The Portrayal of J.D. Salinger's Life in "The Catcher in the Rye"

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Many aspects of the author J.D. Salinger’s life are portrayed in his famous novel, The Catcher in the Rye (Little, Brown, & Co., 1991). The different elements of the setting of The Catcher in the Rye have many similarities to the actual life of Salinger, especially the location where some events take place. Salinger attended Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania, the reason Holden Caulfield, the main character, attends a school called Pencey Prep in Agerstown, Pennsylvania (Fiene 1). Both Salinger’s and Holden’s schools are similar not only because they are both located in Pennsylvania, but also because they are both private schools. Another location shared by Salinger and Holden is Manhattan, New York. Salinger was born in Manhattan and attended different schools there until around the age of thirteen, including the McBurney School (Fiene 1). Holden, like Salinger, was born in Manhattan, where most of the novel takes place. Though the location plays a big part in the setting of the novel, the time period during which the novel takes place also corresponds to the time period during which the novel, published in the year 1951, was written. Salinger spent the years leading up to that time finishing the book, the novel is set around the 1950s as well. The characters of The Catcher in the Rye also reflect some aspects of Salinger’s life. In many ways, Holden can be seen as a portrayal of Salinger himself. School was not really a subject of interest for either of them. Salinger attended many different schools throughout his lifetime. He went to public schools until age thirteen, and then attended McBurney School in Manhattan, Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania, New York University, and Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania (Fiene 1). Holden Caulfield, the main character of the novel, is a sixteen-year-old high school

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