Adolescence

Running contrary to the desire to maintain innocence is Holden's obviously strong desire to be an adult and live in the adult world, for which he is not prepared. He probably doesn't want to be a kid anymore, but still feels like the adult world is cruel and unfair. He's stuck in between child and adulthood. He is immensely frustrated by his repeated attempts to fit into adult society, foiled by his saying something wrong, or simply being seen as an adolescent by the adults around him. He spends much of the novel pursuing women, attempting to lose his virginity. He also tries to drink alcohol in every bar he can, but is turned away because he is too young. Having been rejected, Holden's response is an even stronger rejection of the people with whom he was trying to fit in. This resentment, combined with his observations of "phoniness" in many of the people around him, cause him to be outcast by society and to sometimes view himself as a loner with outsider status. Holden also changes his mind at the end of the book when he lets Phoebe grow up.

Education

Another theme in the book is whether or not Holden's education is important. Holden has failed out of several schools in his career, and exhibits no signs of remorse or promise of change. In the final chapters of the book, his former teacher, Mr. Antolini, tells Holden that it is imperative to his future that he apply himself at school, that he believes that education helps to arrange the ideas of brilliant and creative people — a group to which he presumably believes Holden belongs. Whether this speech is intended to be considered true is convoluted by the ambiguous actions of Mr. Antolini shortly after Holden goes to sleep. At the end of the book, Holden states that he thinks he will apply himself in the next school he's going to, but that he isn't sure and that he won't be until he gets there.

Style Stream of consciousness

This style, used throughout the novel, refers to the use of seemingly disjointed ideas and episodes used in an apparently random medley, but in fact in a highly structured way, that is used to illustrate a theme. For example, as Holden sits in a chair in his dorm, minor events (such as picking up a book or looking at a table) unfold into long discussions about past experiences.

Controversy

The Catcher in the Rye has been shrouded in controversy since its publication. Reasons for banning have been the use of offensive language, premarital sex, alcohol abuse, and prostitution.

Mark David Chapman, murderer of musician John Lennon, was carrying the book when he was arrested immediately after the murder and referred to it in his statement to police shortly thereafter. John Hinckley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was also reported to have been obsessed with the book.

Critics see Holden as a disturbing influence on youths they consider to be "social outcasts". Holden is portrayed as a juvenile who rejects and is rejected by many peers and individuals. Critics hold that people like Chapman and Hinckley come to relate themselves to Holden, the person that nobody understands and that cannot understand anybody else.

Thirty years after its first publication in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye was both the most banned book in United States as well as the second most taught book in public schools.

It was number 13 on the American Library Association's list of most frequently challenged books from 1990-2000. It was one of the ten most challenged books in 2005.

Notwithstanding the above, the story remains required reading in many U.S. public school English literature curricula.