"The Catcher in the Rye"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the book, "The Catcher in the Rye", by J. D. Salinger. Specifically, it presents an analytical discourse using narrative intentions as the critical instrument. It looks at how narrative intentions fill the novel with pathos and a sense of pervading doom hovering around Holden Caulfield throughout the book. It discusses how Holden must find himself, reach an apocalypse, and then discover who he is, as he moves through the pages of this novel.

From the Paper:

"As Holden begins to become more aware of himself and his place in the world, he becomes increasingly aware of his sexuality and his frustrations. What is even more frustrating is that he cannot act on them, even when he gives himself excellent opportunities. As his world comes crashing down around him, he learns that he is more of a boy than a man, yet attempting to make himself heard in a man's world, which he ultimately finds "phony." Holden is a tragic figure because his life is just as "phony" as what he sees around him. He cannot have sex with a prostitute, and he is continually rebuffed by the women he tries to befriend in the story. He is a boy, looking for himself in a world where he is not ready to fit in, and his quest leads him finally to his sister, who is truly happy, while Holden is truly not."

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