How Is Holden An Unreliable Narrator In Catcher In The Rye

The Catcher in the Rye is one of J. D. Salinger's world-famous books about the disgruntled youth. Holden Caulfield is the main character and he is a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Navigating his way through the challenges of growing up, Holden separates the “phony” aspects of society, and the “phonies” themselves. Some of these “phony” people in his life are the headmaster whose friendliness depends on the wealth of the parents, and his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection. This book deals with the complex issues of identity, belonging, connection, and alienation. Holden senses these feelings most of the time and is guilty about many things in

One of the greatest American Literature writers, J.D. Salinger, was familiar with a rough childhood by experience. He was able to parallel his experiences to the experiences of Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in Rye. In this novel, Holden experiences conflicts that most youth are not familiar with. The conflicts in Holden Caulfield’s life are caused by various forces and circumstances.

Another devices that the author uses is tone, throughout the novel Holden’s tone is always negative towards everything and everyone, he is always focusing on the bad side of things. The only time that Holden’s tone would seem to change is when he was talking about Phoebe or

I felt so depressed, you can't imagine. What I did, I started talking, sort of out loud, to Allie. I do that sometimes when I get very depressed. I keep telling him to go home and get his bike and meet me in front of Bobby Fallon's house.”(Salinger) This quote clearly shows Holden isn’t over the death of his brother. He loved Allie and still, when he gets very depressed, talks to him. If Holden had received proper treatment earlier for his depression and was able to talk with someone about the death of his brother, he would most likely not failed out of numerous schools. He wasn’t failing; he was trying to cope.

Holden uses leisure activities as temporary solutions to bypass his problems.It is clear that Holden is not satisfied with the way he is living his life, therefore he chooses to lie to any stranger he meets ."I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life.“(16)”Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it”.(58) Moreover this shows that he uses lies as a way to avoid personal

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a novel built on contradictory statements. This is partly because Holden, the angsty, teenage narrator, is still finding himself through the course of the book meaning that these contradictions show both positive and negative change in himself. The biggest contradictions shown thus far are both contradictory of Holden’s actions which is showing a lack of awareness of his true self. The first example of the Holden’s contradictions is in the beginning paragraph of the novel when he states that he is not going to recount his “whole goddam autobiography or anything” (3) and then proceeds to do that very thing by telling the “madmen stuff” (3) that happened to him a year ago. A second example of Holden’s

J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye presents a look into the mind of Holden Caulfield, a popular literary icon numerous teenagers have rightfully found themselves relating to at some point. While the familiar emotions of Holden were welcoming for me, his anecdotes and witty remarks proved entertaining as well. The story chronicles Holden’s exploration through New York post-expulsion, with his point of view influenced by his growing alienation with the world. He represents that growing sense of unease at growing up and facing a reality that is not always pretty, and, in his case, a need to save children from having to face that reality. I personally admired the fact that he was not just an angry teenager in the world as stereotypes suggest.

    J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is the chronicle of a young man's metamorphosis from immaturity to unsure manhood. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, is a sixteen-year old boy who leaves the prep school he has been expelled from to escape the frightening reality of dealing with his parents. However, during his visit to New York City he is faced with the harsh reality that he cannot continue to hold onto his childhood. Holden is an extremely complex character and it is only by examining each layer of him that the reader is able to understand his painful metamorphosis.

They are also likely to lie because of the bias viewpoint of the world they see. The author first mentions it when he says, “all my life, I’ve been praised for my intelligence, my powers of language, of insight” (Gluck 6-8). The author’s extensive intelligence can help him lie about what he says without making it sound fake. He would do this because just like Holden, he wants to make his story about the preservation of innocence and will lie to make it emphasize his point better. Holden is also praised for his knowledge in English by his former teacher and mentor Mr. Antolini. He is often explaining how he lies to people all throughout the story. One example occurs when he is on the train with Mrs. Morrow and made up a whole story about her son. After a few minutes of constant lying he says, “I had her in a trance...I really did’ (Salinger 73). Holden is so good at lying he can make someone hang onto every word he says. The entire story Holden could be lying to us to try and put an image of preserving innocence in our head that only he would know the true story. The intelligence that Holden and the author possess allows them to twist a story so it fits the image they want it

Jerome David Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is based on the life events shaping main character, Holden Caulfield, into the troubled teen that is telling the story in 1950. The theme of the story is one of emotional disconnection felt by the alienated teenagers of this time period. The quote, “ I didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear thinking and all” (Salinger 4) sets the tone that Holden cannot find a connection with anyone around him and that he is on a lonely endeavor in pursuit of identity, acceptance and legitimacy. The trials and failures that Holden faces on his journey to find himself in total shed light on Holden’s archenemy, himself.

Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child. “All of a sudden I

Everybody feels depressed at some time or another in their lives.  However, it becomes a problem when depression is so much a part of a person's life that he or she can no longer experience happiness.  This happens to the young boy, Holden Caulfield in J.D Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye.  Mr. Antolini accurately views the cause of Holden's depression as his lack of personal motivation, his inability to self-reflect and his stubbornness to overlook the obvious which collectively results in him giving up on life before he ever really has a chance to get it started.

Holden seems to struggle with depression. In many places throughout the novel, Holden describes to us his deep sadness. A lot of times his depression is unpredictable and triggered by tense situations. In one situation while he was explaining his feelings about the Elkton Hills headmaster’s phony and rather boring conversations with well-built and

Although there are essentially two Holdens, there are still traits that remain the same. Throughout the story, Holden feels the need to explain and justify himself, as though people don’t believe him. Holden tells the story

In J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the first person narration played a critical role in helping the reader to know and understand the main character, Holden Caulfield. Salinger also uses symbolism to help portray the theme that not everything that glitters is gold. Holden, in his narration, relates a flashback of a significant period of his life, three days and nights on his own in New York City. Through his narration, Holden discloses to the reader his innermost thoughts and also helps to introduce the reader to many of the symbols strategically placed throughout the novel. He thus provides the reader with not only information of what occurred, but also how he felt about what happened. In the Catcher in the Rye, Holden views the