Conclusion

The Catcher in the Rye is a book that you love, you hate or you love to hate.

People seem to have everything life may offer, but somehow they see their lives

meaningless, empty and lonely.

Even though Holden is a fictional character, he represents the depression that many teenagers experience.

Many of the symptoms of depression that Holden experiences are also shared by teenagers throughout the world

Thankfully, in real life, teenagers suffering from these and other mental health issues can get the help that they need and recover from this disorder.

People value books either because of their contents or because of their physical characteristics. It is important to remember controversial books because they might eventually disappear.

So yes, I do recommend this book, did I liked it? I hated it, But I love to hate it.

And remember, "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."

Best quotes from the book

• “I'm just going through a phase right now. Everybody goes through phases and all, don't they?”

• "Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone. I know that's impossible, but it's too bad anyway.”

• "What I think is, you're supposed to leave somebody alone if he's at least being interesting and he's getting all excited about something. I like it when somebody gets excited about something. It's nice." 

• "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”

• "Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it's a game, all right – I'll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren't any hot-shots, then what's a game about it? Nothing. No game."

A little bit about the book

Thing you should totally know about The Catcher in the rye 

Characters

Phoebe

Phoebe is Holden´s 10 year old sister. She is really smart. she´s has all A´s ever since she started school. She has this sort of red hair that´s very short in the summer. Sometimes she braids her hair. She´s quite skinny, nice skinny. She´s also the best dancer ever, and the most sympathetic listener ever, and the funniest little sister ever.



The way Phoebe vibrates between acting like a little kid and grown-up reminds us Holden himself. no wonder he wants to protect her so badly. she is a child, but she does not fit into Holden’s romanticized vision of childlike innocence.

Holden

Holden is a sixteen year old that sometimes act like he is about thirteen. He is six foot two and a half and he has gray hair on the right side of his head.

He has just been expelled for academic failure from a school called Pencey Prep. Although he is intelligent and sensitive, Holden narrates in a cynical and jaded voice. 

Through his cynicism he tries to protect himself from the pain and disappointment of the adult world. He is uncomfortable with his own weaknesses, and at times displays as much phoniness, meanness, and superficiality as anyone else.

Holden is literally about to crash. Life is change. His feelings are typically adolescent, feelings shared by virtually everyone who is or ever has been his age. One of the reasons we like Holden is that he is so candid about how he feels.

Ackley

Ackley is dirty, pimply, and all-around unhygienic. He's annoying. He'll come into your room and pick up your personal stuff and put it back in the wrong place. He'll cut his toenails all over your floor. And he thinks being two years older than Holden makes him superior.

He is Holden’s next door neighbor in Pencey prep. He acts stupid and often rushes into Holden’s room and disturbs him. Holden and Ackley are both lonely and desperate.

D.B Caulfield

D.B. is Holden's older brother. He is a screenwriter in Hollywood. He used to write great stories, he has a maseratti, so that means he is successful. D. B. wrote a volume of short stories that Holden admires very much, but Holden feels that D. B. prostitutes his talents by writing for Hollywood movies.

But D.B.’s just one more phony in a world full of phonies. What really matters about D.B. is that he was in the war and was apparently quite traumatized by the whole thing.

He was in the army for 4 years, he was in the war too, but he hated the army more than the war

Stradlater 

Holden’s roommate at Pencey Prep.

Stradlater is super dreamy, the typical guy every girl wants: he's an athlete, he's handsome, he's got a nice body, he's always walking around in a towel to show off that body, self-satisfied, popular, but his toiletries, such as his razor, are disgustingly unclean, and, oh yeah, he's a "goddam stupid moron”, But there's one thing Stradlater is good at: sex.

If this is one of Holden's only models of a sexually active man, no wonder he has so many hangups about sex.

He's also careless of other people's feelings.

Mr. Spencer

Holden’s history teacher at Pencey Prep, who unsuccessfully tries to shake Holden out of his academic apathy.

Mr. Spencer is old. And gross.

“The minute I went in, I was sort of sorry I'd come. He was reading The Atlantic Monthly, and there were pills and medicine all over the place, and everything smelled like Vicks Nose Drops. It was pretty depressing. I'm not too crazy about sick people, anyway. What made it even more depressing, old Spencer had on this very sad, ratty old bathrobe that he was probably born in or something. I don't much like to see old guys in their pajamas and bathrobes anyway.”

Mr. Spencer can't understand what's wrong with Holden, and     he certainly doesn't know how to help him

Sally Hayes

Sally Hayes is a pretty, friendly, loud girl who likes to eat ice cream, see matinees, and show off her cute butt in "one of those little skirts" Sally is a little annoying, “stupid”. Holden is sexually attracted to her. 

Holden has known her and dated her for a long time. Holden doesn't seem to enjoy talking to Sally or being in her company very much, but he enjoys having her on his arm and making out with her.

Holden is not impressed by Sally’s popularity as much as he is annoyed by it.


Jane Gallagher

She is extremely important to Holden, because she is one of the few girls whom he both respects and finds attractive.

for Holden's relationship with Jane, it's really, really complicated, they hold hands, they sit close to each other.

she’s “fond of all athletic sports”, she’s “muckle-mouthed”; she’s “always reading, and she read very good books”, and she “wouldn’t take her kings out of the back row” when she played checkers”.

Holden's inability to reach out to Jane despite his feelings is a big reminder of his passivity and indecision. 

Book reviews

“What can I say? that hasn’t already been said?

I’m 46 years old. I wish now that I read this sooner. I’d like to know what my perspective would be from a younger self.” 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5107.The_Catcher_in_the_Rye

“The book as a whole is disappointing, and not merely because it is a reworking of a theme that one begins to suspect must obsess the author. Holden Caulfield, the main character who tells his own story, is an extraordinary portrait, but there is too much of him. ... 

In the course of 277 pages, the reader wearies of [his] explicitness, repetition and adolesence, exactly as one would weary of Holden himself. And this reader at least suffered from an irritated feeling that Holden was not quite so sensitive and perceptive as he, and his creator, thought he was. In any case he is so completely self-centered that the other characters who wander through the book—with the notable exception of his sister Phoebe—have nothing like his authenticity. ... In a writer of Salinger's undeniable talent, one expects something more.”

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/13/specials/salinger-rye02.html

“J.D. Salinger's novel is a wake-up call to all teenagers and in a sense, is an inspiring read because it sends out the message that we should all remain hopeful and true to ourselves. Teenagers can relate to it because of its complex themes of rebellion, identity and independence but I would recommend you read it before you're an adult otherwise you may have the urge to slap Holden for his actions when reading the book!”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jun/21/review-salinger-catcher-rye

#Throwback

The fifties - they seem to have taken place on a sunny afternoon that asked nothing of you except a drifting belief in the moment and its power to satisfy.

I guess that's one of the things about growing up in the fifties - it never occurred to me that you wouldn't be at least as successful as your parents.

Reason why Holden might be failing out of school and wandering New York City

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms may start within three months of a traumatic event, but sometimes symptoms may not appear until years after the event. These symptoms cause significant problems in social or work situations and in relationships.

 They are generally grouped into four types: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, or changes in emotional reactions.

• Trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event
• Avoiding places, activities or people that remind you of the traumatic event
• Negative feelings about yourself or other people
• Inability to experience positive emotions
• Feeling emotionally numb
• Trouble concentrating
• Trouble sleeping

Depression

• not going out anymore
• relying on alcohol and sedatives
• feeling guilty
• feeling miserable
• tired all the time
• sleep problems
• loss or change of appetite

The five stages of grieving and loss

1. Denial & Isolation
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

The impact of death on a family 

Bereaved Children Speak


I think Holden is going through the stages of grieving and loss, Kids & teens who have experienced  a death are most likely to experience depression, struggle at school, use drugs and alcohol, and thats pretty much whats happening to Holden.
Doctors will treat him as a normal kid who lost a family member, he wouldn't be taking medication, but he would be going with a phycologist that could help him get over the impact of death.