Ch. 1-4 Catcher in the Rye

1. Holden Caulfield begins his story by stating how lousy life is. His parents appear to be absent and he has a brother who sold out to the Hollywood scene. Caulfield's time at Pencey Prep is coming to an end as he has failed four out of his five classes. At 17, he is already a heavy smoker and refuses to apply himself. He is full of contempt for the school and the privileged males that live there.





2. Nevertheless, Holden still looks for a way to say goodbye. He makes a visit to his former history teacher, Mr. Spencer, who is stricken with grippe. While there, Holden is reminded of his failure and gets lectured for not thinking about his future. While Spencer makes an honest attempt to help the boy, Caulfield disregards any feelings of affection towards him, rather he becomes annoyed. As someone who grew up without influential role-models, it is understandable that Holden responds the way he does. At this point in his life, he has been socialized to fend for himself. Spencer tells him "Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules" (9). However, Holden counters this with the belief that "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" (9).


3. Holden is a self-proclaimed liar with a crude sense of humor. He lives in the Ossenburger Memorial Wing, named after a Pencey graduate who succeeded in the undertaking business. What I really enjoy about Salinger's style is the use of short, declarative sentences. He successfully portrays Holden as one with a vivid imagination that jumps back and forth between seemingly random thoughts. Referring to Ossenburger, Holden says " He probably just shoves them in a sack and dumps them in the river" (19). I assume this was written to be funny, because I found it to be. Then again, I have a dark sense of humor as well. Caulfield goes on to talk about his roommate Stradlater, who has an attitude of superiority. Ackley, Holden's neighbor, reminds me of living with my sister. The kid has a total disregard of personal space and fails to acknowledge any hints that he ought to leave, as he always barges in uninvited.

4. When Stradlater arrives back at the room, he asks Holden to borrow a hound's-tooth jacket and then requests that he write an English composition for him. This is "ironical" to Holden: "I'm the one that's flunking out of the goddam place, and you're asking me to write you a goddam composition" (33). Holden finds nothing better to do than follow Stradlater to the bathroom to watch him prepare for his date. He deems Stradlater a "secret slob," noting that he is only outwardly attractive (31). Holden soon learns that Stradlater is going out with Jane Gallagher, a girl he had known the previous summer. Caulfield shows a great deal of interest, yet Stradlater knows little detail about the one he is seeing, nor does he seem to care. Holden is bothered by this, along with the knowledge of Stradlater's sexual experience.