Plot Summary

The story starts out at Pency Prep, a boy's boarding school.  Holden had just gotten expelled.  There was a game at the school that the whole school was attending.  Holden watched it for a little while then decided to go see his history teacher, Mr. Spencer, to tell him good-bye before he left.  When he got to his house, Mr. Spencer was sick in bed and gave Holden a lecture on his poor grades.  When Holden heard this, he started to feel sorry for Mr. Spencer.  Holden returned to his room and started to talk to Ackley, the boy in the next room.  They talked about school for a while until they were interrupted by Holden's roomate, Stradlater.  Stradlater explained that he returned from the game early to go on a date with one of Holden's ex-girlfriends, Jane Gallagher.  Stradlater also asked Holden to do a descriptive theme for him.  Holden ate dinner then went out with Mal Brossard and Ackley.  They went and got a hamburger then returned to the dorm.  Holden started to write Stradlater's theme.  Holden wrote about his brother's baseball mitt.  Stradlater returned and read his theme.  He didn't like it because it was about a baseball glove.  Holden destroyed it and got in a fist-fight with Stradlater.  Holden lost and Stradlater left the room. Holden went to talk to Ackley, but he just wanted to go to sleep, so he went to look for Brossard, but decided just to leave the whole school.  He packed and left.  Holden walked to the train station and caught a train.  Holden met a woman on the train who was also the mother of one of his classmates.  When he arrived, he checked into a the Edmont Hotel.  He looked through his window for a while and saw some kinky things happening in some of the other rooms.  Holden decided to call some people.  He wanted to call Jane, but ended up calling Faith Cavendish.  She said it was too late to talk.  Holden didn't want to go to bed yet, so he went down to the dance club in the Hotel.  He meets three women there and dances with them a while.  The women leave and then Holden does too.  Holden went into the lobby and thought about Jane for a while.  He wondered what happened between her and Stradlater.  Holden then went to another club where he met Lillion Simmons, a girl who dated his older brother, D. B.  They talked for a while and Holden left.  Holden walked back to his hotel.  When he got there he ordered a prostitute for the night.  The prostitute arrived but Holden was too scared to have sex with her, so he gave her $5 and told her to leave.  Holden went to bed.  The prostitute and her pimp awoke Holden and insist he shortchanged them $5.  Holden refused so the pimp took the $5 and beat up Holden.  Then, Holden went to bed.  Holden woke up and called Sally Hayes for a date later.  Holden checked out of the hotel and eats breakfast in a small cafeteria at Grand Central Station.  When he was eating, he met two nuns and had a conversation about general things.  Holden finished his breakfast and tried to find a record shop to buy a record for his sister Phoebe.  He found the record at a record store then bought tickets to the show he was going to bring Sally to.  He goes to Central Park to look for his sister who is not there and took a taxi to the place where he was going to meet Sally.  Holden meets Sally, sees the show and goes ice skating.  They have an argument and Sally goes home.  After the date, Holden tried to call Jane again, but got no answer.  Then he called his friend from Whooton, Carl Luce and told him to meet him somewhere.  To kill time, Holden goes to a movie.  Carl and Holden meet at a bar and talk about sex for a while.  Carl left.  Holden stayed and got drunk.  He stayed for a while then decided to sober up so he soaked his head with water.  He walked around for a while in Central Park until he convinced himself that he was going to catch phenemonia and die.  He left Central Park and went to the apartment where his family lived.  Holden went in and found his sister, Pheobe.  He woke her up and talked to her for a while.  Holden found out that his parents weren't home.  At first she was thrilled to see him and then started to say that his parents were going to kill him for getting expelled.  Holden tried to explain why he fails at so many schools, so Pheobe asked him what he really likes.  He told her he wants to be a catcher in the rye.  Then he calls Mr. Antolini.  He convinced Mr. Antolini that he must see him.  Holden and Pheobe started dancing together for a while.  Then, his parents came home and Holden hid in the closet.  Pheobe talked to them for a while and they went to bed.  Pheobe lent Holden some money and Holden leaves.  Holden went to the Antolini's house to stay for the night.  He talked to the Antolini's for a little bit and they made a bed for him.  Holden decided to go to sleep.  When Holden wakes up, he finds Mr. Antolini patting his head.  Holden is freightened and leaves soon after.  Holden decided to go to Grand Central Station to get some sleep.  He took a short nap and then started to read a magazine.  He read an article about cancer and convinces himself that he has cancer.  He walked for a while down 5th Avenue.  He said that as he was crossing a street, it would feel like he was dissapearing.  To come back, he would talk to his dead brother Allie.  Holden ends up in Central Park.  He sat down and decided he was going to go out west and become a deaf-mute.  He went to see his sister for the last time at school.  He wrote a note to the secretary to give to Pheobe to tell her that he was going out west and where to meet him.  In the school he sees "F**k You" written on the wall.  He rubs it out because he does not want any of the little kids to see it and he doesn't want anybody to think that he did it.  To kill time, he went to the museum for a while.  He felt terrible and had a terrific headache.  He had diarrhea and went to the bathroom.  He fainted in the bathroom and felt better when he got up.  Then he spotted "F**k You" written on the wall again, except this time it was scratched in and he couldn't rub it out.  He returned back to the school to meet Pheobe.  Pheobe was late and came out with a large suitcase.  She insisted that she was going to go with him.  He told her that he changed his mind and put her suitcases away.  They proceded to the zoo in Central Park.  Pheobe proceded to a carousel and wanted to ride it.  Holden watched her ride it and said he was almost bawling he was so happy.  This is where the story ends.  Holden is talking to an analyst in an asylum in California.  He says that he will be out soon and says that he will be goin back to school next September.