Free Essay on The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye is a work of atragic fiction and comedy. I came to choose it because I heard it was about a boy who is more or less my age. In this book, the main character, Holden Caulfield, tells us a story about what happened during his Christmas vacation. Holden is a sixteen year old boy who failed out of a private school. Because he is afraid that his parents will find out about this fact, he goes to a hotel in New York City instead of returning home after leaving school for the Christmas break. In New York a lot happens to him in a few days. For example, he goes to the hotel bar and meets three women after his first arrival. The women leave soon after he fails to speak to them, and Holden feels lonely and depressed. He goes to another bar to find someone to spend some time with, but finds no one to talk to and returns to the hotel feeling more depressed. In the hotel he meets a prostitute, but sends her back without having sex because he feels depressed and sorry for her. He is further disappointed when she tries to rob him of his money even though he tries to be nice to her. The next morning, he has a date with an old friend and asks her to escape this corrupt world and live in the woods with him. However, she tells him he is crazy and then leaves him. Holden meets other people later, but even these fail to solve his problems and he feels increasingly depressed and alone. Eventually he decides to run away and live as a deaf mute who will not need to communicate with anyone. Before leaving he goes to say goodbye to his little sister Pheobe, who he admires most. While talking and playing with her, Holden changes his mind and decides to reunite with his family because he realizes that there are many things he cannot solve alone. The theme of this novel is how innocence is corrupted by society. Holden thinks that everyone he grew up with is fake because their behavior and advice are all fake. The title of