1. Plot
1.1. The novel starts off with Holden in a psychiatric facility. He gets kicked from Pencey for failing every subject except for English. He visits his history teacher, but gets annoyed that he's being scolded at.
1.2. Holden returns to his dorm and runs into Stradlater. He asks him to write his English essay for him while he goes on a date, and Holden writes about Allie's red baseball glove. Holden gets angry at Stradlater when he says the essay isn't good, and refuses to talk about his date.
1.3. Holden leaves Pencey to go to New York City. He can't leave because his parents don't know he got expelled, so he rents a room and sees some sexual scenes. He goes to a nightclub to soothe his loneliness and gets punched by a prostitute.
1.4. Holden meets up with Sally and she leaves in tears. Then, he meets Carl Luce and he gets upset at Holden. He wanders around Central Park, then sneaks back home and meets his sister, Phoebe.
1.5. Phoebe asks Holden why he doesn't like anything, to which he says he is a "catcher in the rye". Holden hears his family arrive home, so he goes to Mr. Antolini's apartment, but leaves when he feels that Mr. Antolini made a sexual advance on him. He spends the night sleeping at Grand Central Station.
1.6. Holden writes a note to Phoebe and says he wants to run away, but wants to meet up with her first. She says she wants to run away with him, too, but he refuses. He takes her to the carousel and watches her ride it. The flashback ends and Holden explains that he's going back to school in the fall.
2. Symbolism
2.1. Ducks on the frozen lagoon
2.1.1. Represents a sense of curiosity, bringing Holden away from his obsession with acting like an adult and allowing him to embrace his childhood.
2.2. Phoebe on the carousel
2.2.1. Represents Holden finally understanding that loss of innocence and risk-taking is essential for the transition from childhood to adulthood.
2.3. Museum of National History
2.3.1. Represents Holden's longing for static events and his hatred of change.
2.4. Red Hunting Hat
2.4.1. Represents Holden's true self and identity.
2.5. Allie's baseball glove
2.5.1. Represents innocence as it is an ideation of Allie, who was a young, innocent boy that was unapologetically himself without any outside opinions or looks.
2.6. "Catcher in the Rye"
2.6.1. Represents Holden wanting to preserve the innocence of children by "saving" them when they are exposed to any adult ideas or content.
3. Characters
3.1. Holden Caulfield
3.1.1. Protagonist of the novel
3.1.2. Failed out of Pencey Prep, despite being very intelligent
3.1.3. Tries to protect himself and others from disappointment
3.2. Stradlater
3.2.1. Holden's roommate at Pencey Prep
3.2.2. Handsome and charismatic, but secretly a slob
3.2.3. Very experienced with members of the opposite sex
3.3. Allie
3.3.1. Holden's younger brother
3.3.2. Passed away from leukemia
3.3.3. Emotionally close to Holden, his death took a huge toll on him
3.4. Phoebe Caulfield
3.4.1. Holden's younger sister
3.4.2. Emotional support for Holden, support pillars for each other
3.4.3. Extremely mature and emotionally intelligent
3.5. Mr. Antollini
3.5.1. Holden's former English teacher
3.5.2. Very important to Holden, he respects him a lot
3.5.3. Young, clever, and sympathetic; offers advice to Holden
3.6. Sally Hayes
3.6.1. A girl Holden dated
3.6.2. Doesn't really like her but feels that he needs to fake being attracted to her
3.6.3. Holden claims she's stupid
3.7. Ackley
3.7.1. Holden's next-door dorm neighbor at Pency
3.7.2. Insecure
3.7.3. Terrible hygiene
3.8. Carl Luce
3.8.1. Holden's student advisor at Pencey
3.8.2. Very sexually experienced
3.8.3. Tells inappropriate stories to children
4. Setting
4.1. Pencey Prep
4.2. New York City
4.3. Museum of National History
4.4. Central Park
4.5. Carousel
4.6. Psychiatric Facility
5. Theme
5.1. Loss of Innocence
5.1.1. Holden prides innocence very deeply; he believes the world runs black and white, and that innocence is either there or lost.
5.2. Individuality
5.2.1. Holden shields his identity and individuality away from everyone as a means of protection, except for his red hunting hat, which shows the real him.
5.3. Loss/Grief
5.3.1. Holden loses a lot during the novel; his brother, his innocence, and his place at Pencey. He is grieving and doesn't know how to deal with the pain.
5.4. Mental Illness
5.4.1. Because of Holden's trauma, he shields himself as a way to protect himself. This is not normal behavior and is incredibly disordered.