The Catcher in the Rye

An insight to how the human brain works. And not the general case.

This one is a narrative of a few days of Holden Caulfield's life, from his own point of view. A very different and unique approach has been taken by J.D. Salinger in writing this novel. Holden Caulfield tells the reader about how he spent a few days of his life, when he was kicked out of a school for the fourth time. All the while, the reader is shown Holden's perspective of everything. The way he observes and interprets.

Certain things about the protagonist come out very sharply. Holden is a person who appreciates those things in life,however small they may be,which give a person inner happiness/satisfaction. Due to his family background (rich family,easy lifestyle) he never sees things the way a not-so-rich person normally would. He is not bad at heart, and not a mean person at all. This is exemplified by the fact that he loves his siblings a lot. His love and respect for his siblings,along with an elder-brotherly affection and care for the younger siblings, even for the one who died at an early age, gives an insight to this part of his personality. Throughout the narrative, the reader notices that he has always observed,in some way or the other, the person in the crowd who is less obvious. Like the classmate in school who speaks the least. Or the one who is not noticed much. This shows two things: one, that he is a keen observer(even though he doesn't know it himself), and secondly, the fact that he tells the reader about these people implies that he relates himself to this image. Rather, that he would want to be in the shoes of such a person. When he gets excited about the idea of going away and living in a forest, and acting to be deaf and mute, he is actually displaying a desire to go away from the troubles and pettiness of everyday life. Holden was a person who was confused,frightened, and even sickened by human behaviour. The advice which Mr. Antolini,the English teacher, gave Holden, is excellent. Particularly the lines he quoted: "The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one".

Another very interesting thing about this book,which makes it unique: whether one agrees/likes the novel depends on the reader's own personality. If, for example, the reader himself/herself is a person who comes from a background similar to Caulfield's, and is also wary of human behaviour, then the entire novel would seem so close to reader's own expression. If, on the other hand, the reader does not come from a similar background, it will be easy for him/her to realize how Holden's circumstances and bent of mind created a kind of hatred for the world in general.