J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye

by Bloom, Harold

• ISBN13: 9781604131833
• ISBN10: 1604131837
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-02-28
• Publisher: Facts on File

Summary

This new addition to the Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations series examines The Catcher in the Rye, one of the most popular coming-of-age novels ever written. Its 17-year-old protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has become an icon of teen angst. Gathered here is a collection of well-respected critical essays on the text. Book jacket.

Author Biography

To be a catcher in the rye, Holden's ambition, is to be a kind of secular saint, willing and able to save young children from disasters. -Harold Bloom

Table of Contents

Editor's Note	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
Rhetoric, Sanity, and the Cold War: The Significance of Holden Caulfield's Testimony	p. 5
"The World Was All Before Them": Coming of Age in Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Weep Not, Child and J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye	p. 21
Go West, My Son	p. 37
Hyakujo's Geese, Amban's Doughnuts and Rilke's Carrousel: Sources East and West for Salinger's Catcher	p. 45
Cherished and Cursed: Toward a Social History of The Catcher in the Rye	p. 63
The Catcher in the Rye as Postwar American Fable	p. 89
Holden Caulfield's Legacy	p. 105
The Boy That Had Created the Disturbance: Reflections on Minor Characters in Life and The Catcher in the Rye	p. 115
Holden Caulfield: A Love Story	p. 123
Catcher in the Corn: J. D. Salinger and Shoeless Joe	p. 131
Mentor Mori; or, Sibling Society and the Catcher in the Bly	p. 151
Memories of Holden Caulfield-and of Miss Greenwood	p. 167
The Zen Archery of Holden Caulfield	p. 183
Chronology	p. 191
Contributors	p. 195
Bibliography	p. 199
Acknowledgments	p. 205
Index	p. 207
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

The Catcher in the Ryeis one of the most popular coming-of-age novels ever written, and its 17-year-old protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has become an icon of teen angst. The new full-length critical essays in this title provide a comprehensive critical look at this classic by J.D. Salinger. Master scholar Harold Bloom introduces the novel in this study guide, which also features a chronology, a bibliography, an index, and notes on the contributors.

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Excerpted from J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye
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