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Pathos
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
The Catcher in the Rye is primarily set in the packed and newly energized environment of New York City during the 1950s. This was a period characterized by the rise of teenage culture in post-World War II America, which was itself spurred by the popularization of TV and radio. Partially because of this and also because of the aftereffects of the war, it was also a period of unprecedented identity crisis for the United States itself. Holden, his city, and his country at large aren’t completely sure who they’re supposed to be.
Holden begins his story at Pencey Prep, an elite boarding school where all the rules of high society apply. When Holden is expelled from Pencey, he returns home to New York City. Holden is a native New Yorker, so he thinks of this as normal life; he doesn’t behave like a tourist. Holden isn’t impressed by anything he sees in New York because he’s become so used to both it and the privilege he was born into. Some of the novel is also set in the Caulfield family's apartment in Manhattan, which is a well-upholstered and clean contrast to some of the seedier areas of New York that Holden visits.
The city's landmarks like Central Park, the Museum of Natural History, and various plush hotels are familiar stomping grounds for Holden. Each also holds meaning for him as places from his childhood. In particular, the Museum of Natural History evokes Holden's longing for a world where nothing changes. He initially finds a lot of comfort in its unchanging displays, wishing he could preserve the good things in his life behind glass.
As part of its frame story, the novel also briefly touches on the mental health facility where Holden presumably resides. There aren’t many descriptions of the setting itself, but Holden’s presence there at the beginning and end of the story indicate his mental fragility. This part of the setting reinforces the unreliability of his narration, making the reader wonder if what he is saying is ever the whole truth.
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