The Value of Perspective in Catcher in the Rye
The Value of Perspective in Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a first person narrative told through the eyes of the protagonist, Holden Caulfield. He begins his story in the style of a psychoanalytic project in which Caulfield will tell on his own terms. This limits the scope of the story to only what Holden wants to talk about. This, coupled with his mercurial changes of mood, his stubborn refusal to admit his own sensitive-ness and emotions, his cheerful disregard of what is sometimes known as reality—which is expected of an adolescent—lend him to be a suspect and unreliable. Further more, there is the issue of his mental instability revealed in his experiences. For example, after waking up in Grand Central, Holden wanders around sweaty and delusional. He explains, “Every time I’d get to the end of a block I’d make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I’d say to him, ‘Allie, don’t let me disappear. Allie, don’t let me disappear. Allie, don’t let me disappear. Please, Allie.’ And then when I’d reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I’d thank him” (p.257). This is a clear example of a psychotic episode because he is compulsively repeated the same phrase to someone who has been dead for four years in the book on a topic that doesn’t make any sense. This is what Holden refers to as “madman stuff,” so even he realizes that. Basically, Holden is a far more unreliable narrator than even Huck Finn, the compulsive liar. At the same time, the novel focuses on the narrator’s inner perceptions, solipsistic attitude, and alienation from the community; therefore, the work offers detailed insight into the protagonists’ deepest characteristics as oppose to reliable events of the plot. The point of view of the work shows the reader that the focal point of the story is Holden himself—a modern style.
He engages the reader directly by address him or her. The second word in the novel is “you” for a reason. The structure of the text allows the reader to be intimate with the protagonist as if the two were having a conversation. In turn, the text can be seen as being a creation of the narrator itself. On this topic, critics often argue...