The use of language in J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye
The use of language in J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye
Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, is an upper-class boy who has gone from one private school to another, searching for -- something. He expresses his frustrations in language highly characteristic of adolescence; his extremely colloquial speech sounds just like that of teenagers today, even though Salinger's novel was written in the 1950s. But a particularly striking factor of Holden's narration is his frequent use of the words "phony" and "crazy", as well as his ongoing lapse into second person -- "you". These characteristics attain greater significance given Holden's desperate need to actually reach out and communicate with someone, anyone, who just might understand him.
The novel takes place in the two days following Holden's dismissal from his latest school, Pencey Prep. Much of this two-day period is spent either making or contemplating a huge number of assignations and phone calls, most of which are never made. Each of these represents an unsatisfied need to reach out, to affirm the validity of his place in the world at that moment and have it confirmed by the response of another person. In almost every case Holden holds back from really touching another person who could make a difference to him. In fact, his very name -- Holden -- may stand for this attitude of "holding", of keeping himself so close to the vest that he is unable to communicate with the people he so desperately needs.
Holden's first missed assignation is the night he leaves Pencey Prep, when he contemplates going down and saying hello to Stradlater's date Jane Gallagher, whom Holden himself likes. He doesn't, because he "isn't in the mood right now" -- an excuse that he will use more frequently as the book goes on. As he says, "You have to be in the mood for those things"(Salinger, 33). Who has to be in the mood, the reader?
In a very profound way, yes. Holden, throughout the book, uses
Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, is an upper-class boy who has gone from one private school to another, searching for -- something. He expresses his frustrations in language highly characteristic of adolescence; his extremely colloquial speech sounds just like that of teenagers today, even though Salinger's novel was written in the 1950s. But a particularly striking factor of Holden's narration is his frequent use of the words "phony" and "crazy", as well as his ongoing lapse into second person -- "you". These characteristics attain greater significance given Holden's desperate need to actually reach out and communicate with someone, anyone, who just might understand him.
The novel takes place in the two days following Holden's dismissal from his latest school, Pencey Prep. Much of this two-day period is spent either making or contemplating a huge number of assignations and phone calls, most of which are never made. Each of these represents an unsatisfied need to reach out, to affirm the validity of his place in the world at that moment and have it confirmed by the response of another person. In almost every case Holden holds back from really touching another person who could make a difference to him. In fact, his very name -- Holden -- may stand for this attitude of "holding", of keeping himself so close to the vest that he is unable to communicate with the people he so desperately needs.
Holden's first missed assignation is the night he leaves Pencey Prep, when he contemplates going down and saying hello to Stradlater's date Jane Gallagher, whom Holden himself likes. He doesn't, because he "isn't in the mood right now" -- an excuse that he will use more frequently as the book goes on. As he says, "You have to be in the mood for those things"(Salinger, 33). Who has to be in the mood, the reader?
In a very profound way, yes. Holden, throughout the book, uses