The Catcher in the Rye is, for lack of a better word, a controversial novel that remains so almost seventy years after it was penned down. Written from late 1940s to early 1950s, this post World War II novel constituted the only solitary work in the infamous oeuvre of J. D. Salinger. The specialty of this work is that it reflects the real life and personality of the author himself, and we can hope to understand him by following the protagonist. Another marked aspect of this novel is that it renders very polarizing thoughts in the minds of the readers, implying that they either hate the constant ranting of the protagonist, or inculcate the world views within their own personalities by the time they are done with the novel. To start things off, the plot of the novel is a very monotonic one. The novel is devoid of any climax, or the climax takes place behind the scenes at the end, oblivious to the reader. It shows repetitive instances of the protagonist, Holden …show more content…
D. Salinger, the author, manifests his own life at various points within the novel. He also shifted through various colleges, throughout his studying life, due to some reason or the other. He once went attended Columbia University, the school where Carl Luce is from. Salinger himself was once enrolled in McBurney School in Manhattan, the intended site of the novel's canceled fencing meet. In addition, scholars often compare Pencey Prep to Valley Forge Military Academy, which Salinger attended from the ages of 15 to 17. He has also said various times to the press that his best friends include mostly children, and he is best able to connect to them, same as Holden. This was why he was very offended when his book was banned in some areas for children. Salinger also went into reclusion after 1960s, once his short stories started getting critically riled. This further led to the popularity of this novel, since Holden also connects to nobody and lands up in