Catcher In The Rye Narrative Analysis

The teen-aged years act as a boundary to either permit or prevent one from reaching adulthood. While some find the transition to be smooth, others become stuck in their past, remaining tied to their innocent childhood. Holden Caulfield, in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, is an iconic representation of the American teenager. Holden dwells in the past due to his personal struggles and the difficulty he has understanding controversial life topics such as death and sex. The Catcher in the Rye, a post-war era novel, remains prevalent in education and society more than 60 years after its initial publication, greatly due to Holden’s personable thinking and behavior. At its core, the novel is a compilation of Holden’s interior monologue which is …show more content…
Salinger, through his style and intentional choices, creates a sense of intimacy between Holden and the novel’s audience. Over the course of just a few days in which the events of the plot transpire, Holden experiences both love and loss, innocence and guilt. Despite his kind and well-meaning nature, Holden’s troubled past make addressing maturity and, life in general, a challenge for him.
Aside from the difficulty Holden has fully appreciating the world, his intentions are often out of goodwill. Holden retains the ability to decipher between good and bad throughout The Catcher in the Rye. The sixteen-year-old’s kind nature is displayed when he visits an old history teacher of his, Mr. Spencer, whom he converses with about life. Mr. Spencer provides Holden with wisdom as they discuss the issues regarding Holden, and his failure to remain in school. Despite being frustrated with his overall situation, Holden still submits to acknowledging that Mr. Spencer is