My first impressions of Catcher in the Rye were of Holden Caulfield. The impression was: wow does he have a mouth. Holden is very, shall we say, expressive. J.D. Salinger was clearly trying write in the style that teenage men think, and he did a decent job of doing so. I can testify. Salinger was definitely attempting to appeal to a teen demographic, specifically males. Salinger makes Holden a slightly below average student, and as a reader I have noticed this. Holden repeats phrases like "I really..." or uses common profanities excessively. These traits cause him to come across as a little dull. Salinger also makes Holden get to the point and not beat around the bush. This is something I like about Holden, he gets his point across and doesn't waste time boring the reader because it bores him too. This matter-of-fact attitude in Holden causes the story of Catcher in the Rye to move quickly. Holden also seems angry. He does not like to deal with other people at all. The most affection he has shown to anyone yet is the tolerance he shows to Old Spencer, which was quickly removed when Old Spencer began to give him a lecture about flunking out of Pency. Holden seems to agree with some things that people do, but he never truly appreciates anything. Take his roommate Stradlater for instance. He seems to agree with things that Stradlater does, but because of his pessimistic attitude, you can infer that Holden does not really appreciate or care for his roommate. This anger in Holden makes me believe that eventually there will be a moment when Holden has to come to terms with his emotions, but I could be wrong. As far as I can tell, Salinger has a very unique style of writing and making character attitudes. Perhaps Holden will come to terms with himself; perhaps he will not. I suppose we will find out later in the book.
Salinger, J. D. Catcher in the Rye. New York, NY: Little, Brown, 1991. Print.
