Caleigh Beverly
Mrs. Lehman
AP English, 1A
1 October 2012
Novel Abstract: Catcher in the Rye
Novel Title and Author: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Author’s Background: J.D. Salinger was born on January 1, 1919, in New York City, New York. Jerome David Salinger was born to Sol Salinger and his wife Miriam (J.D. Salinger). Though he was a bright young man, when he attended McBurney School, he ended up flunking out and was soon after sent to Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania (J.D. Salinger). After graduating Valley Forge, a couple years later, Salinger finally found the right school, Columbia University, where he met Whit Burnett, who helped him take off in his writing career (J.D. Salinger). After returning to …show more content…

Other examples from the book are when he tries to call someone, and he could not even simply do that because his isolation has drove him to feel unwanted and neglected in some sort of way. He sees and criticizes so many of the corrupt people in the world that it drives him to become overwhelmed to simply speak to those he wants to connect with, such as Sally. Though he may not see that his introversion causes his mental and social decay, the reader can see that it may be the one cause for why he is so obsessed with the superficiality of society.
Literary Devices: One of the literary devices that Salinger uses quite often is the use of symbolism. One of the symbols that are found in the novel are the ducks that he asks the taxi driver about. The ducks and Holden’s curiosity of them reveals his innocence, but the ducks could possibly represent the fact that there is change in the world, and though Holden does not like change, it can be noted that his curiosity would then lead to discoveries of the world, and some discoveries are likely to be negative and corrupt, while others can be innocent. Another symbol found in the book is the museum displays because they are unchanging and remain the same every time he visits the museum. These play a key role in highlighting the change that Holden goes through because he points out in the book that