The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye tells the odyssey of an adolescent who criticizes the post-World War II society occupied with empty and meaningless goals. Throughout the novel, Holden labels everyone as “phonies”. However, if everyone is a phony, does this include Holden? Since the first-person point of view severely limits the type of information received and chose to be given, the readers have to reinterpret the information Holden gives us. Instead of focusing on plot development, Salinger concentrates on character development. Since the plot in uneventful (a kid drops out of school and roams around New York of a couple of days), Holden’s judgments and experiences make up most of the novel. Therefore, Bennett advises, “to pay attention to how Salinger represents Holden's character, language, and world view” (Bennett). However, Holden the narrator provides conflicting information. Due to Holden’s inconsistent descriptions and insights, Salinger provides the readers with various interpretations of the novel. As shown through Holden’s interpretations of various characters such as his parents, D.B., and Allie, Salinger deliberately constructs the novel in a way that its true meaning will never be unraveled.

Holden throughout the novel shows us his experiences and tries to persuade us to accept his point of view, which he thinks is true. However, his perception is first given doubt through the description of Holden’s family. Holden’s parents are mostly absent from the novel, known mostly through Holden’s digressions. Holden presents Mr. Caulfield as a busy corporate lawyer who “make a lot of dough and play golf and play bridge and buy cars and drink Martinis and look like a hot-shot” (Salinger 172). Holden obviously thinks that his dad is a ...

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...den’s unreliable narrations cause the readers to doubt Holden’s perspective of many people, especially his parents, D.B., and Allie. Since there are many inconsistencies, there are endless interpretations of the novel. In the end, the question of whether people are phony or not will never be answered.

Works Cited

Bennett, Robert. "Overview of The Catcher in the Rye." EXPLORING Novels. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Discovering Collection. Gale. Blue Mountain High School. 5 Jan. 2014 .

Bly, Robert. The Sibling Society. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Pub., 1996. Print.

Mitchell, Susan K. "To Tell You the Truth." EXPLORING Novels. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Discovering Collection. Gale. Blue Mountain High School. 4 Jan. 2014 .

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.