ipl-logo

Boarding School In JD Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye

849 Words4 Pages
What should a person do if he or she is kicked out of boarding school? JD Salinger traces Holden, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye, on his lonely path after he is expelled from a boarding school. Salinger writes a tale about the coming of age of a teenager who pushes away all of his friends when he needs them the most. In The Catcher and the Rye, Salinger illustrates Holden’s loneliness through his struggles with developing and maintaining friendships. One way Holden’s loneliness and challenges with friendship are shown is when Holden is kicked out of Pencey, his boarding school. After Holden decides to leave Pencey early, he returns home to New York City. Instead of going all the way home, he chooses to explore the city alone. When he arrives in New York City after just exiting the train, Holden’s first action is revealed in the following quote. “The first thing I did when I got off at Penn Station, I went into this phone booth. I felt like giving somebody a buzz. I left my bags right outside the booth so that I could watch them, but as soon as I was inside, I couldn 't think of anybody to call up.” The story continues on to describe all the people Holden thinks of to call, but he always comes up with excuses not to call them. ”So I ended up not calling anybody. I came out of the booth, after about twenty minutes or so, and got my bags and walked over to that tunnel where the cabs are and got a cab”(Salinger 59). The passage demonstrates that Holden
Open Document