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A-Z CLASSIC LITERATURE

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (1951)
Many parallels exist between Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, and J. D. Salinger. In Catcher, we see the impact of Salinger’s World War II experience in Holden’s mistrusting, cynical view of adult society. 
"In J.D. Salinger's brilliant coming-of-age novel, Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old prep school adolescent relates his lonely, life-changing twenty-four hour stay in New York City as he experiences the phoniness of the adult world while attempting to deal with the death of his younger brother, an overwhelming compulsion to lie and troubling sexual experiences.

Salinger, whose characters are among the best and most developed in all of literature has captured the eternal angst of growing into adulthood in the person of Holden Caulfield. Anyone who has reached the age of sixteen will be able to identify with this unique and yet universal character, for Holden contains bits and pieces of all of us. It is for this very reason that The Catcher in the Rye has become one of the most beloved and enduring works in world literature."
Listen & Read Online Interactive eBook: About the text Read online
Study Guide Summary, Themes & Symbols Article: Role of Women & Girls
Biography: J. D. Salinger 7 Lessons: Marsden & Catcher Close Reading: Book Pairings

VIDEOS

Language, Voice and Holden Caulfield - The Catcher in the Rye, Part 1.

The Catcher in the Rye has managed to endure without a movie adaptation because a lot of its quality arises from the book's language. Find out how Holden's voice, his language, and his narrative technique combine to make the novel work. Also, Thought Bubble gives us a quick rundown of the plot,

SOURCE: Crash Course (2013), posted on YouTube, [10:51 mins], URL: https://youtu.be/R66eQLLOins

Holden, JD, and the Red Cap - The Catcher in the Rye, Part 2

This week John reads the novel with Salinger's life story in mind. John explores how Salinger's war experience, educational background, and romantic life inform the events of Holden Caulfield's life. How did Holden get to be such a whiny, self-absorbed teen? While it's not a great idea to read novels too biographically, Salinger's life surely informed Holden's.

SOURCE: Crash Course (2013), posted on YouTube, [8:20 mins] URL: https://youtu.be/LI1CusL7Ceo

Catcher in the Rye - Summary & Analysis

Free study guide and infographic for J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye.

SOURCE: Course Hero (2017), posted on YouTube, [6:29 mins], URL: https://youtu.be/e-R2EQfixOI