CHAPTER SUMMARY 1:
Dinithi Summary: Holden Caulfield introduces himself in this chapter. He doesn’t really talk about his early life. The only thing that he really mentions about his life is his brother, D.B and how he is a Hollywood writer. Holden looks at his brother as someone who has ‘sold out’ to Hollywood. Holden doesn’t apply himself at a Boarding school called Pencey Prep and as a result he has been forbidden to attend school after the fall. He was the manager of the fencing team and was supposed to be in New York for a meeting, but lost the teams equipment on the subway, forcing everyone to return early.The Saturday before Christmas vacation, Holden stands on Thomsen Hill overlooking the football field, on which a grudge match against Saxon Hill is being battled out. This is his way of saying goodbye. He then walks away from the game to say goodbye to Mr Spencer, a former history teacher who is very old and ill with the flu. He runs to Spencer’s house but since he is a heavy smoker, he catches his breath. Spencer’s wife greets Holden warmly and goes in to see his teacher.Techniques and explanation of their effects:Page 1: When describing his parents as “touchy as hell”, Holden’s’ use of colloquial language establishes an informal relationship with the reader.Page 1: Holden’s describes his brother D.B, as “being a prostitute”, metaphorically alluding to his brother ‘selling himself out’ to Hollywood. This highlights Holden’s disapproval of the materialistic world surrounding him.Page 2: “They don’t do any damn more molding at Pencey than they do at any other school”. His cynical and negative tone obviously enlightens us as the readers about his disapproval towards Pencey Prep. This also makes us see Holden’s disapproval of society as a whole and the values they hold, which Holden disagrees with mostly. Individual and society: Even in the beginning Holden is physically separated from the fellow peers when he is overlooking them from the hill. His cynicism and negativity tells us that he does not want to be a part of this society which he makes a point of criticising at any given point.