Understanding Holden’s Narration in “The Catcher in the Rye”
Explore Holden’s unique narrative style in J.D. Salinger’s novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by analyzing his use of stock phrases, digressions, lies, and fantasies. Understand how these elements underscore Holden’s alienation, disillusionment, and critical perspective, shaping the reader’s interpretation of the text.
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New Higher Past Paper 2015 Choose a novel or short story in which the method of narration is important. Outline briefly the writer s method of narration and explain why you feel this method makes such a major contribution to your understanding of the text as a whole.
For Wednesday: Consider the essay question and plan out an answer, ready to share/ discuss when we re next in class. Outline briefly the writer s method of narration For this part of the task, identify the main features of Holden s style of narration. explain why makes such a major contribution to the text as a whole. Think about and make notes on the ways in which the features of the narrative technique connect to or demonstrate the novel s themes.
You should consider the following: Holden s use of stock phrases What do these phrases suggest about him? Holden s digressions which often take the form of flashbacks. What two functions do these flashbacks serve? His lies. Effect? His fantasies? Effect? What about Holden s perspective of things? Holden tends to be highly critical. Where do we notice this? Finally, what purpose do the dialogues with Sally Hayes and Carl Luce serve?
Stock Phrases Words like goddamn and sunuvabitch show the strength of Holden s negative feelings. The swearing which would have been shocking at the time reveals the extent of his adolescent alienation and anger at the world. And yet, consider his outrage al the REAL swear words at Phoebe s school The teenage slang word crumby suggests that he has a pessimistic view of the world in general which further highlights his alienation. The word also suggests his immaturity. Phony I don t think I should need to explain this too much at this point! Holden labels almost everything he sees in the adult world as phony: shallow, superficial, hypocritical, insincere which reveals the depth of his alienation. Think of good examples to use.
Digressions When digressing about Allie or Jane we see Holden s tendency to idealise the past due to his unhappiness and alienation in the present. Digressions about his previous schools (the suitcases, James Castle) give further reasons for his present unhappiness and alienation. Is he digressing when he thinks about the ducks? What about the museum and Miss Aigletinger? What else can be said about his inability to stay on point?
Holdens Lies Holden s lies are an example of his failure to communicate with others which contributes to his alienation. Holden sometimes lies to adults he likes in order to try and please them or tell them what they want to hear, such as telling Mr Spencer that he is going to take on board his advice. He does not imagine that if he revealed his true feelings to them that they would understand. Sometimes he lies to impress other people and to appear more grown-up (in the Lavender Room for example) but this tends to backfire and make him appear even more childish. Holden also lies due to self-consciousness and to avoid revealing things about himself that he is ashamed of, such as not wanting Mrs Morrow to know that he has been expelled from school.
Fantasies Escape / Out West By chapter 25 Holden is so alienated that he wants to leave New York for good. He wants to go out West where it would be sunny perhaps because that would be as far away and different from his current surroundings as possible. His plan to pretend to be a deaf- mute shows that his alienation is so intense he has completely given up on communication, yet the fact that he wants to find a deaf-mute girl to marry shows that he still longs for human companionship underneath this. The unrealistic nature of the fantasy also reveals his immaturity. The Catcher in the Rye fantasy You should know what to say about this by now. Remember to explain each part of the fantasy.
Dialogue At several points in the book Holden has long dialogues with other characters, such as Sally Hayes and Carl Luce. These reveal many reasons for his alienation, such as his struggle to communicate, the lack of understanding he receives when he tries to be honest, his lack of self- awareness ( I wasn t even shouting ) and the extent to which he is out-of-step with the values of his society. If you talk about Carl Luce, remember that Holden seems to be hoping that Carl will be able to give him some help and advice (p.156) and after Luce brushes him off he resorts to immature and inappropriate questions which again contributes to his alienation.
