J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye: A Routledge Guide (Routledge Guides to Literature)

143 Pages·2007·1.47 MB·English

J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in
the Rye
J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1951) is a twentieth-century classic.
Despite being one of the most frequently banned books in America, generations
of readers have identified with the narrator, Holden Caulfield, an angry young
man who articulates the confusion, cynicism and vulnerability of adolescence
with humour and sincerity.
This guide to Salinger’s provocative novel offers:
• an accessible introduction to the text and contexts of The Catcher in the Rye;
• a critical history, surveying the many interpretations of the text from
publication to the present;
• a selection of new critical essays on the The Catcher in the Rye by Sally
Robinson, Renée R. Curry, Pia Livia Hekanaho, Denis Jonnes and Clive
Baldwin, providing a range of perspectives on the novel and extending the
coverage of key critical approaches identified in the survey section;
• cross-references between sections of the guide, in order to suggest links
between texts, contexts and criticism;
• suggestions for further reading.
Part of the Routledge Guides to Literature series, this volume is essential reading
for all those beginning detailed study of The Catcher in the Rye and seeking not
only a guide to the novel but also a way through the wealth of contextual and
critical material that surrounds Salinger’s text.
Sarah Graham is a lecturer in American Literature at the University of Leicester.
She is particularly interested in twentieth-century American novels and poetry,
especially in relation to gender, sexuality and trauma theory.
Rout ledge Gu ides to L i tera ture
Editorial Advisory Board: Richard Bradford (University of Ulster at Coleraine),
Shirley Chew (University of Leeds), Mick Gidley (University of Leeds), Jan
Jedrzejewski (University of Ulster at Coleraine), Ed Larrissy (University of Leeds),
Duncan Wu (St. Catherine’s College, University of Oxford)
Routledge Guides to Literature offer clear introductions to the most widely
studied authors and texts.
Each book engages with texts, contexts and criticism, highlighting the range of
critical views and contextual factors that need to be taken into consideration
in advanced studies of literary works. The series encourages informed but
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J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye by Sarah Graham
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J. D. Salinger’s The
Catcher in the Rye
Sa rah G ra ham
First published 2007
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
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© 2007 Sarah Graham
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Graham, Sarah.
J.D. Salinger’s The catcher in the rye / Sarah Graham.
p. cm. — (Routledge guides to literature)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Salinger, J. D. (Jerome David), 1919– Catcher in the rye. 2. Caulfield, Holden (Fictitious
character) 3. Runaway teenagers in literature. 4. Teenage boys in literature. I. Title.
PS3537.A426C327 2006
813′.54—dc22
2006022256
ISBN 0-203-49601-9 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 10: 0–415–34452–2 (hbk)
ISBN 10: 0–415–34453–0 (pbk)
ISBN 10: 0–203–49601–9 (ebk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–34452–4 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–34453–1 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–49601–5 (ebk)
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Notes and references x
Introduction xi
1: Text and contexts 1
Salinger: life and works 3
Post-war America: society and culture 9
Catcher and censorship 17
The Catcher in the Rye: detailed discussion 19
At Pencey 20
At the Edmont Hotel 23
Out in the city 26
Going home 30
2: Critical history 35
‘Unbalanced as a rooster on a tightrope’: reviews on publication 37
‘One of the loneliest characters in fiction’: the first wave of criticism (1950s
and 1960s) 40
‘Poised between two worlds’: criticism of the 1970s and 1980s 50
‘A classic American hero’?: criticism from the 1990s to the present 59
3: Critical readings 67
‘Masculine protest in The Catcher in the Rye’, by Sally Robinson 69
‘Holden Caulfield is not a person of colour’, by Renée R. Curry 77
‘Queering Catcher: flits, straights, and other morons’, by Pia Livia Hekanaho 89
v i i i C O N T E N T S
‘Trauma, mourning and self-(re)fashioning in The Catcher in the Rye’,
by Denis Jonnes 98
‘Digressing from the point: Holden Caulfield’s women’, by Clive Baldwin 109
4: Further reading and web resources 119
Index 125
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude for the professional and personal support
I have received during the completion of this study. First, the research leave
awarded to me by University of Leicester in 2005 enabled me to make substantial
progress with the project. I would also like to thank the publisher for efficiency
and friendly advice, especially Polly Dodson. I am very grateful to the academics
who contributed excellent essays to the study, responded to ideas with enthusi-
asm and met deadlines with unfailing good humour: warmest thanks to Sally
Robinson, Renée R. Curry, Pia Livia Hekanaho, Denis Jonnes and Clive Baldwin.
In addition, I would like to thank my colleagues in the Department of English and
the Centre for American Studies at the University of Leicester for their support
and advice, especially Emma Parker and George Lewis. The opportunity to dis-
cuss The Catcher in the Rye with students in recent years has also been invaluable.
This book is dedicated with love to my parents.