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.