The Catcher in the Rye Book Summary

A Brief Overview:

The Catcher in the Rye is about Holden Caulfield, who is expelled in his junior year and struggles with a sense of confusion.

The Novel Opens in an Asylum 

Holden Caulfield tells the story from a mental hospital in the form of a flashback on a Saturday in December – the day of the season-ending football match between his old school - Pencey Prep and rival Saxon Hall.

He has been expelled and is on his way to say goodbye to Mr. Spencer, his history instructor. The meet-up annoys Holden, who takes advantage of the earliest opportunity to leave.

Then, he goes to his room and reads until he is interrupted by Auckley, an insensitive youth who lives in the same room. They are joined by Stradlater another room-mate. 

Stradlater has a date and wants Holden to write an English composition for him. Holden agrees but gets jealous when he understands that Stradlater is going out with Jane Gallagher – a girl he almost fell in love with in the previous summer.

Post the date, Holden's jealousy peaks. He starts a fight with him but loses.

 Escaping Pencey Prep

Then, he decides to run away from school without waiting for the end of the term. He takes the train to New York and checks in at a hotel, rather than going to his parent's flat to tell them about his expulsion. He even gets irritated as it is too late at night to phone his younger sister Phoebe.

A Night in New York City

He spends a restless night in the bar. Afterwards, he is accompanied by the liftman at the hotel, who offers to send a prostitute to his room. Holden accepts but when the girl – Sunny, arrives he does not feel like sleeping with her. 

This makes her enraged, even though he pays her the charges. Left all alone in bed, he takes a smoke until the lift man and Sunny return to extract more money from him. Holden objects but the man hits and snatches his wallet. 

Seeking Companionship

In the morning he sets a date with Sally Hayes, desperately to get a company. He buys theatre tickets for his date with Sally and a record for his sister Phoebe. Even with his mixed feelings about Sally, he feels pleased to see her. During the interval, Sally is joined by a sophisticated young boy and Holden gets annoyed with their intellectual conversations. 

Later, he takes Sally skating and proposes to her to live with him. When she does not take it seriously, they fight and part in anger. 

Holden goes to a bar to meet an old school friend Carl Luce. But soon he is angered by Luce's dominating nature and starts another quarrel. He sits in the bar alone all drunk before making a call to apologise to Sally.

Holden’s Relationships

Eager to see his sister, Holden takes the risk of entering into his parents' flat. Phoebe tells him that his parents are out for the evening. They chat together, and Holden feels relaxed and happy in her company. Holden's parents return suddenly but he can run out of the flat without them knowing. 

He phones Mr.Antolini to make arrangements for the night. Antolini greets him but warns Holden that he is a confused young boy. In the middle of the night, Holden wakes to find Antolini touching his hair. Holden thinks Antolini is homosexual, runs out of the house angrily and spends the rest of the night in the waiting room of Grand Central Station.

Bidding Goodbye to Phoebe 

 The next morning he decides to leave and live peacefully in a rural place. But before leaving he wants to say goodbye to Phoebe, so he leaves a note at her school asking her to lunch with him. When she hears of his plan, she compels him to take her along. To please her Holden takes her to the Zoo; for all his confusion and anxiety, he still finds a strange pleasure in her company.

 Holden’s Mental State

In a brief conclusion, Holden gives a summary of the end of his weekend escape. He finally goes back to his parents and is sent to a psychiatric hospital. There he is visited by his elder brother D.B., a novelist but now a Hollywood scriptwriter.