Salinger is about a boy name Holden Caulfield and his struggle to communicate. This novel shows Holden's life as he jumps from school to school and the difficulties in between. Throughout the novel we witness Holden's struggle to communicate with others, which also leads to his depression. It is Holden's inability to communicate with others that adds to his problems in life. "No, sir, I haven't communicated with them, because I"ll probably see them Wednesday night when I get home."(9) This is one of the first examples of Holden's lack of communication. He makes this statement to Mr. Spencer, when Mr. Spencer asks if he told his parents that he had been kicked out of school.
Holden was attending Pencey School but was recently kicked out, and he had yet to notify his parents about his news. For example, "I didn't want to go home or anything till they got it and thoroughly digested it and all."(51) Holden makes this statement after deciding he was going to go to New York and rest until he was sure his parents had received the notice. Holden did not want to take the chance of having to tell his parents the news if they hadn't received the letter. In addition, " I figured maybe I"d give old Jane a buzz and see if she was home for vacation yet. So I went in a phone booth and called her up. The only trouble was her mother answered the phone so I had to hang up."(116) After feeling lonely in New York Holden decides to call his old friend Jane. This quote shows Holden's inability to even make "small talk" with an adult. Once deciding to leave Pencey early and go to New York we start to notice Holden's weakness. That is, his inability to communicate, and we have already seen the effects so far.
After exploring the many sides of New York, Holden had enough and decided he would sneak home into his sister Phoebe's room in the middle of the night. "Daddy"ll kill you." (166) This statement comes from Holden's sister Phoebe.
