“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.”- Holden Caulfield
Author Influences
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Holden holds a striking resemblance to the author, J.D. Salinger, himself . In the novel, there are many aspects of Salinger's life that appeared in the Catcher in the Rye. For instance, Holden is the son of wealthy parents from New York just like Salinger. Similar to Holden, Salinger had a deep love for younger people, especially young women. This is evident in 1970,when Salinger (51 years old) maintained a relationship with an 18 year old woman, Joyce Maynard. To this I may say Salinger used his own character, Holden, to expose his personal life and feelings.