The Characterization Of Bildungsroman In The Catcher In The Rye

Yardley suggest that J.D. Salinger was unsuccessful in his syntax and diction in The Catcher in the Rye to weaken the praises of people who believe the book is exceptionally good in speaking like a teenager. Yardley says his attempts “only produces an adult’s unwitting parody of teen-speak,” which is a complete understatement. He claims Salinger was oblivious to what teenage language is usually like, using small examples like how Salinger uses “ya know” instead of “y’know.” Salinger was an adult writing in a teenage voice, which creates a lot of complication. He obviously didn’t know how a teenager spoke or acted, which ended up making the book a little bit peculiar. The character Holden Caulfield supposedly behaves like a child, but the way he speaks isn’t very child-like. He drinks alcohol and has grey hair, but he also becomes absorbed into

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,

Firstly we look at the genre of Bildungsroman. It can be defined as a story that revolves around the topic of “coming of age”. If this were to be the genre it is classified as, it would mean that Holden grows at a steady rate throughout the novel through various experiences or personal revelations. So much so that the reader would notice and the character in the beginning would differ (possibly greatly) from the character in the end of the novel. This would be the case of Catcher in the Rye, had it not been for the end of the novel. The story follows a steady progression for Holden, dealing with a number of scenarios and

The critical lens presented in the Catcher in the Rye is very evident in the main character Holden. Using the psychoanalytic lens to read The Catcher in the Rye shows the struggle Holden has trying to deal with the "Phonies" in his everyday life that he just can't relate to. This inability to connect with the people around him reveals his emotional instability and personal flaws. The majority of his issues lye within his subconscious and he doesn’t realize the way he treats people.

It is known that humans require interaction between each other. As a result we tend to get attached and depend on them. We tend to advocate others from groups and keep to the same people. J. D. Salinger explores this in his book in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye. This book is beloved by many because it is so easy to connect to, even our generation now can connect to Holden and some of the things he goes through. The story is about a boy named Holden, he gets kicked out of school multiple times, and instead of telling his parents he wanders around New York in search of someone that cares and that he can make a connection with. Growing up is hard, and we need human connection to make through the hard times.

A common word Holden employs the use of is ‘phony’. This is seen when he says “For instance, they had this headmaster, Mr. Haas, that was the phoniest bastard I ever met in my life” (Salinger, 13). Other uses of vernacular include the words galoshes, crumby, flit, dough, chisel, swanky, and swell. These words add to the emotion and descriptive quality of the novel. “Some guy next to me was snowing hell out of the babe he was with” is an example of vernacular that helps to describe Holden’s thoughts (Salinger, 142). An example of slang used to add detail to the writing is, “I had a feeling old Ackley'd probably heard all the racket and was awake” (Salinger, 46). The particular language selected in the writing of The Catcher in the Rye also helps the reader relate to the main character, and is therefore an effective style of writing in many situations.

On the contrary, an acceptance for Holden came from Phoebe, his sister, whose innocence he admired greatly. Phoebe was the one who supported Holden when he felt rejected and depressed. Holden saw that his mission was to protect this childish innocence from the adults and their phoniness, and Phoebe listened and accepted this “crazy” idea (Salinger, 191). Phoebe agreed to get in the carousel when she and Holden both understood that she was a little old for the ride. This acceptance from Phoebe forced Holden into adulthood; she wanted him to let go of his childish dream and to be a

A bildungsroman is a tale of growing up, and the changes around it. There will be plentiful physiological, sexual, and mental changes in a person during this period, therefore making it one of the most important sections of life. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in this piece, is a flawed individual. Everyone has their kinks and issues, some more than others. Holden, with a diagnosis, could be described as an individual with co-occurring Bipolar I disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

When he realizes that no one he meets truly cares about him, he starts to walk down the blocks of New York City begging Allie to keep him from disappearing; this “feeling of disappearance while passing the street implies his fear of dissolving in the mad society” (Dashti and Bahar) with no one to save him from this fate. However, he actually ends up being restored by the essence of purity that he strives to preserve: a child. Phoebe actually listens to his problems (unlike the rest of society) and keeps her childish nature intact as seen as she rides the carousel and reaches for the golden bell, showing that she is not afraid to dream. Because of her, Holden feels truly happy for the first time in the entire novel. Although Holden’s depression is still prevalent by the end of the novel, it is clear that he has successfully influenced Phoebe to keep her innocence against all societal odds and, in return, she has saved him.

The author has put in plenty of themes, messages, ideas, issues, and motifs. The character, Holden Caulfield is alienated from society, is experiencing the painfulness of growing up, thinks that the adult world is full of phoniness, and is sick of hearing about the American Dream from his teachers. JD Salinger has created a book that has raised plenty of questions and controversy towards the readers. The Catcher in the Rye shows how a teenage mind works. JD Salinger has used a stream of consciousness writing style where the character (Holden Caulfield) talks in first person as he presents his thoughts and feelings to the readers. The setting has taken place in the early fifties and the book uses a lot of profane words. The New York

Firstly, the most prevalent theme, which is underlying throughout the entire story is the reluctance to age. In reference to many analyzes, The Catcher in the Rye is a bildungsroman, of which portrays Holden’s spiritual enlightenment. Holden perceives all adults as immensely flawed and as phoniness. He sees children as pure, gentle, innocent. Holden sneaks into his family's apartment.

The catcher in the rye is written in an informal, slangy way which is told through flashbacks of Holden’s memory which links to the writing fashion known as 'stream of consciousness writing'. Examples that make the use of slang would be when he use words like “boozes” : "so he boozes all the time," (pg138) and “swell” : “He was telling us all about what a swell guy he was," (pg17). To illustrate the informal writing some examples would be the “moron” : Moron - "Get your dirty stinking moron knees off my chest" (pg44) and “Snappy” : "I made it very snappy on the phone because I was afraid my parents would barge in on me right in the middle of it." (pg. 174).By J. D. Salinger’s using these techniques of writing he builds the story and links

the language of Holden Caulfield,the book's sixteen-year-old narrator,struck the ear of the contemporaryreader as an accurate rendering of the informal speech of an intelligent, educated, Northeastern American adolescent.2 In addition to commentingon its authenticity, critics have often remarked 'daring,' 'obscene,' 'blasphemous' features of Holden's lan-uneasily-the Another commonly noted feature of the book's language has been its guage. comic effect. And yet there has never been an extensive investigation of the language itself. That is what this paper proposes to do. Even though Holden's language is authentic teenage speech, recording it was certainly not the major intention of Salinger. He was faced with the artistic task of creating an individual character, not with the linguistic task of reproducingthe exact speech of teenagers in general: Yet Holden had to speak a recognizableteenage language, and at the same time had to be identifiable as an individual.This difficult task Salinger achieved by giving Holden an extremely trite and typical teenage speech, overlaid with strong personal idiosyncrasies. There are two major speech habits which are Holden's own, which are endlessly

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and The Catcher in the Rye both depict bildungsroman. A bildungsroman being defined as “a novel that recounts the development of an individual from childhood or adolescence to maturity, to the point at which the protagonist recognizes his or her place and role in the world” (Murfin & Supryia 39). While Holden Caulfield is an unusual

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.