Literary Criticism On Holden Caulfield's Language.
Every person's, words contribute to form a unique and individual identity. Adolph Hitler used his evil words and hypnotizing language to rally millions of people to follow his ideas. Shakespeare's brilliant playwrights and poems portrayed him as loving and intelligent. Many authors in literature, such as J.D. Salinger, have focused on having their characters use a distinct language to make them unique. One of his characters, Holden Caulfield, has a very pessimistic diction which made him special. In the bildungsroman Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden's trouble and insecure personality is modeled by his unique speech and diction in that he has an idiosyncratic speech pattern, uses certain grammar, crude language, and has an adaptable vocabulary.
Holden Caulfield's idiosyncratic speech pattern portrays his looseness and his self-consciousness in his personality. His incessant use of the phrases "and all," "or something," and "or anything," usually shows his laziness to further explain the issue he is explaining to the reader. On the other hand, Holden uses these short phrases at random constantly, and the reason for this, according to Donald Barr, is that "his fallacy is ab uno disce omnes; he abstracts and generalizes wildly" (Costello 84). Throughout the novel, Holden also uses the phrases "it really is," "it really did," and "if you want to know the truth," to display his effort to show that he is not a phony. He continuously tries not to slide into phoniness by proving to the reader that he truly intends what he says. Holden also uses "if you want to know the truth" after personal confirmations. All of Holden's idiosyncrasies are a part of the typical teenage language, but his unceasing use of them makes him extraordinary, in that it shows the self-consciousness and laziness of his character.
In addition to his idiosyncratic speech patterns, Holden's crude language forms his character by presenting his contrast to other teenagers and the changes he undergoes when other characters have an influence on him.
The book was a surprisingly successful, however in my school across the nation the book was banded because of the language. ... Holden Caulfield completely normal and totally sane. ... Holden Caulfield the catcher in the rye. ... Holden Caulfield is a sane man in a sane world. ... One of those persons is Holden Caulfield. ...
Holden Caulfield is a 17 year old young man who tells the story of a couple days in his life at the age of 16. ... The main character is Holden Caulfield. ... Stradler is Holden's roommate. ... Phoebe Caulfield is Holden's sister. ... Also because of the language but in my opinion I think is that people just weren't ready for this kind of reality in a book. ...
Those feelings represent loneliness, something Holden Caulfield knows all about. Holden Caulfield, J.D. ... By not letting go of Allie, it is visible to the reader how lonely Holden Caulfield is. ... We have changed our clothing, our language, our lifestyle to be "normal-. ... Holden Caulfield has had a rough, disturbing life. ...
Figurative language is also used. ... The song can easily be related to Holden Caulfield. ... Holden feels that he is an outsider observing a world that he cannot decide to accept or reject. ... Jane is the one person that Holden believes isn't phony. ... Both the singer and Holden finally accept that they do not have to lie anymore. ...
Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, long a staple in academic lesson plans, has captured the spirit of this stage of life in hyper-sensitive form, dramatizing Holden Caulfield's vulgar language and melodramatic reactions. Written as the autobiographical account of a fictional teenage prep school student Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye deals with material that is socially scandalous for the times (Gwynn, 1958). ... Throughout the years, the language of the story has startled some readers. ... tly by his use of language (Salzman, 1991). ... As Holden's experiences change,...
Salinger's critically acclaimed novel, The Catcher in the Rye follows the journey of Holden Caulfield, a young boy who returns home to New York after being ousted from yet another prep school. ... Holden is a seventeen year old boy, therefore, he should use language that matches his maturity, which Salinger mastered. Like many teenagers, Holden used vulgar language often. ... The use of vulgar language is likely the culprit behind the novel being banned from multiple classrooms. ... Holden's uses "...If you want to know the truth......
The novel "The Catcher in the Rye" by J, D Salinger talks about a cynical and confused teenager, Holden Caulfield, spending 3 days in New York trying to find his place in society. ... It is presented through the main character Holden, the settings of events, and language used. ... The theme is also supported effectively through the language of the novel. ... Also the language used creates images which give the reader a visual feel of a setting. ... And also by the usage of the language which sometimes gives us visual aspects which supports the theme. ...
"The Catcher in the Rye," is a story told in first person by a seventeen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield. ... His foul language is revolting and extremely frequent. ... Also, the author offered limited variation to how Holden reacted to certain people. Holden hated pretty much everyone, because he found them phony. ... On the other hand, I did find the book interesting and easy to read, but the language and predictability of the plot turned me off. ...
The author, JD Salinger, expresses his view of adolescence through the main character, Holden Caulfield. ... The speech mechanisms of Holden Caulfield mock a modern day teenager. ... He paints this character through language of a teenager, including profanity and matter-of-fact statements. ... The average adolescent reader connects to this language and sees Holden as an actual person. ... Salinger forms this believable character, Holden Caulfield, who is not promoted to be a hero; he tells his story truthfully with no one to impress. ...
