The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is set in the 1950s and is narrated by a young man named Holden Cualfield . Holden is not specific about his location while he's telling the story, but he makes it clear that he is currently undergoing treatment in some sort of medical facility. The events he narrates take place in the few days between the end of the fall school term and Christmas, when Holden is sixteen years old.Holden's story begins on the Saturday following the end of classes at a Pencey prep school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. Pencey is Holden's fourth school; he has already failed out of three others. At Pencey, he has failed four out of five of his classes and has received notice that he is being expelled, but he is not scheduled to return home to Manhattan until Wednesday. He visits his elderly history teacher, to say goodbye, but when Spencer tries to reprimand him for his poor academic performance, Holden becomes annoyed.
Holden
Holden, Massachusetts
HoldenBack in the dormitory, Holden is further irritated by his unhygienic neighbor, and by his own roommate, Stradlater spends the evening on a date with Jane Gallagher, a girl whom Holden used to date and whom he still admires. During the course of the evening, Holden grows increasingly nervous about Stradlater's taking Jane out, and when Stradlater returns, Holden questions him insistently about whether he tried to have sex with her. Stradlater teases Holden, who flies into a rage and attacks Stradlater. Stradlater pins Holden down and bloodies his nose. Holden decides that he's had enough of Pencey and will go to Manhattan three days early, stay in a hotel, and not tell his parents that he is back.
On the train to New York, Holden meets the mother of...