"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates

• Notes on J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye
• Key Characters and Symbols 
• Vocabulary 
• Assignments 
• Analysis, Doctor, Analysis

Key Characters and Symbols:

Holden:

D. B.:

When it was suggested in class that Holden felt grief about the loss of his brother, Krissie M.  (Class of '03) rightly asked, "Which brother?" It is true. Holden has lost both brothers. Jon K. (Class of '03) felt that Holden might have felt abandoned by by D. B., because D. B. not only left Holden, but abandoned his ideals.

Allie:

Phoebe:

Ryan S. (Class of '03) points out that Phoebe is the only member of the family that does not abandon or leave Holden in some way. Allie died, D. B. left for California where he abandoned his ideals, and Holden's parents send him away throughout the book, but Phoebe wants to go away with him at the end of the book. Is this the act that saves Holden?

The Parents:

For that matter, why do they send him to California when there are psychiatrists in New York? If you should be looking for causes for Holden's behavior, you might want to examine what you know about the parents. Please notice that at no time during the course of the novel do the parents and Holden meet. This is another example of Holden not connecting with people. (For another, see Jane Gallagher.)

Jane Gallagher:

Remember what we have learned from the Greek myths. Sometimes characters are not meant to be people, but rather they are concepts. Ares was not meant to be a person. Ares was meant to show how the Greeks felt about the concept of war and people who proposed war. Ares was blood-thirsty and a ravager. Ares had a blood lust, but he also ran away in battle and screamed in pain when hurt. What were the Greeks trying to say about those who loved war? Hades showed no mercy, but Hades was always fair. Isn't that how the society felt about death? Death shows no mercy to anyone, yet Death is always fair. Death will come to the rich and poor alike, the powerful or the weak. Given this way of looking at a character, what does Salinger mean Jane Gallagher to be?

Ean B. (Class of '03) suggests that one of the major problems Holden has is that "He can't connect" with people. Jane is a symbol of this quality. Holden at one time was able to connect with Jane Gallagher, but now he cannot. At one time Holden was the one who was able to give her the emotional support, but now she is going out with Stradlater.

Why doesn't Holden go down to see her when he has the chance? Why does he never connect with her while he is in New York? Well, what if she has changed? What if he discovers that she has been corrupted and is now on her way to becoming a phony? What would Holden do? How would Holden feel? What would happen if this paragraph had a sentence that didn't end in a question mark?

See also, the museum.
 

The Red Hunting Hat:

Think also of when Holden wears the hat and when he doesn't. Does he wear the hat when he is in the bar or when he is dancing? No, and why not? Yes, you are correct. He wants to look older at those times.

When he takes off his hat, what color is his hair? (See page 57)

You must remember the definition of symbol. The hat can not symbolize a person or some other object. The hunting hat must symbolize an idea or concept. The hat may remind Holden of someone else, but that someone else must be connected to that greater idea or concept that is important to Holden and, of course, important to the theme. Remember, everything should lead to the theme. Plot, character, symbols, setting, and everything else in the novel should be vehicles to get the reader to the theme.
 

The Color of Holden's Hair

The Catcher in the Rye:

"Zo, now, little Herr Doktors, vhat do you think our patient's fantasy means, eh? Our patient creates a scenario vhere there iss a field of tall, rye grass and in this field there are little children playing in the rye grass. But there iss more! This field, this rye grass field is situated near a cliff. The little children cannot see very far in front of themselves because the grass is in their eyes. If they should run out of the field, the momentum would send them running over the cliff. Our patient vants to place himself between the rye field and the cliff to catch the children and prevent them from running over the edge. Zo, Herr Doktors, vhat does the rye field symbolize? Vhat does the cliff symbolize? Und vhat does it mean that Holden stands on the edge of the cliff? Vhen you figure this one out, little Herr Doktors, you vill be very close to discovering the theme of the novel."

Ernie, the piano player:

James Castle

James Castle called another student named Stabile "conceited," and when Stabile and other students went to his dorm room to confront him, rather than take the words back, Castle jumped out of the window and died. Examining the reasons for Castle's suicide is important work. That Castle did not want to give Stabile and the other students the satisfaction or wanted to protect his own integrity at all costs are the usual interpretations for his actions and for good reason. Holden needed to have a model of a person of integrity and Castle fit the bill.

However, some of my students have come up with some interesting additional theories.

Tracy A.  (Class of '03) immediately pointed out the possibility that the initials J. C. were significant as an indicator of the savior motif. If her theory is correct, for what does Castle sacrifice? Does he sacrifice himself for integrity? Is Castle a martyr?

Julian L. (Class of '03)  introduced an idea that I had never seen before in any of the commentaries. He said the word "castle" is for protection. Could that be significant? Jason F. (Class of '03) added that Holden always thinks of himself as protector. Perhaps Holden identified with Castle as a protector. The next obvious questions were addressed by the rest of the class. Protection of what? For whom? Castle could have been protecting his own integrity. Castle did not "sell out" as others did.

Are there other possibilities for why Castle committed suicide? Kevin W. (Class of '03) suggested conceit could be a reason because he at first misread the passage and thought it was Castle who was conceited, but he later came around and thought that the suicide indicated that Castle thought that he was better than the students who were confronting him. Andrea L. (Class of '03) agreed with the thought that suicide was the ultimate expression of anger and selfishness and that this added to Holden's admiration for Castle.

Museum

"The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move. . . . Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you. (121)

It is just like Allie and Holden.

Holden visits the Museum of Natural History twice. The first time he visits, he walks all the way through Central Park in order to get there.

"Then a funny thing happened. When I got to the museum, all of a sudden I wouldn't have gone inside for a million bucks." (122)

Stephen M. (Class of '04) is the student who pointed this out to me in class. He believed that Holden felt too old to go into the museum. It was a place of nostalgia for Holden and reminded Holden of his elementary school days. Later, says Steve, Holden returns to the museum. While in there, Steve and the rest of the class felt that Holden made a transition from youth to adulthood. Inside the door of the museum, Holden meets the two children who he then shows around the museum. This indicates that he accepts change. He is maturing and growing up. Holden likes the experience of the museum in a new way. He has found his niche as guide to the two children. This is a major change in the character and supports the contention that Holden is a dynamic character. The museum is like Allie who will never change and Jane who will not change because he never visits for fear that she will change. However, he does visit the museum and realizes that though things change, he can adapt.

The Carousel

California

"D. B. isn't as bad as the rest of them, but he keeps asking me a lot of questions, too. He drove over last Saturday with this English babe that's in this new picture he's writing." This is the key line to indicate that Holden is in California.

So the question becomes, if Holden is in a mental hospital, who is he talking to? Well, dear reader, he is talking to you. If this is the case, who are you? You are one of his caretakers and probably one of the analysts. Salinger has made you an integral part of the novel. You have had a role to play. You must analyze Holden and determine whether Holden belongs in a hospital and if his problems warrant a hospital. 

Your first problem is to determine if Holden lies. During the course of the novel Holden admits that he is a terrible liar. What are you to do if your patient lies? As Matt B. (Class of '03) rightly points out, what can we trust? First, we can trust everything that the family would have known, because you, the consulting doctor, would have interviewed them first and would be able to corroborate the basic facts. There are things in the story that that parents may not have known, however. The episode with Sunny and Maurice may be information that Holden did not share with his parents as well as other incidents that only Holden might know. However, we should probably rely on my old English instructor Joe Del Vecchio's advice which was, Unless the author is deliberately trying to give you the impression that what the narrator is saying is a lie (such as Verbal's narration in the film The Usual Suspects), then the reader should believe what she reads, because, realistically, this is all she has to go on.

David B. (Class of '03) further suggested that we should recall what we learned about the nature of truth and fiction from the theme of The Things They Carried. With fiction, he said, no story is true, but the theme is true.

Your Project:

Prepare a report (please, no less than three pages) that gives your conclusions about your patient, Holden Caulfield. Your report must consist of the following sections:

Background:

Give the background of the patient, Holden Caulfield, so that all who read the report will be able to know the necessary details that brought him to you in the first place. Make sure that whatever you bring up later in terms of analysis, diagnosis or prognosis appears in your background material. If you mention a character later on in your report, make sure you have mentioned that character here first. If there is a significant incident that you must relate to later on, make sure that you mention it in your background first so that the reader knows about the incident to which you will refer.

Analysis:

What are the problems that Holden is facing? You better find a list of problems, because Holden has a few. He has been thrown out of at least two schools, his grades are suffering, he talks to his dead brother. There are many others, but you get the idea.

Diagnosis:

Holden may have problems, but are they symptoms of mental illness or are they they problems of a normal adolescent mind? You must decide. There are causes for Holden's problems. What are they? Support your conclusions. What incidents in the book support your contentions? What, if anything, do his parents have to do with what he is going through? Does D. B. have any part in this? What about Holden himself? Please diagnose Holden's problems as best you can.

Prescription:

What do you recommend for Holden to improve his life? Assume you have no authority to prescribe drugs. What life changing recommendations do you make for Holden, his family or for any other character in the book?

Prognosis:

What will happen to Holden if he follows your advice? What will happen to Holden if he does not?

Chapter 1

grippe - the flu
"get the ax"- in this case, expelled; it could be fired or possibly canceled in other situations

qualms - worries, anxiety, the butterflies in the stomach that a person sometimes gets before doing something that might be an ordeal

chiffonier - a dresser, a piece of furniture in a bedroom
Ziegfield Follies - a top flight variety show

unscrupulous - unethical, immoral, without scruples or ethics

stark - complete and utterly; a clear contrast; harsh or grim
"Don't snow me" - "Don't give me the b.s."

brassy - harsh, hard or metallic

muckle-mouthed - I don't know outside of the context used in the book. Jane had a mouth that, when she was talking, "sort of went in about fifty different directions,"
snub - purposely ignore

Tattersall - Again, I don't know, other than it seems to be a style of vest worn by a Joe Yale type.