1. Family
1.1. Phoebe
1.1.1. "I like it now, I mean right now. Sitting here with you and just chewing the fat and horsing--" (172)
1.1.1.1. This is when Phoebe asks him to name one thing he really likes doing; he cannot think of anything, but he says he likes just talking with Phoebe. This shows how he cares. It also connects to the theme of keeping kids' innocence. He can talk about anything with Phoebe and doesn't have to talk about adult or teenager things with her like he does with Luce or Sally
1.2. D.B.
1.2.1. "D.B. asked me what I thought about all this stuff I just finished telling you about. . . I don't know what to think about it. I'm sorry I told so many people about it. About all I know is , I sort of miss everybody I told about." (213-214)
1.2.1.1. What is interesting is how, throughout the book, Holden always talks about how he dislikes everyone, but on the last page he says he misses a part of everyone he told his story too. This is because, by the end of the book, Holden figures out what he wants to do and that he needs to apply himself more in school in order to be more successful. He misses a part of everyone he told his story to because each person had a part in making him who he morphed into by the end of the story: they all have a part in making him want to be, and ultimately be, more successful
1.3. Allie
1.3.1. Allie passed away when Holden was younger, but throughout the story we see how fond of Allie Holden really is. Multiple times when Holden is saddened by something, he thinks of or even talks to Allie. Allie also helped him do something successful in the beginning of the story: write the paper about Allie's baseball mitt
1.4. Even though Holden doesn't like very many people, including his family sometimes, he cares about them a lot, and they motivate him. D.B. and Phoebe both do great, scholarly things, and Allie did as well before he passed away. Holden looks to these people as role models in his life: he strives to be as, if not more successful than they are, each in their own respective places
2. People
2.1. Sally
2.1.1. "But when I got inside the phone booth, I wasn't much in the mood any more to give old Jane a buzz. I was too drunk, I guess. So what I did, I gave old Sally Hayes a buzz." (150)
2.1.1.1. Whenever Holden is feeling lonely he talks about calling someone, typically he thinks of Jane, but he never actually has the guts to call her except for once, and even then he hangs up as soon as her Mom answers. He even gets discouraged to call Sally sometimes too; she is typically the second person he think of. Holden does not feel the need to shield Sally from the indecency of the world as he does Jane because he doesn't love Sally. This is why he allows himself to call her when he is drunk. He is successful in caring about the people he loves to a great extent, and Sally is not one of them
2.2. Jane
2.2.1. Jane is one person who Holden cannot get off of his mind. He treats her like family, but at the same time he is afraid to talk to her. Holden looks out for because he has feelings for her that stem from when they were younger and living next door to each other: he loves Jane, but he doesn't have the courage to talk to her or make any moves with her because he isn't successful. He feels that he needs to be successful in order to talk to her, but at the same time; he is being successful protecting her from all of the bad things that he can protect her from
2.3. Stradlater
2.3.1. "All I know is I got up from the bed, like I was going down to the can or something, and then I tried to sock him , with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it would split his goddam throat open." (43)
2.3.1.1. This is the first time Holden stands up for himself. He to do this more throughout the book, but this is the first one. This proves Holden to have another place where he is successful: caring about the people he loves. He wants to protect everyone he loves from all of the indecency in the world
3. Holden wishes to be successful in his own right, but struggles to find his place; when Holden is able to find his place, he is able to thrive and be successful
4. Link: Holden At Fifty
4.1. This article runs around al of the aspects of The Catcher and the Rye, and the stigma it created. One of the paragraphs talks about nostalgia as a third grader visiting their old kindergarten room. This compares to innocence as being a little kid and wanting to stay that way forever
5. Link: TedxMalibu
5.1. This Ted Talk perfectly encompasses the idea of finding what a person loves to do, and that person will thrive doing that. I talks about having to be outward facing, and doing what you love for other people. Holden finds what he loves to do: keep kids' innocence. This means that he is, indeed, outward facing because he is doing it for the little kids, so that they will always be happy, which in turn makes Holden happy and live a better life
6. Successes
6.1. School
6.1.1. “ ‘Oh I feel some concern for my future, all right. Sure. Sure, I do.’ ” (14)
6.1.1.1. Holden says this in a sarcastic tone, but the real story is he is actually concerned. Holden is concerned that he will never find a place where he feels comfortable or successful, and he wants to be happy like all of the other people who have already found their calling
6.1.2. "A lot of people, especially this one psychoanalyst they have here, keeps asking me if I'm going to apply myself when I go back to school next September. . . The answer I. . . I think I am" (213)
6.1.2.1. At the end of the book Holden contemplates retrospectively upon the story he has told. At this point he is more determined to succeed than any other point in the book because he realizes he has the potential to do so, although, he doesn't show it. Holden still might be trying to fit into a place of being well-liked by everyone by making it seem like he doesn't care, even though he really does. Holden wants to lead a better life and he knows this is the way to do it
6.1.3. “I didn’t even answer him. I just threw the pieces in the wastebasket. Then I lay down on my bed, and we didn’t say anything for a long time” (41)
6.1.3.1. Holden wrote something he is proud of and thought it was a good piece of writing. This is one of the first times in the book when he views himself as doing something good, and he was happy to write about Allie; however, Stradlater just told him it was no good and this made Holden feel, again, like he is not successful in anything
6.2. Finding His Place
6.2.1. " What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff--I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all." (173)
6.2.1.1. This is the most important part of the book because it is the first time that Holden aspires to be something. He always is saying what he doesn't like and doesn't want to do. Holden finally feels that he could have a place and a goal to go with it: keep the children innocent
7. Failures
7.1. School
7.1.1. “. . . I guess it hasn't really hit me yet. All I'm doing right now is thinking about going home Wednesday. I’m a moron.” (14)
7.1.1.1. This is the first failure of Holden that is seen in the book: he gets kicked out of school again. Even though Holden is being kicked out of school, the way he speaks of it is almost in a remorseful tone showing he wishes to do well
7.1.2. “Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right--I’ll admit that. But if you are on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it?” (8)
7.1.2.1. Holden is talking to Mr. Spencer. Holden is saying that all of the smart and arrogant people make everything a game, such as grades; however, on the side of the people whose education doesn't come as easily to them, they wish to be successful and don't bother worrying about who they are or aren't better than. Holden doesn't understand why the more intelligent people can't just be happy with having the success that Holden wishes to have
7.1.3. “I agree! I agree they do, some of them! But that’s all I get out of it. See? That’s my point. That’s exactly my goddam point.” (131)
7.1.3.1. Holden is talking to Mr. Antolini. He is talking about how others get so much more out of school than he does, in the classroom and out of it. He says that he gets a little more out of school because he is the manager of the fencing team, but he gets ostracized by the team when he forgets the equipment on the subway. This makes him not feel like he is in a place where he can be successful, and that is why he says that is all he can get out of school
7.2. Attempting to Find His Place
7.2.1. “If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn’t rub out even half the f-u signs in the world.” (202)
7.2.1.1. Holden doesn't like seeing the F-u's on the wall in Phoebe's school. He feels that it robs them of their innocence, the same innocence that he wishes to save every kid from losing. He starts to feel at home at the school; this is where he went to school, and he gets a better idea of where he feels he can be successful and apply being the catcher in the rye
7.3. Family
7.3.1. “As a matter of fact, I’m the only dumb one in the family.” (67)
7.3.1.1. Holden is always comparing himself to his other family members. He always talks about how they are all really smart and how he isn't. He admires them for it, and by the end of the book Phoebe realizes Holden's potential along with many other people