1. The Catcher in the Rye Significant factors
Heuerman
Advanced Comp/Novel

2. Narrative genre
Frame narrative; 1st
person POV with Holden
as the narrator and
protagonist/participant.

3. Narrative technique & style
1st person POV; informal, honest,
confessional, picaresque, a
quest narrative, Bildungsroman
(a German term for a novel that
focuses on the character moving
from childhood to maturity)

4. Holden’s language/slang
idiomatic; repetitive and
adolescent; conveys
humor at times; indicates
at times confusion/
mental deterioration

5. HOLDEN
Protagonist/narrator; had
a mental breakdown;
coming of age (16/17);
the everyman/all of us

6. D.B.
Holden’s older brother; a
writer; a “prostitute” (a
sell-out/phony); drives a
jaguar

7. Pencey Prep
An all-male elite school in
Pennsylvania; most recent
school (4th) that Holden
has been kicked out of

8. Central park ducks Holden worries about/fixates
on their safety and well-being
when the lagoon freezes;
indication of compassion but
also immaturity

9. Stradlater’s date; a friend from Holden’s childhood;
Jane Gallagher
Stradlater’s date; a friend
from Holden’s childhood;
had a lousy childhood;
Holden feels protective of
her

10. (Save room for more later…) Holden wears it backward
Red Hunting hat
(Save room for more later…)
Holden wears it backward
to indicate rebellion
against society

11. Movies Holden says he hates them; believes they are phony, but
he acts and imitates them;
reveals Holden is an
exhibitionist/has overactive
imagination

12. Allie of leukemia, leaving Holden emotionally troubled; had red
Holden’s younger brother; died
of leukemia, leaving Holden
emotionally troubled; had red
hair and was wise/intelligent
beyond his years; represents
the innocence/height of
childhood

13. Allie’s Baseball Glove
Symbolic of Allie and a powerful
reminder of his brother’s
untimely/unfortunate death;
poems indicate sensitivity; the
subject of the composition
Holden writes for Stradlater

14. Red Hunting hat (cont…)
red (like Allie’s hair);
indicates a connection
with Allie; a symbol of
Holden’s quest/hunt for
meaning, truth, love…

15. Phoebe
Holden’s younger sister;
one of the few people
Holden connects with;
values her imagination
and innocence

16. desire to and failure to communicate Unmade phone calls…
conveys Holden’s
desire to and failure
to communicate

17. Natural History Museum
reminds him of his childhood;
nostalgia for permanence and
stability; doesn’t change but
everyone else does; he cannot
enter

18. “Little Shirley Beans” record
A gift Holden buys for
Phoebe; he breaks it
accidentally; symbolic of
Holden as a “broken”
record

19. Holden’s relationships to females
fascinated yet annoyed; likes
to flirt with but leaves feeling
depressed by; has trouble
connecting with; feels
connected only to Phoebe and
Jane

20. New York City
Holden’s home; the setting
of the inner frame;
symbolic of potential
corruption (hotel)

21. Central park lagoon; where Holden goes after
location of the ducks and their
lagoon; where Holden goes after
his day in NYC, but he gets lost
and cannot find the ducks; where
he breaks the record; cold and
lonely

22. “catcher in the rye” Holden’s desire to save/preserve
the innocents; ironically, this
fantasy is borne out of a
misunderstanding of the poem’s
meaning, which celebrates the
corruption of innocence

23. James Castle with him; was wearing Holden’s
Symbolic of Holden who identifies
with him; was wearing Holden’s
sweater; stubborn and fragile;
jumped out of a window and fell (no
one to “catch” him); falls to preserve
his integrity; refuses to compromise

24. Holden’s relationship to males
Mostly negative emotions that vary based on character: he is irritated with Ackley, he is jealous and angry with Stradlater, he is emotionally detached from his father, and he feels betrayed by Mr. Antolini

25. Holden’s relationship with his Family
Detached emotionally, except
with Phoebe; avoids/fears
parental contact; doesn’t want
to cause further issues for his
mother who is also depressed

26. Holden’s Home
signifies the approaching end of Holden’s journey and the inevitable return to reality; site of the fractured nature of the Caulfield family (even Phoebe is sleeping in D.B.’s room)

27. Mummies
Holden talks to the kids in the museum, but lectures them as an adult would; Holden’s fixation on the mummies reflects his desire to freeze time as mummies are preserved and their decay is arrested

28. Carrousel
A symbol of childhood; it is during Phoebe’s ride on the carrousel that Holden realizes that risks in life are necessary and you cannot protect the innocent from life’s risks/experiences - you have to let them fall