September 3, 1989
| accessdate = 2007-12-20
| page = 2
}}</ref> ] has been that this incident caused people to put themselves on the waiting list to borrow the novel, when there were none before.<ref name="Whitfield">{{cite journal | title = Cherished and Cursed: Toward a Social History of The Catcher in the Rye | last = Whitfield | first = Stephen | journal = The New England Quarterly | volume = 70 | issue = 4 | date=December 1997 | pages = 567–600 | doi=10.2307/366646 | jstor = 366646
<!-- Article released for free download by publisher at http://www.northeastern.edu/neq/Announcements.html as per "Free Article: A Social History of The Catcher in the Rye", January 27, 2010 --> | url = http://www.northeastern.edu/neq/pdfs/Whitfield%2C_Stephen_J.pdf |format= PDF | accessdate = 2012-11-02 | postscript = <br />
:Reprinted in {{Cite book |title= J. D. Salinger |year=2001 |publisher= ] |location=Philadelphia |series= Bloom's BioCritiques |isbn=0-7910-6175-2 |editor1-last= Bloom |editor1-first= Harold |editor1-link= Harold Bloom | pages = 77–105}}|ref=harv}}</ref>


==Violent reactions==
==Shooters citing the book as an influence==
{{see|The Catcher in the Rye in popular culture#Shootings}} {{further|The Catcher in the Rye in popular culture#Shootings}}
Several shootings have been ] with Salinger's novel, including ]'s shooting of ] and ]'s assassination attempt on ]. After ], ] was arrested with a copy of the book that he had purchased that same day, inside of which he had written: "To Holden Caulfield, From Holden Caulfield, This is my statement".<ref>{{cite web Several shootings have been ] with Salinger's novel, including ]'s murder of ] and ]'s ] on ]. Additionally, after ] ], ] was arrested with a copy of the book that he had purchased that same day, inside of which he had written: "To Holden Caulfield, From Holden Caulfield, ''This'' is my statement".<ref>{{cite web |last=Weeks |first=Linton |date=September 10, 2000 |title=Telling on Dad |work=] |url=http://amarillo.com/stories/091000/boo_tellingondad.shtml |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604005125/http://amarillo.com/stories/091000/boo_tellingondad.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date = June 4, 2011 |access-date=February 12, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Doyle |first=Aidan |date=December 15, 2003 |title=When books kill |work=] |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/books/feature/2003/12/15/books_kill/index1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071105025510/http://dir.salon.com/story/books/feature/2003/12/15/books_kill/index1.html |archive-date=November 5, 2007}}</ref>

| url = http://amarillo.com/stories/091000/boo_tellingondad.shtml
Commenting on the fascination of Hinckley and Chapman, Harvey Solomon-Brady wrote:
| title = Telling on Dad

| last = Weeks
{{cquote|Compared to books lauded by other killers – ]'s '']'' by ]'s assassin ], ]'s meditations on Christianity by ]'s murderer ] and ]'s ''The Secret Agent'' by Unabomber ] – ''The Catcher in the Rye'' stands out in its devastating ability to influence without explicit instruction.<ref>Harvey Solomon-Brady, WhyNow, "Did The Catcher in the Rye kill John Lennon?," 8 December 2020</ref>}}
| first = Linton
| work = ]
| date = September 10, 2000
| accessdate = 2011-02-12
}}</ref><ref name="Salon">{{cite web
| url = http://dir.salon.com/story/books/feature/2003/12/15/books_kill/index1.html
| title = When books kill
| last = Doyle
| first = Aidan
| publisher = ]
| date = December 15, 2003
}}</ref>


==Attempted adaptations== ==Attempted adaptations==

===In film=== ===In film===
Early in his career, Salinger expressed a willingness to have his work adapted for the screen.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Ian |authorlink=Ian Hamilton (critic) |title=In Search of J. D. Salinger |year=1988 |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=0-394-53468-9}} p. 75.</ref> In 1949, a critically panned film version of his short story "]" was released; renamed '']'' and taking great liberties with Salinger's plot, the film is widely considered to be among the reasons that Salinger refused to allow any subsequent film adaptations of his work.<ref name="Onstad"/><ref name="berg">Berg, A. Scott. ''Goldwyn: A Biography''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989. ISBN 1-57322-723-4. p. 446.</ref> The enduring popularity of ''The Catcher in the Rye'', however, has resulted in repeated attempts to secure the novel's screen rights.<ref>See Dr. Peter Beidler's A'' Reader's Companion to J. D. Salinger's the Catcher in the Rye'', Chapter 7.</ref> Early in his career, Salinger expressed a willingness to have his work adapted for the screen.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Ian |author-link=Ian Hamilton (critic) |title=In Search of J. D. Salinger |url=https://archive.org/details/insearchofjdsali0000hami |url-access=registration |year=1988 |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=0-394-53468-9}} p. 75.</ref> In 1949, a critically panned film version of his short story "]" was released; renamed '']'', the film took great liberties with Salinger's plot and is widely considered to be among the reasons that Salinger refused to allow any subsequent film adaptations of his work.<ref name="Onstad" /><ref name="berg">Berg, A. Scott. ''Goldwyn: A Biography''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989. {{ISBN|1-57322-723-4}}. p. 446.</ref> The enduring success of ''The Catcher in the Rye'', however, has resulted in repeated attempts to secure the novel's screen rights.<ref>See Dr. Peter Beidler's A'' Reader's Companion to J. D. Salinger's the Catcher in the Rye'', Chapter 7.</ref>


When ''The Catcher in the Rye'' was first released, many offers were made to adapt it for the screen, including one from ], producer of ''My Foolish Heart''.<ref name="berg" /> In a letter written in the early fifties, J. D. Salinger spoke of mounting a play in which he would play the role of Holden Caulfield opposite ], and, if he couldn't play the part himself, to "forget about it." Almost fifty years later, the writer ] definitively concluded, "The only person who might ever have played Holden Caulfield would have been J. D. Salinger."<ref name="mayn">{{cite book |last=Maynard |first=Joyce |authorlink=Joyce Maynard |title=At Home in the World |year=1998 |publisher=Picador |location=New York |page=93| isbn=0-312-19556-7 }} p. 93.</ref> When ''The Catcher in the Rye'' was first released, many offers were made to adapt it for the screen, including one from ], producer of ''My Foolish Heart''.<ref name="berg" /> In a letter written in the early 1950s, Salinger spoke of mounting a play in which he would play the role of Holden Caulfield opposite ], and, if he couldn't play the part himself, to "forget about it." Almost 50 years later, the writer ] definitively concluded, "The only person who might ever have played Holden Caulfield would have been J. D. Salinger."<ref name="mayn">{{cite book |last=Maynard |first=Joyce |author-link=Joyce Maynard |title=At Home in the World |url=https://archive.org/details/athomeinworld00joyc |url-access=registration |year=1998 |publisher=Picador |location=New York |isbn=0-312-19556-7 |page=}}</ref>


Salinger told Maynard in the seventies that ] "tried for years to get his hands on the part of Holden,"<ref name="mayn" /> despite Lewis not having read the novel until he was in his thirties.<ref name="Whitfield" /> Celebrities ranging from ] and ] to ] and ] have since tried to make a film adaptation.<ref>{{cite web|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20040906/vgn.ifilm.com/db/static_text/0,1699,5784,00.html |archivedate =2004-09-06|url = http://vgn.ifilm.com/db/static_text/0,1699,5784,00.html|year = 2004|title = News & Features |accessdate = 2007-04-05|work = IFILM: The Internet Movie Guide}}</ref> In an interview with '']'' magazine, ] commented that his one regret about turning twenty-one was that he had become too old to play Holden Caulfield. Writer-director ] recounted his abortive attempts to snare the novel's rights: Salinger told Maynard in the 1970s that ] "tried for years to get his hands on the part of Holden,"<ref name="mayn" /> the protagonist in the novel which Lewis had not read until he was in his thirties.<ref name="Whitfield" /> Film industry figures including ], ], ], ] and ] have tried to make a film adaptation.<ref>{{cite web |year=2004 |title=News & Features |work=IFILM: The Internet Movie Guide |url=http://vgn.ifilm.com/db/static_text/0,1699,5784,00.html |access-date=April 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040906121952/http://vgn.ifilm.com/db/static_text/0,1699,5784,00.html |archive-date=September 6, 2004}}</ref> In an interview with '']'', ] commented that his one regret about turning 21 was that he had become too old to play Holden Caulfield. Writer-director ] recounted his abortive attempts to snare the novel's rights:


{{bquote|Of course I read ''The Catcher in the Rye''....Wonderful book. I loved it. I pursued it. I wanted to make a picture out of it. And then one day a young man came to the office of ], my agent, in New York, and said, 'Please tell Mr. Leland Hayward to lay off. He's very, very insensitive.' And he walked out. That was the entire speech. I never saw him. That was J. D. Salinger and that was ''Catcher in the Rye''.<ref>Crowe, Cameron, ed. ''Conversations with Wilder''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. ISBN 0-375-40660-3. p. 299.</ref>}} {{cquote|Of course I read ''The Catcher in the Rye''... Wonderful book. I loved it. I pursued it. I wanted to make a picture out of it. And then one day a young man came to the office of ], my agent, in New York, and said, "Please tell Mr. Leland Hayward to lay off. He's very, very insensitive." And he walked out. That was the entire speech. I never saw him. That was J. D. Salinger and that was ''Catcher in the Rye''.<ref>Crowe, Cameron, ed. ''Conversations with Wilder''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. {{ISBN|0-375-40660-3}}. p. 299.</ref>}}


In 1961, Salinger denied ] permission to direct a stage adaptation of ''Catcher'' for ].<ref name="guard">{{cite news |last=McAllister |first=David |url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,1082699,00.html |title=Will J. D. Salinger sue? |work=The Guardian |date=November 11, 2003 |accessdate=2007-04-12 | location=London}}</ref> More recently, Salinger's agents received bids for the ''Catcher'' movie rights from ] and ],<ref name="post">{{cite web|author=AJ |url=http://dailycaller.com/2010/01/29/why-j-d-salinger-never-wanted-a-%E2%80%98catcher-in-the-rye%E2%80%99-movie/ |title=Why J. D. Salinger Never Wanted A 'Catcher in the Rye' Movie |publisher=The Daily Caller |date=2010-01-29 |accessdate=2013-01-19}}</ref> neither of which was even passed on to J. D. Salinger for consideration. In 1961, Salinger denied ] permission to direct a stage adaptation of ''Catcher'' for ].<ref name="guard">{{cite news |last=McAllister |first=David |date=November 11, 2003 |title=Will J. D. Salinger sue? |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,1082699,00.html |access-date=April 12, 2007}}</ref> Later, Salinger's agents received bids for the ''Catcher'' film rights from ] and ], neither of which was even passed on to Salinger for consideration.<ref>{{cite web|title=Spielberg wanted to film Catcher In The Rye|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/entertainment/film/spielberg-wanted-to-film-catcher-in-the-rye-124346.html |date=December 5, 2003 |website=Irish Examiner|access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref>


In 2003, the ] television program '']'' featured ''The Catcher in the Rye'', interspersing discussions of the novel with "a series of short films that featured an actor playing J. D. Salinger's adolescent antihero, Holden Caulfield."<ref name="guard" /> The show defended its unlicensed adaptation of the novel by claiming to be a "literary review", and no major charges were filed. In 2003, the ] television program '']'' featured ''The Catcher in the Rye'', interspersing discussions of the novel with "a series of short films that featured an actor playing J. D. Salinger's adolescent antihero, Holden Caulfield."<ref name="guard" /> The show defended its unlicensed adaptation of the novel by claiming to be a "literary review", and no major charges were filed.


After Salinger's death in 2010, Phyllis Westberg, who was Salinger's agent at ] Associates, stated that nothing has changed in terms of licensing film, television, or stage rights of his works.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/29/2805400.htm?section=justin |title=Slim chance of Catcher in the Rye movie – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |publisher=ABCnet.au |accessdate=2010-01-30}}</ref> A letter written by Salinger in 1957 revealed that he was open to an adaptation of ''The Catcher in the Rye'' released after his death. He wrote: "Firstly, it is possible that one day the rights will be sold. Since there's an ever-looming possibility that I won't die rich, I toy very seriously with the idea of leaving the unsold rights to my wife and daughter as a kind of insurance policy. It pleasures me no end, though, I might quickly add, to know that I won't have to see the results of the transaction." Salinger also wrote that he believed his novel was not suitable for film treatment, and that translating Holden Caulfield's ] into ] and dialogue would be contrived.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2010/01/30/2010-01-30_could_catcher_in_the_rye_finally_make_it_to_the_big_screen_salinger_letter_sugge.html |title=Could 'Catcher in the Rye' finally make it to the big screen? Salinger letter suggests yes |work=Daily News |location=New York |date= January 29, 2010|accessdate=2010-01-30 | first=Sherryl | last=Connelly}}</ref> In 2008, the rights of Salinger's works were placed in the JD Salinger Literary Trust where Salinger was the sole trustee. Phyllis Westberg, who was Salinger's agent at Harold Ober Associates in New York, declined to say who the trustees are now that the author is dead. After Salinger died in 2010, Westberg stated that nothing had changed in terms of licensing film, television, or stage rights of his works.<ref>{{cite news |title=Slim chance of Catcher in the Rye movie – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |newspaper=ABC News |date=January 29, 2010 |publisher=ABCnet.au |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/29/2805400.htm?section=justin |access-date=January 30, 2010}}</ref> A letter written by Salinger in 1957 revealed that he was open to an adaptation of ''The Catcher in the Rye'' released after his death. He wrote: "Firstly, it is possible that one day the rights will be sold. Since there's an ever-looming possibility that I won't die rich, I toy very seriously with the idea of leaving the unsold rights to my wife and daughter as a kind of insurance policy. It pleasures me no end, though, I might quickly add, to know that I won't have to see the results of the transaction." Salinger also wrote that he believed his novel was not suitable for film treatment, and that translating Holden Caulfield's ] into ] and dialogue would be contrived.<ref>{{cite news |last=Connelly |first=Sherryl |date=January 29, 2010 |title=Could 'Catcher in the Rye' finally make it to the big screen? Salinger letter suggests yes |work=Daily News |location=New York |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2010/01/30/2010-01-30_could_catcher_in_the_rye_finally_make_it_to_the_big_screen_salinger_letter_sugge.html |access-date=January 30, 2010}}</ref>


In 2020, ] revealed that ] had almost made an animated film titled ''Dufus'' which would have been an adaptation of ''The Catcher in the Rye'' "with ]", most likely akin to '']''. The idea came from then CEO ] who loved the book and wanted to do an adaptation. After being told that J. D. Salinger would not agree to sell the film rights, Eisner stated, "Well, let's just do that kind of story, that kind of growing up, coming of age story."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/disney-catcher-in-the-rye-animated-movie-explained/ |title=Disney Once Tried to Make an Animated 'Catcher in the Rye' — But Wait, There's More|website=Collider|last=Taylor|first=Drew|date=August 3, 2020|access-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref>
===Banned fan fiction===
In 2009, a year before his death, Salinger successfully sued to stop the U.S. publication of a novel that presents Holden Caulfield as an old man.<ref name="finlo rohrer"/><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/books/06/03/salinger.catcher.lawsuit/index.html | title = Lawsuit targets 'rip-off' of 'Catcher in the Rye'| last =Gross |first= Doug | publisher = CNN| date = June 3, 2009 | accessdate = 2009-06-03 }}</ref> The novel's author, ], commented, "call me an ignorant Swede, but the last thing I thought possible in the U.S. was that you banned books".<ref>Fogel, Karl. . ''QuestionCopyright.org''. 2009-07-07.</ref> The issue is complicated by the nature of Colting's book, ''60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye'', which has been compared to ].<ref name="sutherland">Sutherland, John. '']''. Retrieved 2009-07-22.</ref> Although commonly not authorized by writers, no legal action is usually taken<ref>Fan Fiction and a New Common Law'(1997) ], ''Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Journal'',. vol.17.</ref> against fan fiction since it is rarely published commercially and thus involves no profit. Colting, however, has published his book commercially. Unauthorized fan fiction on ''The Catcher in the Rye'' existed on the Internet for years without any legal action taken by Salinger before his death.<ref name="sutherland" />


==Cultural influence== ===Banned fan sequel===
In 2009, the year before he died, Salinger successfully sued to stop the U.S. publication of a novel that presents Holden Caulfield as an old man.<ref name="finlo rohrer" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Gross |first=Doug |date=June 3, 2009 |title=Lawsuit targets 'rip-off' of 'Catcher in the Rye' |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/books/06/03/salinger.catcher.lawsuit/index.html |access-date=June 3, 2009}}</ref> The novel's author, ], commented: "call me an ignorant Swede, but the last thing I thought possible in the U.S. was that you banned books".<ref>Fogel, Karl. . ''QuestionCopyright.org''. July 7, 2009.</ref> The issue is complicated by the nature of Colting's book, ''60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye'', which has been compared to ].<ref>Sutherland, John. '']''. Retrieved July 22, 2009.</ref> Although commonly not authorized by writers, no legal action is usually taken against fan fiction, since it is rarely published commercially and thus involves no profit.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Fan Fiction and a New Common Law|author=]|journal=Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Journal|date=1997|volume=17}}</ref>

==Legacy and use in popular culture==
{{main|The Catcher in the Rye in popular culture}} {{main|The Catcher in the Rye in popular culture}}

''The Catcher in the Rye'' has had significant cultural influence, and works inspired by the novel have been said to form their own genre. The Nepali short film ''Milarepa in Prison'' borrows some ideas from The Catcher in the Rye as its main protagonist character has been influenced by the character of Holden Caulifield. <ref name="Menand" /> Dr. Sarah Graham assessed works influenced by ''The Catcher in the Rye'' to include the novels '']'' by ], '']'' by ], '']'' by ], '']'' by ], '']'' by ], and the film '']'' by ].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8084931.stm | title = Why does Salinger's Catcher in the Rye still resonate?| last=Rohrer |first= Finlo | work = BBC News Magazine | date = June 5, 2009 | accessdate = 2012-02-12 }}</ref>


==See also== ==See also==
* ] * ]
* ] * ]


==References== ==References==

===Notes=== ===Notes===

{{reflist|30em}}
{{reflist|1=30em}}


===Bibliography=== ===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}} {{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Graham |first=Sarah |title=J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye |publisher=Routledge |year=2007 |isbn=0-415-34452-2}} * {{cite book |last=Graham |first=Sarah |year=2007 |title=J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-415-34452-4}}
* {{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8084931.stm |title=The why of the Rye |last=Rohrer |first=Finlo |date=June 5, 2009 |work=BBC News Magazine |publisher=BBC}} * {{cite news |last=Rohrer |first=Finlo |date=June 5, 2009 |title=The why of the Rye |work=BBC News Magazine |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8084931.stm}}
* {{ citation | last1 = Salinger | first1 = J. D. | title = The Catcher in the Rye | location = New York | publisher = ] | year = 1969 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wahlbrinck |first=Bernd |year=2021 |title=Looking Back after 70 Years: J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye Revisited |publisher=Tumbelweed |isbn=978-3-9821463-7-9}}
{{refend}} {{refend}}


===Further reading=== ===Further reading===
{{refbegin}} {{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Steinle |first=Pamela Hunt |year=2000 |title=In Cold Fear: ''The Catcher in the Rye'' Censorship Controversies and Postwar American Character |publisher=] |url=http://www.ohiostatepress.org/index.htm?/books/book%20pages/steinle%20in.html |access-date = March 29, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160331042330/https://ohiostatepress.org/index.htm?%2Fbooks%2Fbook%2520pages%2Fsteinle%2520in.html |archive-date = March 31, 2016 |url-status = dead }}
* {{cite book
| last = Steinle
| first = Pamela Hunt
| year = 2000
| title = In Cold Fear: ''The Catcher in the Rye'' Censorship Controversies and Postwar American Character
| publisher = ]
| url = http://www.ohiostatepress.org/index.htm?/books/book%20pages/steinle%20in.html
}}
{{refend}} {{refend}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{wikiquote|The Catcher in the Rye}} {{wikiquote|The Catcher in the Rye}}
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928091148/http://www.bookdrum.com/books/the-catcher-in-the-rye/9780140237504/index.html |date=September 28, 2016 }}

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{{Authority control}} {{Authority control}}

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Latest revision as of 03:53, 15 December 2024

1951 novel by J. D. Salinger For other uses, see The Catcher in the Rye (disambiguation).

The Catcher in the Rye
Cover features a drawing of a carousel horse (pole visible entering the neck and exiting below on the chest) with a city skyline visible in the distance under the hindquarters. The cover is two-toned: everything below the horse is whitish while the horse and everything above it is a reddish-orange. The title appears at the top in yellow letters against the reddish-orange background. It is split into two lines after "Catcher". At the bottom in the whitish background are the words "a novel by J. D. Salinger".First edition cover
AuthorJ. D. Salinger
Cover artistE. Michael Mitchell
LanguageEnglish
GenreRealistic fiction, Coming-of-age fiction
PublishedJuly 16, 1951
PublisherLittle, Brown and Company
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Pages234 (may vary)
OCLC287628
Dewey Decimal813.54

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by American author J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form in 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angst and alienation, and as a critique of superficiality in society. The novel also deals with themes of innocence, identity, belonging, loss, connection, sex, and depression. The main character, Holden Caulfield, has become an icon for teenage rebellion. Caulfield, nearly of age, gives his opinion on a wide variety of topics as he narrates his recent life events.

The Catcher in the Rye has been translated widely. About one million copies are sold each year, with total sales of more than 65 million books. The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923, and it was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2003, it was listed at number 15 on the BBC's survey "The Big Read".

Plot

Holden Caulfield recalls the events of a long weekend, shortly before the previous year's Christmas. The story begins at Pencey Preparatory Academy, a boarding school in Pennsylvania, where he has been expelled after failing all his classes, except English.

Later, Holden agrees to write an English composition for his roommate, Ward Stradlater, who is heading out on a date. He is distressed when he learns that Stradlater's date is Jane Gallagher, with whom Holden has been infatuated. When Stradlater returns, hours later, he fails to appreciate the deeply personal composition Holden has written for him about the baseball glove of Holden's late brother, Allie, who died from leukemia years earlier, and refuses to say whether he had sex with Jane. Enraged, Holden punches and insults him, but Stradlater easily wins the fight. Fed up with the "phonies" at Pencey Prep, Holden decides to catch a train to New York, planning to stay away from his home until Wednesday, when his parents will have received notification of his expulsion.

Throughout the night, Holden has unpleasant encounters with a prostitute, Sunny, and her pimp, Maurice, who ends up in a physical altercation with Holden; a familiar date, Sally Hayes, who Holden invites to run away with him but is rejected; and an old classmate Carl Luce, who Holden unrelentingly questions about his sex life. Holden eventually gets drunk, awkwardly flirts with several adults, calls Sally again, and runs out of money.

Nostalgic to see his younger sister Phoebe, Holden sneaks into his parents' apartment while they are out and wakes her. Though happy to see him, Phoebe quickly guesses he has been expelled and chastises him for his general aimlessness and disdain. When she asks if he cares about anything, Holden shares a fantasy (based on a mishearing of Robert Burns's Comin' Through the Rye), in which he imagines himself saving children running through a field of rye by catching them before they fall off a nearby cliff. Phoebe points out that the actual poem says, "when a body meet a body, comin' through the rye." Holden breaks down in tears, and his sister tries to console him.

As his parents return home, he slips out and visits his former English teacher, Mr. Antolini, who expresses concern that Holden is headed for "a terrible fall". Mr. Antolini advises him to begin applying himself and provides him with a place to sleep. Holden awakens to find Mr. Antolini patting his head, which he interprets as a sexual advance. He leaves and spends the rest of the night in a train-waiting room at Grand Central Terminal, sinking deeper into despair.

In the morning, having lost hope of ever finding meaningful connection in the city, he decides to head out West to live as a deaf-mute gas station attendant in a log cabin. He arranges to see Phoebe at lunchtime to explain his plan and say goodbye. When they meet up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she arrives with a suitcase and asks to go with him. Holden refuses, which upsets Phoebe. He tries to cheer her by allowing her to skip school at the Central Park Zoo, but she remains angry. They eventually reach the carousel, where they reconcile after he buys her a ticket. The sight of her riding the carousel fills him with happiness.

He alludes to encountering his parents that night and "getting sick", mentioning that he will be attending another academy in September. The novel ends with Holden stating that he is reluctant to say more because talk of school has made him miss his former classmates.

History

Various older stories by Salinger contain characters similar to those in The Catcher in the Rye. While at Columbia University, Salinger wrote a short story called "The Young Folks" in Whit Burnett's class; one character from this story has been described as a "thinly penciled prototype of Sally Hayes". In November 1941 he sold the story "Slight Rebellion off Madison", which featured Holden Caulfield, to The New Yorker, but it was not published until December 21, 1946, due to World War II. The story "I'm Crazy", which was published in the December 22, 1945 issue of Collier's, contained material that was later used in The Catcher in the Rye. In 1946, The New Yorker accepted a 90-page manuscript about Holden Caulfield for publication, but Salinger later withdrew it. The school Holden attends is Pencey Preparatory Academy, a boarding school in Pennsylvania that Salinger may have based on the Valley Forge Military Academy and College.

Writing style

The Catcher in the Rye is narrated in a subjective style from the point of view of Holden Caulfield, following his exact thought processes. There is flow in the seemingly disjointed ideas and episodes; for example, as Holden sits in a chair in his dorm, minor events, such as picking up a book or looking at a table, unfold into discussions about experiences.

Critical reviews affirm that the novel accurately reflected the teenage colloquial speech of the time. Words and phrases that appear frequently include:

  • "Flitty" – homosexual
  • "Give her the time" – sexual intercourse
  • "Necking" – kissing, hugging, and caressing passionately
  • "Phony" – people who are dishonest or fake about who they really are
  • "Prince" – a fine, generous, helpful fellow (often used in sarcastic fashion)
  • "Rubbernecks" – people who turn their heads to gaze in curiosity
  • "Snowing" – deceiving, misleading, or winning over by glib talk, flattery, etc.

Interpretations

Bruce Brooks held that Holden's attitude remains unchanged at story's end, implying no maturation, thus differentiating the novel from young adult fiction. In contrast, Louis Menand thought that teachers assign the novel because of the optimistic ending, to teach adolescent readers that "alienation is just a phase." While Brooks maintained that Holden acts his age, Menand claimed that Holden thinks as an adult, given his ability to accurately perceive people and their motives. Others highlight the dilemma of Holden's state, in between adolescence and adulthood. Holden is quick to become emotional. "I felt sorry as hell for..." is a phrase he often uses. It is often said that Holden changes at the end, when he watches Phoebe on the carousel, and he talks about the golden ring and how it's good for kids to try to grab it.

Peter Beidler in his A Reader's Companion to J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" identified the movie that the prostitute "Sunny" refers to. In chapter 13 she says that in the movie a boy who looked like Holden fell off a boat, and from this detail, Beidler deduced that the movie was Captains Courageous (1937), with the boy played by child-actor Freddie Bartholomew.

Each Caulfield child has literary talent. D.B. writes screenplays in Hollywood; Holden also reveres D.B. for his writing skill (Holden's own best subject), but he also despises Hollywood industry-based movies, considering them the ultimate in "phony" as the writer has no space for his own imagination and describes D.B.'s move to Hollywood to write for films as "prostituting himself"; Allie wrote poetry on his baseball glove; and Phoebe is a diarist. This "catcher in the rye" is an analogy for Holden, who admires in children attributes that he often struggles to find in adults, like innocence, kindness, spontaneity, and generosity. Falling off the cliff could be a progression into the adult world that surrounds him and that he strongly criticizes. Later, Phoebe and Holden exchange roles as the "catcher" and the "fallen"; he gives her his hunting hat, the catcher's symbol, and becomes the fallen as Phoebe becomes the catcher.

In their biography of Salinger, David Shields and Shane Salerno argue that: "The Catcher in the Rye can best be understood as a disguised war novel." Salinger witnessed the horrors of World War II, but rather than writing a combat novel, Salinger, according to Shields and Salerno, "took the trauma of war and embedded it within what looked to the naked eye like a coming-of-age novel."

Reception

The Catcher in the Rye has been consistently listed as one of the best novels of the twentieth century. Shortly after its publication, in an article for The New York Times, Nash K. Burger called it "an unusually brilliant novel," while James Stern wrote an admiring review of the book in a voice imitating Holden's. George H. W. Bush called it a "marvelous book," listing it among the books that inspired him. In June 2009, the BBC's Finlo Rohrer wrote that, 58 years since publication, the book is still regarded "as the defining work on what it is like to be a teenager." Adam Gopnik considers it one of the "three perfect books" in American literature, along with Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby, and believes that "no book has ever captured a city better than Catcher in the Rye captured New York in the fifties." In an appraisal of The Catcher in the Rye written after the death of J. D. Salinger, Jeff Pruchnic says the novel has retained its appeal for many generations. Pruchnic describes Holden as a "teenage protagonist frozen midcentury but destined to be discovered by those of a similar age in every generation to come." Bill Gates said that The Catcher in the Rye is one of his favorite books, as has Aaron Sorkin.

Not all reception has been positive. The book has had its share of naysayers, including the longtime Washington Post book critic Jonathan Yardley, who, in 2004, wrote that the experience of rereading the novel after several decades proved to be "a painful experience: The combination of Salinger's execrable prose and Caulfield's jejune narcissism produced effects comparable to mainlining castor oil." Yardley described the novel as among the worst popular books in the annals of American literature. "Why," Yardley asked, "do English teachers, whose responsibility is to teach good writing, repeatedly and reflexively require students to read a book as badly written as this one?" According to Rohrer, many contemporary readers, as Yardley found, "just cannot understand what the fuss is about.... many of these readers are disappointed that the novel fails to meet the expectations generated by the mystique it is shrouded in. J. D. Salinger has done his part to enhance this mystique. That is to say, he has done nothing." Rohrer assessed the reasons behind both the popularity and criticism of the book, saying that it "captures existential teenage angst" and has a "complex central character" and "accessible conversational style"; while at the same time some readers may dislike the "use of 1940s New York vernacular" and the excessive "whining" of the "self-obsessed character".

Censorship in the United States

In 1960, a teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was fired for assigning the novel in class. She was later reinstated. Between 1961 and 1982, The Catcher in the Rye was the most censored book in high schools and libraries in the United States. The book was briefly banned in the Issaquah, Washington, high schools in 1978 when three members of the School Board alleged the book was part of an "overall communist plot". This ban did not last long, and the offended board members were immediately recalled and removed in a special election. In 1981, it was both the most censored book and the second most taught book in public schools in the United States. According to the American Library Association, The Catcher in the Rye was the 10th most frequently challenged book from 1990 to 1999. It was one of the ten most challenged books of 2005, and although it had been off the list for three years, it reappeared in the list of most challenged books of 2009.

The challenges generally begin with Holden's frequent use of vulgar language; other reasons include sexual references, blasphemy, undermining of family values and moral codes, encouragement of rebellion, and promotion of drinking, smoking, lying, promiscuity, and sexual abuse. The book was written for an adult audience, which often forms the foundation of many challengers' arguments against it. Often the challengers have been unfamiliar with the plot itself. Shelley Keller-Gage, a high school teacher who faced objections after assigning the novel in her class, noted that "the challengers are being just like Holden... They are trying to be catchers in the rye." Censorship of the book often causes a Streisand effect, as such incidents cause many to put themselves on the waiting list to borrow the novel, where there was no waiting list before.

Violent reactions

Further information: The Catcher in the Rye in popular culture § Shootings

Several shootings have been associated with Salinger's novel, including Robert John Bardo's murder of Rebecca Schaeffer and John Hinckley Jr.'s assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. Additionally, after fatally shooting John Lennon, Mark David Chapman was arrested with a copy of the book that he had purchased that same day, inside of which he had written: "To Holden Caulfield, From Holden Caulfield, This is my statement".

Commenting on the fascination of Hinckley and Chapman, Harvey Solomon-Brady wrote:

Compared to books lauded by other killers – George Orwell's 1984 by John F. Kennedy's assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, C.S. Lewis's meditations on Christianity by Gianni Versace's murderer Andrew Cunanan and Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent by Unabomber Ted KaczynskiThe Catcher in the Rye stands out in its devastating ability to influence without explicit instruction.

Attempted adaptations

In film

Early in his career, Salinger expressed a willingness to have his work adapted for the screen. In 1949, a critically panned film version of his short story "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut" was released; renamed My Foolish Heart, the film took great liberties with Salinger's plot and is widely considered to be among the reasons that Salinger refused to allow any subsequent film adaptations of his work. The enduring success of The Catcher in the Rye, however, has resulted in repeated attempts to secure the novel's screen rights.

When The Catcher in the Rye was first released, many offers were made to adapt it for the screen, including one from Samuel Goldwyn, producer of My Foolish Heart. In a letter written in the early 1950s, Salinger spoke of mounting a play in which he would play the role of Holden Caulfield opposite Margaret O'Brien, and, if he couldn't play the part himself, to "forget about it." Almost 50 years later, the writer Joyce Maynard definitively concluded, "The only person who might ever have played Holden Caulfield would have been J. D. Salinger."

Salinger told Maynard in the 1970s that Jerry Lewis "tried for years to get his hands on the part of Holden," the protagonist in the novel which Lewis had not read until he was in his thirties. Film industry figures including Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Ralph Bakshi, Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio have tried to make a film adaptation. In an interview with Premiere, John Cusack commented that his one regret about turning 21 was that he had become too old to play Holden Caulfield. Writer-director Billy Wilder recounted his abortive attempts to snare the novel's rights:

Of course I read The Catcher in the Rye... Wonderful book. I loved it. I pursued it. I wanted to make a picture out of it. And then one day a young man came to the office of Leland Hayward, my agent, in New York, and said, "Please tell Mr. Leland Hayward to lay off. He's very, very insensitive." And he walked out. That was the entire speech. I never saw him. That was J. D. Salinger and that was Catcher in the Rye.

In 1961, Salinger denied Elia Kazan permission to direct a stage adaptation of Catcher for Broadway. Later, Salinger's agents received bids for the Catcher film rights from Harvey Weinstein and Steven Spielberg, neither of which was even passed on to Salinger for consideration.

In 2003, the BBC television program The Big Read featured The Catcher in the Rye, interspersing discussions of the novel with "a series of short films that featured an actor playing J. D. Salinger's adolescent antihero, Holden Caulfield." The show defended its unlicensed adaptation of the novel by claiming to be a "literary review", and no major charges were filed.

In 2008, the rights of Salinger's works were placed in the JD Salinger Literary Trust where Salinger was the sole trustee. Phyllis Westberg, who was Salinger's agent at Harold Ober Associates in New York, declined to say who the trustees are now that the author is dead. After Salinger died in 2010, Westberg stated that nothing had changed in terms of licensing film, television, or stage rights of his works. A letter written by Salinger in 1957 revealed that he was open to an adaptation of The Catcher in the Rye released after his death. He wrote: "Firstly, it is possible that one day the rights will be sold. Since there's an ever-looming possibility that I won't die rich, I toy very seriously with the idea of leaving the unsold rights to my wife and daughter as a kind of insurance policy. It pleasures me no end, though, I might quickly add, to know that I won't have to see the results of the transaction." Salinger also wrote that he believed his novel was not suitable for film treatment, and that translating Holden Caulfield's first-person narrative into voice-over and dialogue would be contrived.

In 2020, Don Hahn revealed that The Walt Disney Company had almost made an animated film titled Dufus which would have been an adaptation of The Catcher in the Rye "with German shepherds", most likely akin to Oliver & Company. The idea came from then CEO Michael Eisner who loved the book and wanted to do an adaptation. After being told that J. D. Salinger would not agree to sell the film rights, Eisner stated, "Well, let's just do that kind of story, that kind of growing up, coming of age story."

Banned fan sequel

In 2009, the year before he died, Salinger successfully sued to stop the U.S. publication of a novel that presents Holden Caulfield as an old man. The novel's author, Fredrik Colting, commented: "call me an ignorant Swede, but the last thing I thought possible in the U.S. was that you banned books". The issue is complicated by the nature of Colting's book, 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, which has been compared to fan fiction. Although commonly not authorized by writers, no legal action is usually taken against fan fiction, since it is rarely published commercially and thus involves no profit.

Legacy and use in popular culture

Main article: The Catcher in the Rye in popular culture

See also

References

Notes

  1. "CalArts Remembers Beloved Animation Instructor E. Michael Mitchell". Calarts.edu. Archived from the original on September 28, 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  2. "50 Most Captivating Covers". Onlineuniversities.com. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  3. ^ Burger, Nash K. (July 16, 1951). "Books of The Times". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  4. Costello, Donald P., and Harold Bloom. "The Language of 'The Catcher in the Rye:' Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations: The Catcher in the Rye (2000): 11–20. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. December 1, 2010.
  5. "Carte Blanche: Famous Firsts". Booklist. November 15, 2000. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  6. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions By Elizabeth Webber, Mike Feinsilber p. 105
  7. Magill, Frank N. (1991). "J. D. Salinger". Magill's Survey of American Literature. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. p. 1803. ISBN 1-85435-437-X.
  8. According to List of best-selling books. An earlier article says more than 20 million: Yardley, Jonathan (October 19, 2004). "J. D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield, Aging Gracelessly". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 21, 2007. It isn't just a novel, it's a dispatch from an unknown, mysterious universe, which may help explain the phenomenal sales it enjoys to this day: about 250,000 copies a year, with total worldwide sales over – probably way over – 10 million.
  9. Grossman, Lev; Lacayo, Richard (October 16, 2005). "All-Time 100 Novels: The Complete List". Time.
  10. ^ "The 100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999". American Library Association. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
  11. List of most commonly challenged books from the list of the one hundred most important books of the 20th century by Radcliffe Publishing Course
  12. Guinn, Jeff (August 10, 2001). "'Catcher in the Rye' still influences 50 years later" (fee required). Erie Times-News. Retrieved December 18, 2007. Alternate URL
  13. Salzman, Jack (1991). New essays on the Catcher in the Rye. Cambridge University Press. p. 3. ISBN 9780521377980.
  14. "Hazing, Fighting, Sexual Assaults: How Valley Forge Military Academy Devolved Into "Lord of the Flies" – Mother Jones". Motherjones.com. October 30, 2005. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  15. Costello, Donald P. (October 1959). "The Language of 'The Catcher in the Rye'". American Speech. 34 (3): 172–182. doi:10.2307/454038. ISSN 0003-1283. JSTOR 454038. Most critics who glared at The Catcher in the Rye at the time of its publication thought that its language was a true and authentic rendering of teenage colloquial speech.
  16. "Study Help Full Glossary". CliffsNotes. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  17. "The Catcher in the Rye: Questions and Answers". SparkNotes. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  18. Brooks, Bruce (May 1, 2004). "Holden at sixteen". Horn Book Magazine. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  19. Menand, Louis (September 27, 2001). "Holden at fifty". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  20. ^ Onstad, Katrina (February 22, 2008). "Beholden to Holden". CBC News. Archived from the original on February 25, 2008.
  21. Graham, 33.
  22. Press, Coffeetown (June 16, 2011). "A Reader's Companion to J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (Second Edition), by Peter G. Beidler". Coffeetown Press. p. 28. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  23. Salinger (1969, p. 67)
  24. Salinger (1969, p. 38)
  25. Salinger (1969, p. 160)
  26. Yasuhiro Takeuchi (Fall 2002). "The Burning Carousel and the Carnivalesque: Subversion and Transcendence at the Close of The Catcher in the Rye". Studies in the Novel. Vol. 34, no. 3. pp. 320–337.
  27. Shields, David; Salerno, Shane (2013). Salinger (Hardcover ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. xvi. ASIN 1476744831. The Catcher in the Rye can best be understood as a disguised war novel. Salinger emerged from the war incapable of believing in the heroic, noble ideals we like to think our cultural institutions uphold. Instead of producing a combat novel, like Norman Mailer, James Jones, and Joseph Heller did, Salinger took the trauma of war and embedded it within what looked to the naked eye like a coming-of-age novel.
  28. Stern, James (July 15, 1951). "Aw, the World's a Crumby Place". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  29. "Academy of Achievement – George H. W. Bush". The American Academy of Achievement. Archived from the original on February 13, 1997. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  30. ^ Rohrer, Finlo (June 5, 2009). "The why of the Rye". BBC News Magazine. BBC. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  31. Gopnik, Adam. The New Yorker, February 8, 2010, p. 21
  32. Pruchnic, Jeff. "Holden at Sixty: Reading Catcher After the Age of Irony." Critical Insights: ------------The Catcher in The Rye (2011): 49–63. Literary Reference Center. Web. February 2, 2015.
  33. Gates, Bill. "The Best Books I Read in 2013". gatesnotes.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  34. "Celebrities Share With PARADE: 'The Book That Changed My Life'". Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays. June 8, 2012.
  35. Yardley, Jonathan (October 19, 2004). "J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield, Aging Gracelessly". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  36. Dutra, Fernando (September 25, 2006). "U. Connecticut: Banned Book Week celebrates freedom". The America's Intelligence Wire. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2007. In 1960 a teacher in Tulsa, Okla. was fired for assigning "The Catcher in the Rye". After appealing, the teacher was reinstated, but the book was removed from the itinerary in the school.
  37. ^ "In Cold Fear: 'The Catcher in the Rye', Censorship, Controversies and Postwar American Character. (Book Review)". Modern Language Review. April 1, 2003. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  38. Reiff, Raychel Haugrud (2008). J.D. Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye and Other Works. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-7614-2594-6.
  39. Jenkinson, Edward (1982). Censors in the Classroom. Avon Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-0380597901.
  40. Andrychuk, Sylvia (February 17, 2004). "A History of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye" (PDF). p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007. During 1981, The Catcher in the Rye had the unusual distinction of being the most frequently censored book in the United States, and, at the same time, the second-most frequently taught novel in American public schools.
  41. ""It's Perfectly Normal" tops ALA's 2005 list of most challenged books". American Library Association. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  42. "Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2009". American Library Association. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  43. "Art or trash? It makes for endless, unwinnable debate". The Topeka Capital-Journal. October 6, 1997. Archived from the original on June 6, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2007. Another perennial target, J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye," was challenged in Maine because of the "f" word.
  44. ^ Mydans, Seth (September 3, 1989). "In a Small Town, a Battle Over a Book". The New York Times. p. 2. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  45. MacIntyre, Ben (September 24, 2005). "The American banned list reveals a society with serious hang-ups". The Times. London. Archived from the original on January 11, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  46. ^ Frangedis, Helen (November 1988). "Dealing with the Controversial Elements in The Catcher in the Rye". The English Journal. 77 (7): 72–75. doi:10.2307/818945. JSTOR 818945. The foremost allegation made against Catcher is... that it teaches loose moral codes; that it glorifies... drinking, smoking, lying, promiscuity, and more.
  47. Yilu Zhao (August 31, 2003). "Banned, But Not Forgotten". The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2007. The Catcher in the Rye, interpreted by some as encouraging rebellion against authority...
  48. "Banned from the classroom: Censorship and The Catcher in the Rye – English and Drama blog". blogs.bl.uk. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  49. ^ Whitfield, Stephen (December 1997). "Cherished and Cursed: Toward a Social History of The Catcher in the Rye" (PDF). The New England Quarterly. 70 (4): 567–600. doi:10.2307/366646. JSTOR 366646. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  50. J.D. Salinger. Philadelphia: Chelsea House. 2001. pp. 77–105. ISBN 0-7910-6175-2.
  51. Weeks, Linton (September 10, 2000). "Telling on Dad". Amarillo Globe-News. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
  52. Doyle, Aidan (December 15, 2003). "When books kill". Salon.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2007.
  53. Harvey Solomon-Brady, WhyNow, "Did The Catcher in the Rye kill John Lennon?," 8 December 2020
  54. Hamilton, Ian (1988). In Search of J. D. Salinger. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-53468-9. p. 75.
  55. ^ Berg, A. Scott. Goldwyn: A Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989. ISBN 1-57322-723-4. p. 446.
  56. See Dr. Peter Beidler's A Reader's Companion to J. D. Salinger's the Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 7.
  57. ^ Maynard, Joyce (1998). At Home in the World. New York: Picador. p. 93. ISBN 0-312-19556-7.
  58. "News & Features". IFILM: The Internet Movie Guide. 2004. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
  59. Crowe, Cameron, ed. Conversations with Wilder. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. ISBN 0-375-40660-3. p. 299.
  60. ^ McAllister, David (November 11, 2003). "Will J. D. Salinger sue?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
  61. "Spielberg wanted to film Catcher In The Rye". Irish Examiner. December 5, 2003. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  62. "Slim chance of Catcher in the Rye movie – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. ABCnet.au. January 29, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  63. Connelly, Sherryl (January 29, 2010). "Could 'Catcher in the Rye' finally make it to the big screen? Salinger letter suggests yes". Daily News. New York. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  64. Taylor, Drew (August 3, 2020). "Disney Once Tried to Make an Animated 'Catcher in the Rye' — But Wait, There's More". Collider. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  65. Gross, Doug (June 3, 2009). "Lawsuit targets 'rip-off' of 'Catcher in the Rye'". CNN. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
  66. Fogel, Karl. Looks like censorship, smells like censorship... maybe it IS censorship?. QuestionCopyright.org. July 7, 2009.
  67. Sutherland, John. How fanfic took over the web London Evening Standard. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  68. Rebecca Tushnet (1997). "Fan Fiction and a New Common Law". Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Journal. 17.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

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