J.D. Salingers Catcher In The Rye :: J.D. Salinger Catcher Rye Essays

J.D. Salingers catcher In The Rye The passage of adolescence has served as the central theme for manynovels, but J.D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye, long a staple in academiclesson plans, has captured the spirit of this s rag weeke of life in hyper-sensitive form, dramatizing Holden Caulfields vulgar language and melodramatic reactions. Written as the autobiographical account of a fictional teenage prep school student Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye deals with material that is socially scandalous for the generation (Gwynn, 1958). As an emotional, intelligent, inquisitive, and painfully sensitive young man, Holden puts hisinner world to the test through the sexual mores of his peers and elders, theteachings of his education, and his own emerging sense of self. Throughout the years, the language of the storey has startled some readers. Salingers control of Holdens easy, conversational manner makes the introduction of these larger themes appear natural and believable. (B loom, 1990).At the time of the novel through today, Holdens speech sound true to the colloquial speech of teenagers. Holden, according to many reviews in the Chicago Tribune, the New Yorker, and the New York Times, accurately captures the informal speech of an average intelligent, educated, northeastern American adolescent (Costello, 1990). Such speech includes both simple description and cursing. For example, Holden says, Theyre nice and all, as well as Im not going to tell you my unit goddam autobiography or anything. In the first instance, he uses the term nice which oversimplifies his parents character, implying he does not wish to disrespect them, yet at the identical time he does not praise them. At best he deems them as nice and all. Holden further cuts short his description, but in a more curt manner,when he states he will not tell his whole goddam autobiography or anything.From the start the reader picks up Holdens hostility and involuntariness to share his views strictly by his use of language (Salzman, 1991).From the last two examples, another colloquialism can be seen. Holden has a habit of ending his descriptions with bob phrases such as and all or or anything. (Salzman, 1991). Not only does Holden speak like this in the beginning of the novel, but throughout the book, making this exercise a part of his character. One could imagine Holden frequently ending his sentences with and all, realizing it is a character trait since not all teenagers used that phrase. So the and all tag to Holdens speech served to make his speech