The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
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A disillusioned teenager navigates the complexities of adolescence and the perceived phoniness of the adult world.
The story
Holden Caulfield, a student recently expelled from the elite Pencey Preparatory Academy, recounts the events of a long weekend before Christmas. After a tense confrontation with his roommate over his childhood friend, Holden decides to leave school and travel to New York City. While navigating the city, he encounters various individuals, including a prostitute and a former classmate, while struggling with his feelings of alienation and the perceived superficiality of the world around him. He seeks connection and a sense of belonging while attempting to navigate the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Holden Caulfield recounts a final weekend before Christmas following his expulsion from Pencey Preparatory Academy. After a fight with his roommate Ward Stradlater over the fate of a childhood friend, Jane Gallagher, Holden travels to New York City. He stays at a hotel, encounters a prostitute named Sunny, and eventually seeks out his former teacher, Mr. Antolini, for advice. After a night of disillusionment, he returns to his family's apartment to see his sister, Phoebe. He shares a fantasy of being a 'catcher in the rye'—protecting children from falling off a cliff into adulthood. He eventually takes Phoebe to a carousel in Central Park. The story concludes with Holden's plans for the future, including a potential stay in a sanatorium in California near his brother, D.B., while expressing a hope to return to school.
- First release year
- 1951
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Writers
- J. D. Salinger · author
- Genres
- Realistic fiction; Coming-of-age fiction
- Themes
- angst; alienation; superficiality; innocence; identity; belonging; loss
- Tone and mood
- subjective; disillusioned
- Premise and plot tags
- coming-of-age; first-person narrative; unreliable narrator
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Catcher in the Rye
- Content notes
- vulgar language; sexual references; blasphemy
- Reception
- The novel is widely acclaimed as a defining work of teenage angst and a masterpiece of American literature, though some critics have criticized its prose and the protagonist's characterization.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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