The Catcher In The Rye - Chapter one; summary and analysis.

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The Catcher In The Rye

Chapter One:

The Catcher in the Rye begins with the statement by the narrator, Holden Caulfield, that he will not tell about his "lousy" childhood and "all that David Copperfield kind of crap" because such details bore him. He describes his parents as nice, but "touchy as hell." Instead, Holden vows to tell about what happened to him around last Christmas, before he had to take it easy. He also mentions his brother, D.B., who is nearby in Hollywood "being a prostitute." Holden was a student at Pencey Prep in Agerstown, Pennsylvania, and he mocks their advertisements, which claim to have been molding boys into clear-thinking young men since 1888. Holden begins his story during the Saturday of the football game with Saxon Hall, which was supposed to be a very big deal at Pencey. Selma Thurmer, the daughter of the headmaster, is at the game. Although she is unattractive and a bit pathetic, to Holden she seems nice enough, for she does not lavish praise upon her father. Holden, the manager of the fencing team, had just returned from New York with the team. Although they were supposed to have a meet with the McBurney School, Holden left the foils on the subway. The fencing team was angry at Holden, but he thought the entire event was funny in a way. Holden does not attend the football game, instead choosing to say goodbye to Spencer, his history teacher, who knew that Holden was not coming back to Pencey. Holden had recently been expelled for failing four classes.

Analysis:

J.D. Salinger begins The Catcher in the Rye with a bold and sarcastic declaration. His main character immediately rejects the idea that the events that he describes in the novel consist of his life story or that this story is indicative of any larger message. He eschews the Dickensian idea of literature, in which plot points and narrative progression serve a moral end, and rather adopts a discursive style with no concrete Œmessage.' Salinger resists the idea that Catcher in the Rye serves an instructive end or acts as a cautionary tale; rather, as Holden insists, it is a tale that exists independent of any larger meaning or message.

Although Holden insists that his story serves no larger purpose, in this first chapter Salinger establishes several conventions of a cautionary tale. Holden indicates that he has to "take it easy" at a new place, strongly implying that he now is found receiving psychiatric help. Also, details of Holden's life indicate that he is pursuing an aimless and self-destructive path. Expelled from school for failing several classes, Holden essentially describes himself as a perpetual failure. Even worse, in his failings he takes a complete disregard for others. His solipsistic self-destruction makes him unable to grasp the consequences of his actions. When he loses the fencing equipment on the trip to New York, he is unable to comprehend that his action was irresponsible; instead, he focuses on how he feels his mistake, which he insists is not his fault, is humorous.

Holden Caulfield is in many ways a typical teenager, skeptical of all authority and with a truculent attitude that stems from a cynical naïveté. Within the first several paragraphs he dismisses his parents as "touchy" and his brother as a sellout to Hollywood consumerism, yet provides no real critique of their behavior. With the exception of Mr. Spencer and, to a more limited extent, Selma Thurmer, Holden displays contempt for every character he mentions and all of the actions they undertake. The one value that he tends to espouse is authenticity, although he has no concrete definition of what this entails. Although he finds Selma Thurmer's failed attempts to artificially better her appearance, his greatest compliment about the headmaster's daughter is that she portrays her father honestly, in Holden's view. This focus on authenticity and, in turn, the essential phoniness of others around him, will be a recurring theme for Holden Caulfield throughout the story.

Chapter Two:

Holden finds the Spencer's house somewhat depressing, smelling of Vicks Nose Drops and clearly indicating the old age of its inhabitants. Mr. Spencer sits in a ratty old bathrobe, and asks Holden to sit down. Holden tells him how Dr. Thurmer told him about how "life is a game" and you should "play it according to the rules" when he expelled him. Mr. Spencer tells him that Dr. Thurmer was correct, and Holden agrees with him, but thinks instead that life is only a game if you are on the right side. Holden tells Mr. Spencer that his parents will be upset, for this is his fourth private school so far. Holden tells that, at sixteen, he is over six feet tall and has some gray hair, but still acts like a child, as others often tell him. Spencer says that he met with Holden's parents, who are "grand" people, but Holden dismisses that word as "phony." Spencer then tells Holden that he failed him in History because he knew nothing, and even reads his exam essay about the Egyptians to him. At the end of the exam, Holden left a note for Mr. Spencer, admitting that he is not interested in the Egyptians, despite Spencer's interesting lectures, and that he will accept if Mr. Spencer fails him. As Holden and Mr. Spencer continue to talk, Holden's mind wanders; he thinks about the ducks in Central Park. When Mr. Spencer asks why Holden quit Elkton Hills, he tells Mr. Spencer that it is a long story, but explains in narration that the people there were phonies. He mentions the particular quality of the headmaster, Mr. Haas, who would be charming toward everyone but the "funny-looking parents." Holden claims he has little interest in the future, and assures Mr. Spencer that he is just going through a phase. As Holden leaves, he hears Mr. Spencer say "good luck," a phrase that he particularly loathes.

Analysis:

In this chapter, Salinger continues to develop the history of Holden Caulfield in direct contradiction of the opening statement that the novel is not his life story. Salinger gradually indicates that Caulfield has a longer history and troubles that are more deeply rooted than the conventional disaffected teenager, as he moves from boarding school to boarding school with no sense of purpose. Even Holden's style of narration reveals this lack of any coherent vision. He admits that he cannot concentrate on any particular topic, thinking about ice skating while Mr. Spencer lectures him.

As established in the previous chapter, Holden exemplifies typical teenage feelings of alienation. He rejects the idea that life is a game, convinced that he is a misunderstood underdog (an unlikely scenario for a teenager privileged enough to move easily among eastern prep schools), and justifies his immaturity by claiming that he is going through a phase. His critiques are glib and without actual substance, such as his insistence that other are "phonies" or his dislike of certain phrases such as "good luck." Holden's diatribes against phonies are particularly instructive; although he insists upon authenticity, he humors and flatters Mr. Spencer by agreeing with him. Holden demonstrates a great aversion for everything associated with adulthood, such as the smell of Vicks Nose Drops that permeates Mr. Spencer's home and the behavior of Mr. Haas, just as he occupies a precarious space between childhood and the adult world. In appearance he is an adult, with his tall stature and prematurely graying hair, yet as he and others around him realize, he is still quite immature.

Yet Salinger rejects the idea that Holden's behavior is typical and excusable adolescent behavior. He is not Mr. Spencer shatters this illusion by dismissing Holden's vague justifications for his behavior and confronting him with his failures. Mr. Spencer confronts Holden with his own failures and solipsistic attitude, a critique to which Holden cannot respond.

Chapter Three:

Holden claims that he is the most terrific liar one could meet. He admits that he lied to Spencer by telling him that he had to go to the gym. At Pencey, Holden lives in the Ossenburger Memorial Wing of the new dorms. Ossenburger is a wealthy undertaker who graduated from the school; Holden tells how false Ossenburger seemed when he gave a speech exalting faith in Jesus and how another student farted during the ceremony. Holden returns to his room, where he puts on a red hunting hat they he bought in New York. Holden discusses the books that he likes to read: he prefers Ring Lardner, but is now reading Dinesen's Out of Africa. Ackley, a student whose room is connected to Holden's, barges in on Holden. Holden describes Ackley as having a terrible personality and an even worse complexion. Holden tries to ignore him, then pretends that he is blind to annoy Ackley. Ackley cuts his nails right in front of Holden, and asks about Ward Stradlater, Holden's roommate. Ackley claims that he hates Stradlater, that "goddamn sonuvabitch," but Holden tells Ackley that he hates Stradlater for the simple reason that Stradlater told him that he should actually brush his teeth. Holden defends Stradlater, claiming that he is conceited, but still generous. Stradlater arrives, and is friendly to Holden (in a phony sort of way), and asks to borrow a jacket from Holden. Stradlater walks around shirtless to show off his build.

Analysis:

Holden's admission that he is the "most terrific liar" one could meet is an apt statement, for his delusions extend beyond making others believe his deceptions. In fact, it is debatable whether or not persons such as Mr. Spencer believe Holden's lies. Rather, it is clear that Holden's ability to lie is most manifest in his own sense of self-delusion. Continuing to berate others for phoniness, Holden cannot recognize the same sense of vapidity within himself. He claims to be both illiterate and an avid reader, and when identifying his favorite authors he cannot identify any particular reason why he likes those authors' works.

Salinger introduces two other Pencey students in this chapter, each of whom represent contrasting types of reprehensible behavior. Ackley is ostentatiously boorish; in appearance and in manners he is disgusting and oblivious to all social graces. Hopelessly vulgar and unclean, Ackley is unaware of the contempt that Holden Caulfield has for him, even when Holden confronts him with it. Stradlater, in contrast, is outwardly friendly and considerate, yet still one of the phonies that Holden abhors. Stradlater is playful and charming, but is still self-centered and arrogant. He flaunts his assets, whether physical or monetary; whether giving away a tie or strutting around the dormitory in a state of undress, he performs these actions to show what he possesses. These characters do, nevertheless, serve the purpose of showing the stifling conditions that Holden faces at Pencey. Ackley and Stradlater demonstrate that Holden's disgust for the school and its "phonies" is not completely unfounded.

However, Holden's descriptions of both of these characters cannot be trusted entirely; Holden is an unreliable narrator whose conceptions of the characters reveal his particular point of view. These descriptions must be taken with some skepticism, for they reveal Holden's skewed perspective on others. This also can be seen in Holden's description of Ossenburger. Holden can view his contribution to the school only in cynical terms: He thinks that Ossenburger prays to Jesus "to send him a few more stiffs." Holden is inherently suspicious of all around him, particularly authority figures. His view that adults serve only their self-interest is aggressively cynical; his disillusion with reality has become such that it forms a more jaded naïveté.

Chapter Four:

Since he has nothing else to do, Holden goes down to the bathroom to chat with Stradlater as he shaves. Stradlater, in comparison to Ackley, is a "secret" slob, who would always shave with a rusty razor that he would never clean. Stradlater is a "Yearbook" kind of handsome guy. He asks Holden to write a composition for him for English. Holden realizes the irony that he is flunking out of Pencey, yet is still asked to do work for others. Stradlater insists, however, that Holden not write it too well, for Hartzell knows that Holden is a hot-shot in English. On an impulse, Holden gives Stradlater a half nelson, which greatly annoys Stradlater. Stradlater talks about his date that night with Jane Gallagher. Although he cannot even get her name correct, Holden knows her well, for she lived next door to him several summers ago and they would play checkers together. Stradlater barely listens as he fixes his hair with Holden's gel. Holden asks Stradlater not to tell Jane that he got kicked out. He then borrows Holden's hound's-tooth jacket and leaves. Ackley returns, and Holden is actually glad to see him, for he takes his mind off of other matters.

Analysis:

Salinger devotes this chapter to Holden's fixation on Stradlater's behavior. Holden has an eye for detail and the nuances of Stradlater's behavior; he even analyzes the rhythm of the conversation that the two have when Stradlater asks Holden to write a paper for him. Stradlater emerges as conceited and self-centered, obsessed with his appearance and image. Although Holden does not employ his standard term "phony" to describe Stradlater in this chapter, he makes it clear that Stradlater exemplifies a strong sense of artificiality. According to Holden, Stradlater is "Yearbook" handsome, implying that his attractive appearance is best shown in photographs and is thus divorced from Stradlater's actual self. Salinger also makes the distinction between appearances and actuality when Holden describes Stradlater's razor, which demonstrates that Stradlater is only concerned with matters that relate to his public persona. Stradlater compounds his vanity with a strong egotism. He cannot even remember the name of his date that evening, and expects Holden to write his paper for him simply because he asked.

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However, if Stradlater is vapid and superficial, Holden proves himself equally so by detailing each of these aspects of his roommate's behavior with such precision. Holden does not let any slight against him go unnoticed, such as Stradlater's use of his jacket and his hair gel. Like Stradlater, Holden has a narrow focus; however, his self-centered behavior does not center on physical appearance as it does with Stradlater. Both use others as means to a particular end. Stradlater uses Holden for favors such as writing papers, while Holden uses Ackley for amusement.

Stradlater does give the reader a new ...

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