The Catcher in the Rye

The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger tells the story of Holden Caulfield, a teenage boy who feels alienated and confused after being expelled from his prep school. His wanderings through New York City reveal his continuous search for honesty and innocence in a world he sees as fake and full of hypocrisy. Holden imagines himself as the “catcher” of innocent children, trying to prevent them from “falling” into the harsh adult world, symbolizing his fear of losing innocence and facing maturity. The novel offers both a social critique and a psychological study of adolescence, told in a personal and spontaneous narrative style that reflects the young protagonist’s inner conflict between the desire to remain in childhood and the responsibilities of growing up.