Protagonist in Catcher in the Rye

The protagonist of Catcher in the Rye goes by the name of Holden Caulfield.  At the time of the story, Holden is sixteen, but the story is told by his seventeen year old self.  Holden has been expelled from school once again and decides he needs a vacation so he takes something of a less than relaxing trip to New York, New York.  On his journey Holden explores the falseness and hypocrisy of adulthood.  Because he is aware of the lies and deceit of adulthood and growing up, Holden is very cynical and aggressively bitter toward most events.  His cynicism and bitterness cause him to find almost everything depressing.  In an example of this Holden goes dancing at a night club and even finds that depressing.  As for the question of does Holden represent an abstract idea of sorts, no.  It could maybe be argued that Holden stands for the ability to see truth.  He sees some truths more than others, but his cynicism causes him to be so jaded that he does not see some actions for what they really are.  I say this because he has the ability to tell that people are fake when they get older, but sometimes he believes people to be more fake than they actually are.  This is because he is right that people are phony, but he questions people's motives a tad too much, like in chapter seventeen when he accuses Sally for only going to the ice rink to show off her "cute ass".  Holden is simply a tad too cynical to represent the ability to see truths.  However, I believe Holden is a good representative for the exaggeration of adolescent beliefs.  Holden behaves like a very angry teenager.  He is judgmental, cynical of others, frequently depressed, and he just doesn't know what to do with himself most of the time.  Holden is an exaggerated case of this because everyone feels at least a few of these emotions during their adolescent years, just not necessarily all of them at the same time like Holden does.

Salinger, J. D. Catcher in the Rye. New York, NY: Little, Brown, 1991. Print.

On Salinger's Writing Techniques

Salinger uses a few different writing techniques to keep his audience captivated.  He uses symbolism, repetition, verbal irony, and metaphor.  Salinger uses symbolism quite heavily. I have already discussed the symbolism used so I will briefly recapitulate.  Holden's red hunting hat stands for the want of individuality, but also the want of security. The museum symbolizes a change in one's self, but not the surroundings. The ducks in Central Park show circular change, where something changes but only for a while before it changes back.  Salinger also uses repetition in Holden's speech and actions.  I believe Salinger does this to show Holden's immaturity.  Holden seems immature for repeating himself because it shows that he can't think of another way to express himself.  Repeated phrases in Holden's speech include: "(a description of how he feels) I really am/do", "I'm a madman, I swear", and "___ is phony".  Verbal irony is also utilized by Salinger.  The type of verbal irony used by Salinger is hypocrisy.  Holden is always calling things phony or just says how much he dislikes something, but he sometimes ends up doing what he says he dislikes.  For instance, he says that he always hates when people are phonies, but he ends up lying fairly frequently.  Lastly, Salinger employs metaphor.  The major metaphor in this book is actually the metaphor of the catcher in the rye itself.  In his dream Holden is catching children in a field of rye and preventing them from running off a cliff.  This is a metaphor for Holden wishing he could stop children from losing their innocence to adulthood.  This metaphor uses symbolism itself.  The cliff is adult hood, and the rye is innocence. This is a very thorough thought out metaphor, and it is a very beautiful scene in the book. I must say, I actually shed a tear myself reading it.  Salinger uses many techniques to capture his audience's attention. His techniques are: symbolism, repetition, verbal irony, and metaphor.

Salinger, J. D. Catcher in the Rye. New York, NY: Little, Brown, 1991. Print.

On Why We Still Read Catcher in the Rye

I believe we still read Catcher in the Rye because of the message it sends about adolescence.  Catcher in the Rye tells us that everyone goes through the same things as a teenager, and that you are not alone in your feelings.  As I was reading, I noticed Holden and I shared a lot of the same feelings: depression, anger, frustration, and confusion. Holden was angry and frustrated a lot of the time just as I am. He knows that there are things he likes, but they don't happen as often as he'd like.  Holden also talks a lot about depression, and I believe that many people feel this way when they are trying to deal with their lives.  Holden finds things depressing because he knows they aren't true as they appear to be.  He knows people put on fake smiles and that people act in certain ways only to impress people.  The reason this is depressing to Holden is because he is just now realizing it.  It makes him realize that not everything was how it seemed as a child, and now he has to rethink his childhood to see what was really going on.  I know that this happens to me, and I too find it depressing.  Something else Catcher in the Rye talks about is sexuality.  Holden spends much time thinking about sex.  He seems to wonder if he is interested in partaking in sexual activities, or if he should wait and keep it sacred.  Many teens have this thought too.  Another reason we still read Catcher in the Rye because it brings to light how phony people can be.  As I said before, if you catch on later in life, it can make you believe you life had been a lie, and that is a depressing thought.  When people are phony it can be frustrating because it is often see-through, meaning that people can tell when you are being fake.  In conclusion, I believe we still read Catcher in the Rye because of the messages it sends about adolescence.  Also, the story is good too.

Salinger, J. D. Catcher in the Rye. New York, NY: Little, Brown, 1991. Print.

Themes and Symbolism in Catcher in the Rye

There are many themes that can be taken from Catcher in the Rye. One of these themes is that growing up is difficult.  Holden has trouble coming to terms with growing up.  He hates how everything is changes and how everyone is fake.  Holden is afraid of change in Catcher in the Rye. We know this from his trip to the museum. He says that he likes to go because every time he goes there the exhibits are exactly the same in exactly the same place, but he himself is different every time he goes there and he does not like that. Another of Holden's fears is that he is afraid of adulthood. In his dream, Holden is stopping children from running off of a cliff.  Cliff is adulthood, and the rye can symbolize innocence.  Ergo, he wants to keep kids innocent from the cruelty of adult hood.  Holden also believes everyone is a fake or a "phony". This is blatantly obvious because Holden calls everyone phony, and he says he hate that they are phony throughout the entire book.  This brings us to another theme showed by this book. Adulthood is full of phonies. Everyone pretends to be something they are not when they grow up. Why? Everyone acts phony because they believe that they will be viewed poorly if they do not. The phony-ness of adulthood is shown in Catcher in the Rye through the characters. Holden is right; they are phonies.  However, Holden himself is phony occasionally too.  He can be hypocritical when he calls someone else out on some thing that he does too.  As I mentioned before, Holden is afraid of change, and there are many things in this book that symbolize change, like the museum. The museum shows that some things will always be constant, and it will be you that changes.  Another symbol for change is the ducks in the park that Holden always asks about.  Holden asking about the ducks shows that he worries when change comes and the ducks leave.  The ducks leaving shows circular changes; some things change and then change back.  Symbol in Catcher in the Rye is Holden's hat.  His red hunting cap shows his want to be an individual, but also his want for security.  The bright color is what symbolized his want for individuality, but the ear flaps and protection from the cold show that he wants to have a sense of self security.  


Salinger, J. D. Catcher in the Rye. New York, NY: Little, Brown, 1991. Print.

On Salinger's Writing Style

Salinger's writing style in Catcher in the Rye is, at the most basic, first person informal. I support the first person aspect by referencing every time in the book when he says the word "I" in the narrative.  I say Salinger's writing style is informal because of Holden's use of slang and teenage observations.  His teenage observations are not very, shall we say, refined.  Everything he sees is depressing and "phony".  Now, perhaps this sounds like it may be chancing at Gothic style, but the book is not Gothic. It is actually more angst filled and contains a feeling of insanity.  I say this book feels like the tone is edging on insanity because Holden is struggling to identify himself with the world and essentially loses control of himself for 3 days in New York.  At the climax of insanity Holden begins to scream at a girl he was on a date with. Holden realizes what he has done and after reflecting and feeling bad, the tone of insanity disappears and is replaced with a calm tone.  I fully understand Salinger's use of angst in his book.  Holden is a teenager coming to terms with his state of being in life; it is a frustrating time. The book's writing feels angry because Holden is mad at everything in his life.  He feels betrayed by his emotions as he get a new perspective on the things he used to love before his adolescence.  Adolescence is a time of change that Holden is struggling to come to terms with, and because of this, he is angry and frustrated at the change around him.  I believe this anger leads to the insane tone I mentioned before.  This writing style, with angst and eventual insane feel, effected the feel of the book. The book felt dark and depressing, and it felt as if he, Holden, was scared sometimes.  The effect of dark and depressing came from his anger and how he always described everything as depressing and phony.  Holden seemed to know what made him happy, but he couldn't describe it, and he couldn't find it. I believe this is because he didn't actually know what made him happy, adding to the dark effect. The writing also made it seem as if Holden was scared at points. The writing was confused, and Holden wouldn't know what was going on or why he was doing what he was doing at points.  I also believe the feeling of insanity is handed to the reader by Salinger when ever Holden says, "I'm a madman. I swear." After a while, and after seeing Holden's actions, the reader begins to believe him.  This blend of confusion and lack of self control made the writing seem as if Holden were going insane.  In conclusion: the writing style of Catcher in the Rye feels dark, angry, and at times insane as Holden struggles to come to terms with growing up.


Salinger, J. D. Catcher in the Rye. New York, NY: Little, Brown, 1991. Print.