1.2 A Brief Introduction to The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is the most famous book written by the American author J.D.Salinger. It tells a story of a 16-year-old teenager, Holden, who was born in a middle class in America. The story happened during the 1950s, the so-called Post-War era. The book begins with Holden’s fourth dismissal from a private noble school——Pencey Prep, and it mainly tells Holden’s aimless adventure in New York city after his dismissal. During his staying in New York, he encountered a variety of people and had many different conversations with all of them although most of the meetings made Holden feel angry and disappointed about the unchangeable reality.
In Holden’s eyes, the world he lived in was full of hypocrites and phonies but was lack of love, concern and warmth. During his process of growing up, he was so sensitive to hypocrisy. He used vulgar languages to express his anger and anxiety. He swore a lot everyday. In school, his classmates and teachers were phonies; the headmaster was the biggest phony slob. What’s worse, he found out that the teacher he respected a lot was a homosexual. As for his family, they only provided him with great financial support. Other than that, he could hardly have a real communication with his parents, which could account for his spiritual problem. However, when he tried to escape from the school and family, he only found out that the bigger society was just a bigger evil world full of phonies, which disappointed and depressed him a lot. Finally, he decided to turn to his lovely sister for help, the angelic character in this book. He found himself relaxed and at least comfortable while staying with her. For Holden, he thought the moment he spent with Phoebe was the best thing for him, the thing he really liked. Besides, his dead brother Allie also played an important role in Holden’s life. The only thing he kept thinking of while he was hurt or angry with the reality is——Allie. Allie and Phoebe, they were the symbols of pure love in Holden’s eyes; they were also his only hope for living.
However, after reading the whole story, we can easily tell that Holden is a lonely purser of love and innocence, but unfortunately he has been surrounded by a world which is full of phonies and hypocrites. Therefore, he is unsatisfied and disappointed with his family, school and even the whole society in which he failed to find love and concern from adults. But, he loved, cared and worried about the children. Whenever he talked about kids, his sister Phoebe and his dead brother Allie, he became different and talked with love. And finally, Holden stopped his escape because of his little sister and went back home, which is seemed as a tragic ending of this story.
The Catcher in the Rye , ever since its first publication, has become popular all over the world. It has been translated into most of the major languages. It is a story that should be read by both parents and teenagers. What worth mentioning is that this story not only influences the readers but also the writers at that time. 《麦田里的守望者》精神世界(3):http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_2147.html