Literary Analysis Essay #3: The Catcher in the Rye
At some point in every person’s life, growing up can feel like an eternity. In an attempt to reach adulthood as quickly as possible, childhood can be rushed. The 1950s marked a historical point in time when the teenage mindset suddenly shifted, revealing the need to challenge adult expectations and ideas. Up until this point, adolescents did not have time to grow up, they had to rush into adulthood—get a job, get married, start a family, et cetera. After the Second World War, a middle class was established, and a new government and economy started to develop. Teens and young adults were developing a new attitude and it shocked and worried those who were older and still clung to tradition.
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the entire story is narrated by a conflicted and slightly depressed teenage boy: Holden Caulfield. Holden is the prime example of a rebellious teen, trying to find out who he is and how life works. The book is written in such a way that many people and communities banned it from the bookshelves.
Salinger’s writing choices and the character of Holden bring up heated discussions of right and wrong, even today. Holden’s story is unique in the way that it is told, and yet has so many components that can be easily recognized in the everyday life of a modern adolescent: struggles with school and teachers, conflicts with peers, awkward social interactions. Through Holden, Salinger conveys the important message of accepting the process of growing up, with all of its challenges. Holden represents and demonstrates the pain and internal turmoil that can consume adolescents, past and present, and thus
connects to all readers: young and old.
From the beginning of the novel, Salinger shows Holden’s adolescent perspective and attitude towards the world. The author automatically establishes both that the book is a narrative, and that the narrator is talking to someone specific. In the first few sentences, the reader has enough information to judge both the main character, and the provider of the story.
“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like…”
(Salinger 1).
By using the words, “If you really want to hear about it,” the reader knows that Holden has a very pessimistic and abrupt attitude towards the person he is addressing. It also expresses the fact that the topic to which Holden is referring is not one he enjoys talking about. When Salinger writes, “what my lousy childhood was like,” he conveys the message that Holden’s memories as a child and his experiences growing up are not ones that he looks back on fondly. As Holden continues to tell his story, he reveals the fact that he is (clinically or not) depressed and lacks the capability of tolerance.
“I can’t stand that stuff. It drives me crazy. It makes me so depressed I go crazy” (14).
By using short sentences and words, Holden expresses the feeling that he does not use the widest vocabulary, and that whenever he is upset, Holden’s grammar is impaired. When Salinger uses the terminology of “that stuff,” he expresses to the reader that Holden is not exactly sure what makes him mad; only that he often finds himself feeling this way.
When Holden says the word “crazy” repeatedly, he gives the character a very specific and clear voice. The way that Salinger writes The Catcher in the Rye allows the reader to easily tap into how Holden speaks and sounds. At the end of the passage, Holden says “It makes me so depressed,” which lets the reader know that not only is Holden an angry and
cynical person, he is unhappy and melancholy as well. As early as the opening chapters, Salinger gives significant and detailed information on the emotion levels reached by Holden.
As the story progresses, Holden exposes himself as someone who is both occasionally irrational and vulnerable. Holden appears negligent and angry towards his most of his family, though the one person who Holden has a true admiration for is his little sister, Phoebe.
“She’s really smart. I mean she’s had all A’s ever since she started school.
As a matter of fact, I’m the only dumb one in the family… I’m the only really dumb one” (67).
Holden reveals his high praise for Phoebe and talks about her as someone would their idol. Holden shows that he has been involved with her life and pays attention to what Phoebe does when he says “she’s had all A’s ever since she started school.” Holden’s previous word choice towards other topics are vague and do not contain the same amount of detail. Also, even though Holden is older than Phoebe, which would normally mean superiority in another household, he considers himself inferior to her. He uses the harsh wording of, “I’m the only dumb one in the family,” which suggests that he has thought about this before and gives off a feeling of shame and regret. Holden expresses his pent- up sadness and guilt through irrational behavior, using his mature looks to get him intoxicated--a way for Holden to try and escape his world.
“I ordered a scotch and soda and told him not to mix it… ‘I’m sorry sir…’
he said, and beat it on me. I didn’t hold it against him, though. They lose their jobs if they get caught selling to a minor. I’m a goddam minor” (70).
In this passage, Holden tries to purchase alcohol even though he is underage. He does not seem to be troubled by this, which means Holden has done this before. When Holden says, “I didn’t hold it against him, though,” the reader understands the possibility that
Holden is not angry with the waiter, but rather places fault on himself. This is evident when Holden states, “I’m a goddam minor,” almost as if Holden blames himself of for being underage, an element of his life that he has no control over. The reader can thus deduce that Holden wants complete control over his life, and then gets upset whenever he is reminded that he does not have it. Therefore, Holden must learn that he has to learn to trust others and not rely fully on himself in order to be happy.
In the end, Salinger uses subtleties to reveal how Holden’s character has developed and changed. For the majority of the novel, Holden has had few caring and vulnerable moments in which he chooses not to rely upon his attitude and sense of rebellion in order to interact with other people. When the novel finally closes, Salinger shows that Holden is starting to be comfortable with being happy, and begins to have a little hope in other people, and himself.
“I didn’t care though. I felt so goddam happy all of a sudden… I was damn near bawling I felt so damn happy if you want to know the truth”
(213).
In this passage, Holden says “I didn’t care though,” meaning that he has not changed in the sense that other people’s opinions do not matter to him. Holden used to take this and then purposely try to annoy people, making him even more isolated than he had
originally been. When Salinger writes, “I was damn near bawling,” it tells the reader that Holden is more comfortable with his inner feeling, and did not feel the need to hide them.
Holden ends the statement with “if you want to know the truth,” a frequently-used phrase that reminds the reader that Holden is actually having a conversation with someone else.
Salinger does a wonderful job of ending the novel with the same statement he wrote in the beginning. This leaves the reader with the final feeling of how much Holden has
experience in the span of three days. In the following quote, Salinger conveys a sense of nostalgia, and in doing so, shows us that Holden has, to some degree, grown up.
“About all I know is, I sort of miss everybody I told about. Even old Stradlater and Ackley for instance. I think I even miss that goddam Maurice. It’s funny” (214).
In this closing passage Holden says “about all I know is” as a reference to the fact that even Holden, the person narrating the story, is not exactly sure about what everything means or the deeper effect that the three day experience had on him. When Holden says,
“I sort of miss everybody I told you about,” the reader knows how contradictory that statement is. Holden makes it very clear that he did not intend to be missing anybody, because he could not take that kind of pain. But then, Holden goes on to say, “It’s funny,”
thereby lightening the message and making his tone more lighthearted to help express his own thoughts on the irony of his story (it all mean nothing, but the reader can see that it meant a great deal). Finally, these last statements of Holden’s show both Holden’s acceptance of growing up and of all the pain he has been holding onto from his childhood.
Holden is a symbol of accepting the process of growing up, and his story is used by Salinger to express the timeless struggles and emotions of an everyday adolescent.
Holden’s story contains the basic and everyday troubles every adolescent faces. This is why The Catcher in the Rye resonates with so many readers: everyone knows what it feels like to grow up. Be it in the 1950s when teenage rebellion was born, or the 2000s when technology began to consume the adolescent community, the lesson that Salinger tells will be true forever. Teenagers often feel as though they are alone in a large
intimidating world with no way to cope with emotion and anger. Being an adult can seem like the solution to everything and it can make teenagers feel that growing up and getting
out of the awkward stage of adolescence cannot happen fast enough. The truth is
childhood and growing up should not be rushed. Enjoying the little things that cannot be recreated when one is older is the whole point of childhood. Every stage of life has some sort of problem that needs to be solved, so do not look to the future to make everything better. Life is not about the destination waiting at the end, but about the journey one must take to get there.
Work Cited
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. 1951. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. Print.