The novel, "The Catcher in he Rye", written by J.D. Salinger was set in the late 1940 - early 1950s in New York. This novel explores the themes of loneliness, relationships and deception though the use of literary devices. Many symbols are used to enhance our understanding of the novel; such as Holden Caulfield 's red hunting hat, the museum of Natural History, the ducks in Central Park Lagoon and the carousel.
The author gives us an insight into the life of a young teenager facing physical and emotional exhaustion. He struggles to understand and connect to the society. he uses self deception to view society as 'phoney ': fake and not genuine.
The author has achieved the purpose of this novel. The text is conveyed effectively to the reader. The colloquial style contains a tone that varies between disgust and bitterness; which strongly enhances our understanding of the novel. The narrative structure is presented as a flashback; requiring the reader to interpret the text based on their knowledge. The writing techniques are also used cleverly. The author describes the man characters psychological breakdown indirectly, yet the reader still recognises the breakdown. This is because the author uses two distinctive writing techniques.
The setting of the novel also supports the themes of the novel. The whereabouts of Holden are rarely mentioned, yet this informs the readers the major themes of the novel: that Holden fears complexity and change.
Holden Caulfield, the main character plays both the role of the protagonist and antagonist. He narrates the novel in first person view and provides readers with a narrow view of events and people. He is a sixteen years old suffering from depression. There are obvious signs that Holden is troubled; he is hospitalised; he is unable to connect to the world around him; he fails four subjects out of five; and he lacks optimism towards his future. These events and problems are all conveyed