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The Catcher in the Rye

Wikisimpsons - The Simpsons Wiki


The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger about a disgruntled teenager: Holden Caulfield. It's often referenced in The Simpsons. Long before he created The Simpsons Matt Groening wrote a novel, I Was A Teenage Malcontent, later retitled Mean Kids, which was based on The Catcher in the Rye and whose main character was named Bart Simpson.[1]

References to A Catcher in the Rye in The Simpsons[edit]

Picture Season Episode number Episode name Reference
The Catcher in the Rye (Krusty Gets Busted).png 1 12 "Krusty Gets Busted" Sideshow Bob gives Krusty the Clown a copy of The Catcher in the Rye from the Bucket o'Books, which Krusty holds upside down.
We Heart Phonies.png 7 130 "Radioactive Man" A banner welcomes the Hollywood film crew with the line "We love phonies". In The Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield holds long rants against anyone he perceives as "phonies."
8 108 "Lisa's Date with Density" Principal Skinner and Lisa Simpson refer to a group of bullies as "crumb bums". This is what the prostitute famously calls Holden Cauldfield after she leaves his hotel room.
14 299 "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" Homer Simpson is surprised to find out that Lisa Simpson's pet peeve is phonies, because he thought she loved them.
18 399 "24 Minutes" When Lisa's personal profile appears on screen it reads: "Head hall monitor – loves ponies, hates phonies".
22 480 "A Midsummer's Nice Dreams" Marge Simpson notices that the Crazy Cat Lady has the complete works of J.D. Salinger in her possession, "except for "The Catcher in the Rye"".
The Body Snatcher in the Rye.png 23 492 "The Book Job" Patty Bouvier has a book titled The Body Snatcher in the Rye standing on her shelf.
Diggs promo 2.png 25 542 "Diggs" An older mischievous and somewhat mentally unstable boy, Diggs befriends Bart. The plot is modelled after "The Catcher in the Rye".[2]

References to The Catcher in the Rye in Simpsons comics[edit]

Picture Series Issue Story Reference
Holden Caulfield.png The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis II 2 2 The Read Menace! Holden Caulfield woke up after Bender threw Professor Farnsworth's literary reality-tearing machine to the New New York Public Library. Inspector Javert arrested Bender when he had reason to believe he stole a wallet from Caulfield. Bender defended himself, saying it was the Artful Dodger.
The Catcher in the Rye (Lisa the Clown).png Simpsons Comics #226 226 Lisa the Clown When Lisa was the host of The Krusty the Clown Show she read from The Catcher in the Rye for the audience. She adds that it is not the biography of retired baseball personality, Bob Uecker..

References to The Catcher in the Rye in Simpsons books[edit]

The novel is mentioned in Lisa's Made for the Shade Summertime Reading List, published in The Simpsons Ultra-Jumbo Rain-or-Shine Fun Book.

References to The Catcher in the Rye in Simpsons video games[edit]

In The Simpsons: Tapped Out, more specifically the section The Simpsons: Tapped Out "Mathlete's Feat" episode tie-in content update the novel is mentioned in Print is Dead Pt. 4, when Seymour Skinner says that a monthly book burning is mandatory in the school board: "It's something to distract the Huck Finn-haters and Catcher In The Rye-oters."

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