Catcher In The Rye Evaluation

‘The Catcher in the Rye’ Analysis ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ written by J.D. Salinger in 1951 is considered an American classic. It tells the relatable story of a teenager who is coming to terms with himself and his mental complications. The narrator of the story, Holden Caulfield, begins this flashback styled book on the night before he left his former school, Pencey Prep after being kicked out for inadequate grades. He leaves two days earlier than his supposed date of departure and Over the course of the book readers learn more and more about Holden and realize he is depressed, curious, deceitful, and judgmental. Clues as to what make Holden the way he is are given sparingly and eventually J.D. Salinger did an effectual job of creating

Salinger wrote, “The Catcher in the Rye”, in a first person point of view with Holden as the narrator. At the end of the book it is discovered that Holden Caulfield has been in a psychiatric hospital the whole entire time. This interesting point of view affects the novel tremendously because readers do not have a reliable narrator to depend on. Holden constantly refers to people or actions as “phony” and at first glance it is easy to just accept it as so. The interesting point, though, is that Holden uses this term to simply describe people who accept things without questioning them due to worldly expectations or insecurities. Without analyzing, one would rely on his meaning or could easily persuade readers to feel the same way. For example, he says that phonies “drives me crazy. It makes me so depressed I go crazy.” (page 14). Also after finishing the book, it is very likely that Holden’s memory, feelings, and mental state of mind could have skewed the truth in some of his retelling of events. Holden is constantly feeling anxiety and depression and uses it to drive his actions. For example, he goes on a date with a girl named Sally Hayes and gets angry for her reluctant behavior when he asks her to run away with him. Upon leaving and insulting her, Holden says that “she was depressing the hell out of me. Usually I never say crude things like that to girls.” (page 133). This is a prime example of how Holden is driven by his depression because he says that it is making