Characters in in "The Catcher in the Rye"

The Catcher in the Rye – what do we know?

 

Characterisation

Aesthetic features/Positioning techniques

Holden: -          Teenager -          Trying to figure what life is all about -          Opinionated -          Pessimist -          Cynical -          Has difficulty fitting in -          Negative -          Sees childhood as the ideal phase of life -          Sees adults as ‘phonies’ -          Sees adolescence as a scary phase -          Vulnerable -          Unenthusiastic about life   -          Does Holden develop as a character and move to a new understanding of himself and the world? If this is a coming-of- age novel, does Holden grow up? Does he change?                                         Stradlater:   -          Athlete -          A ladies’ man -          Views on sex differ from Holden’s -          Just interested in sex -          Self-confident -          Too minor -          Doesn’t write his own essay -          Doesn’t appreciate what Holden does in writing the essay for him -          Doesn’t have Holden’s morals or ideals         Phoebe: -          Little girl -          Holden’s sister -          Innocent -          Happy -          Perfect child image -          Loves Holden -                    Allie:

-          Written from Holden’s point of view: allows us to see his thoughts and opinions -          The symbol of the red hunting hat: tells us that Holden is vulnerable and needs protection. Shows us how scared he is of the adult world. -          ‘Catcher in the rye’ motif: tells us how he feels about the transition from childhood to adulthood. Supports the notion that Holden sees childhood as the perfect phase of life, the most positive aspect. -          Language choices tell us how cynical Holden is and how negatively he views the world: swearing, repetition, digressions etc. -          The motif of the ducks: shows us that Holden feels isolated and frightened, and unsure of a safe place in his life. Also tells us that his future is uncertain for him. -          The motif of disappearing at crossroads: it tells us that his frightened of the future, frightened of change. p.190: ‘The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.’ This contradicts the ‘catcher in the rye’ motif and suggests that Holden has realized that children have to grow up and have to face the dangers involved.   The red hunting hat - “I got pretty soaking wet, especially my neck and my pants. My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway. I didn’t care, though. I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around.” This suggest he has come to a new realization that he can’t always find protection from the frightening world, but that this is not a problem.           -          Holden’s voice -          Dialogue -          Holden’s descriptions of events -          Holden’s language choices -          Holden’s attitude to Stradlater                                         Holden’s voice -          Language choices -          Holden’s views of childhood and Phoebe -          Dialogue -          Phoebe’s writing -