The 1951 novel, The Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger, is a classic that should be read throughout the decades. Salinger accurately portrays the difficulties of being a teenager and finding yourself. The author based many of the situations presented in the book on moments in his life: the transition from one school to another, the acquaintance of an older Colombian student and many others. Salinger has done an impressive job of captivating his readers from the first page to the end, and that probably has to do with the unusual protagonist, Holden Caulfield. The story of Holden Caulfield begins on a Saturday in December and Caulfield has just left Pencey Prep. The story is told from Holden's point of view in the 1950s and the reader soon discovers that he is very pessimistic. The story progresses and introduces many key characters such as Ackley the nuisance, Stradlater the "sexy bastard" of a roommate, Mr. Spencer the fake teacher, and Jane Gallagher the childhood friend. After an argument with Stradlater, Holden decides to stall, returning home to his furious mother-to-be, and heads to New York with some money given to him by his forgetful grandmother. On the train to the city, he meets the mother of a fellow student and is ashamed of his falsehood when he tells her what a wonderful son he has, even though he lies openly. In New York he manages to buy a luxurious hotel with a terrible view and meets many strange characters, as well as seeing some from his hotel window. Holden ventures to the Lavender Room, a club within the hotel, to get lucky or get drunk, but gets neither. He dances with three fake girls and then leaves, remembering Jane Gallagher and their wonderful childhood together. H...... half of the paper...... state”. J.D. Salinger has created a book that will continue to amaze readers for many generations to come, and perhaps will eventually be removed from the list of banned books. This is definitely a story that should be passed down, and while it's hard to decipher why famous Beatles singer John Lennon was shot, parents shouldn't be afraid when their child picks up this book at the library. Holden Caulfield, the unusual protagonist, manages to teach those who read his story that loneliness is almost always self-inflicted; there is always someone around the corner waiting to come into your life, you just have to look up. Works Cited Salinger, JD. The Catcher in the Rye. 1951. Reprint. : , 1974. Print "The Catcher In The Rye: Plot Overview." SparkNote. SparkNotes and Web. May 6, 2014. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/catcher/summary.html.