The Catcher in the Rye

• Genre: Fiction; classic coming-of-age novel
• Originally Published: 1951
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 790L; grades 9-12; college/adult      
• Structure/Length: 26 chapters; approx. 280 pages
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Ornery misfit Holden Caulfield has botched several parts of his life when he is expelled from boarding school. In the days after he returns to his native New York City without telling his parents, Holden finds himself in a series of strange and upsetting interpersonal encounters and is driven to distraction by all the “phonies” around him but continues to seek a spark of innocence in the world despite his anguish.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Smoking and drinking; some sexual references; homosexuals pejoratively referred to as “flits”

J. D. Salinger, Author

• Bio: 1919-2010; Born and raised in Manhattan, New York; published several short works in Story magazine and then The New Yorker prior to writing The Catcher in the Rye; lived as a recluse in upstate New York for the latter decades of his life; last published work was in 1965
• Other Works: Nine Stories (1953); Franny and Zooey (1961); Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Lack of Authenticity in Adult Society
• Coming-of-Age as Losing Innocence
• Post-Traumatic Stress    

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will: