The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger takes place in the 1950's, and is narrated by the main character and protagonist, Holden Caulfield. The novel is about coming to terms with the past, and is told when Holden is in a psychiatric institute and looking back on his experiences. Throughout the story Holden focuses on things that he does not fully understand, such as adult life. He views growing up and maturing as a horrible fate, and does everything he can to avoid it.
As Holden inevitably does start to grow up, he becomes extremely unhappy with himself and his life in general, and also starts to become more and more desperate as time goes on. Holden tells of his experiences being expelled from three schools, the latest of them a school called Pencey Prep, and of what he did after leaving the school. Holden snuck away a few days before the Christmas Break, and stays at a cheap hotel. While residing there, Holden goes to clubs and interacts with people, but fails to really connect with them. Later on, he tries to reconnect with his old girlfriend, but when he suggests they run away together, she angrily leaves and Holden starts to feel depressed. During this time he tries to communicate with his brother Allie, who is deceased. Holden then realizes the only person he can really connect with is his sister Phoebe, so he sneaks into their parents home and tells Phoebe about his dream of 'the Catcher and the Rye', and how he wants to run away.
Holden leaves again, and encounters a former teacher of his. After the teacher, Mr. Antolini, startles Holden, he departs and runs off again. After spending a night in the train station and running around the town, Holden meets back up with his sister Phoebe, who tells him that they should both run away. Holden then see himself in his sister, and finally changes his mind about running away. He goes back to his parents, and the reader can assume that he is then sent to a mental hospital at the end of the book.
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