Literary Analysis Of The Catcher In The Rye

Literature has always relied on techniques to catch the reader’s attention and format the story, and “the Catcher in the Rye” is no exception. Salinger brought many different writing styles into his novel to make it a bestseller. With his knowledge, Salinger was able to depict the persona of Holden to the reader without directly stating his characteristics. Salinger proves Holden is a lonesome figure who wanted to fit in but struggles to be accepted. The Catcher in the Rye depicts Holden as one who struggles with his sexuality and adulthood and wants to save children from adulthood because of the difficulties that it has brought himself. Salinger greatly expresses Holden through the use of metaphor, imagery, symbolism,

In the controversial novel, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger expresses his opinion on social problems. The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is a troubled teen; he seeks help throughout the novel. Holden has been in and out of schools and can not seem to fit in. Holden has depression and turns to alcohol for all his problems due to the lack of love in his life. No one understood what he was going through which caused him to almost kill himself. J.D. Salinger uses Holden to protest society’s problems.

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J.D. Salinger. It is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a cynical teenager who recently got expelled from his fourth school. Though Holden is the narrator and main character of the story, the focus of Salinger’s tale is not on Caulfield, but of the world in which we live. The Catcher in the Rye is an insatiable account of the realities we face daily seen through the eyes of a bright young man whose visions of the world are painfully truthful, if not a bit jaded. Salinger’s book is a must-read because its relatable symbolism draws on the reader’s emotions and can easily keep the attention of anyone.

In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main character and narrator Holden Caulfeild walks many different paths of life. He jumps around different aspects of his life throughout the book, showing the reader many different sides to himself. This theme is presented through the author’s technique in crafting the characterization and symbolism. J.D. Salinger develops a puzzle of a personality for Holden throughout the book, to show the complexity and multitude of sides to Holden’s character.

During the novel Holden lies to cover up his real feelings or as an excuse to not tell the truth. In Chapter 3 Holden says, “I’m the most terrific liar…” he continues by saying how frequently he lies to get himself out of trouble (Salinger, 2010:17). After Holden is expelled he decides to leave Pency and life it up for three days in New York because he cannot stay longer. Holden cannot go home sooner because he’s not feel like telling the truth to his parents (Salinger, 2010: 54). Holden choses to do the wrong thing because it is easier than to stay at Pency till Wednesday or to face his parents. Holden is contradictory he says, “I’m quite illiterate but I read a lot.” (Salinger, 2010:19). One cannot be illiterate if you read a lot. Holden is even more contradictory when he speaks of Allie in heaven but admitted that he is an atheist (Salinger, 2010:107). It is clear that Holden’s words and actions are contradictory when he says that the movies are phony but attends the movies a few times during the three days (Salinger, 2010:30).Holden’s character is riddled with dishonesty, wrong choices, and contradictions and true to an

Holden Caulfield is a character who has been through rejection and wishes to protect others innocence. He is a teen boy who is the main character in Catcher in The Rye by J.D.Salinger. He has an older brother named DB, a younger sister named Phoebe, and a younger, deceased, brother named Allie. Holden retells his story on him, trying to be the catcher in the rye. Holden has been kicked out of different colleges. He has been rejected by different girls. Holden goes through his life story. He talks about being kicked out of Pencey, his friend Jane, his “acquaintance” Stradlater, and how, when, and where Allie died. Society is to blame for Holden Caulfield's decline in mental stability. Society does not help Holden. Instead, they ignore his

The goal that that Holden has to try so hard to fulfil is symbolic of his need to differentiate himself from the "phonies" around him. Holden’s image of people is pretty bad because he believes no one acts how they truly feel. Growing up scares Holden because it leads to adulthood. In his eyes once he hits adulthood, it'll eventually lead into the same phoniness as the rest of the adults. His constant avoidance and dodging of people and situations causes him to become more and more distant from normal society and social stability.

As regards the main protagonist, Holden, there are many things to comment on him. From the beginning of the book, we can observe that he is not the typical character that usually appears in books. The first thing that amazes me about him is his way to speak. He uses strange vocabulary and some unusual expressions when he is referring to readers, that is, when he is telling us his thoughts.

There have been 25 people Holden interacts with in the story and most have been adults. There has been a pattern for him with adults though at first he was genuine towards them but as the story progresses Holden’s state of mind changed, because he started treating adults differently he was more brutal and less truthful. But his interaction also had another pattern because although most of the story consisted of adults, with those few children involved Holden related to them. With the children he was more of like a child again they both went together and Holden really did not have any problems with the children. Furthermore the interactions with Holden involved a pattern. This pattern consisted of treating adults like crap and treating the children as if they were

     Although Holden is extremely cynical and struggles with relationships, he is not all bad. Inside he is moral and generous. He was very charitable when he gave a considerable donation of twenty dollars to the nuns. Holden has a strange way of loving people.

Castronovo writes that The Catcher in the Rye is much more than just a novel. Instead, influences young adults on the experience of Holden Caulfield. This book has power and lessons that connect to the real world. It describes Holden and all the struggles he faces throughout his life. This becomes more personal when interpreted from real life experience rather than just a story, because the battles Holden faces within this novel can be one’s exact life in the real world. It describes his character, his emotions, and the setting of the

He really doesn’t think he has any place in common society and doesn’t believe he belongs in the stereotypical world he deems phony. He has a very closed mind and disagrees strongly with what many consider normal. He illustrates his disapproving personality when he says, “Pencey was full of crooks. Quite a few guys came from very wealthy families, but it was full of crooks anyway.” (7) At this point in the novel, Holden really has no clue where he wants to be in life.

If there was a way to personify the limbo between childhood and adulthood, J.D. Salinger does it with his main character Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye. Is he a boy, or is he a man? Holden represents the struggle in understanding that the complexity of adulthood can balance with the love and acceptance introduced in childhood. By combining Holden’s nostalgic obsession with the Museum of Natural History and his crude compulsion to continuously lie, Salinger proves how uncomfortable he is with growing up. It’s these tendencies that demonstrate the classic transition that is young adulthood in a bildungsroman such as The Catcher in the Rye.

"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of

In Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger creates a unique narration through the way Holden speaks. In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger reveals the inner Holden Caufield through the style of Salinger's writing. Salinger writes the book as if Holden Caulfield speaks directly through the reader, like a kid telling a story to his friends. Like with most conversations, there is more to infer from not only the speaker says, but also how the speaker says it. In the book, readers can infer that Holden is much more than a cynical kid. In reality, he is "too affectionate" and "very emotional" (76), much like his little sister Phoebe.