Holden Caulfield Reliability

With it’s aggressive cynicism, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye broke stereotypes of what tones writers could exhibit through narration. The Catcher in the Rye is the story of young Holden Caulfield angst-ridden struggle with growing up and dealing with “phonies”. Holden is the protagonist and narrator of this story, Holden’s narration proves to be unreliable through his compulsive lying, inconsistent memory, and his cynical perception of reality. To begin, Holden exhibits his unreliableness as a narrator through his constant need to fabricate a new reality. After making up an excuse to leave an old teacher’s house, Holden highlights what a great liar he is. “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It’s awful” (Salinger 16). Consequently, Holden compels the audience to believe that he is a compulsive liar, seriously compromising his credibility. Who knows Holden is not constantly lying to the audience throughout the book? Ultimately, Holden finds joy in the act of lying, the whole book is Holden’s creative outlet where he can create new realities to help him cope while he resides in the mental hospital. Next, memory is a pivotal element to a reliable narrator. Holden Caulfield lacks the ability to recollect certain memories, portraying him as an unreliable narrator. While disclosing
Furthermore, in order to cope in the mental institution he resides in, Holden narrates the “story” of his life, in this story he twists the truth to keep himself interested and to make up for the lack of some of his memories. Holden’s story is also made differs from the truth because he negatively skews the narrative. Recognising that Holden Caulfield is not a reliable narrator creates a better understanding of The Catcher in the Rye for the