Rye Essay, Research Paper

The Language of Catcher in the Rye

The transition of adolescence has served as the cardinal subject for many novels, but J.D. Salinger & # 8217 ; s The Catcher in the Rye, long a basic in academic lesson programs, has captured the spirit of this phase of life in allergic signifier, dramatising Holden Caulfield & # 8217 ; s coarse linguistic communication and melodramatic reactions. Written as the autobiographical history of a fictional teenage prep school pupil, Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye trades with stuff noted by a figure of critics to cover with & # 8212 ; the amusing sarcasm, the conversational linguistic communication, the picaresque construction, and the subject of anti-phonies that could even associate Holden Caulfield to Huckleberry Finn. Notably in linguistic communication, it is displayed in associating the two, the reader goes through a similar form throughout adolescence ( Gwynn 29 ) . As an emotional, intelligent, speculative, and distressingly sensitive immature adult male, Holden puts his interior universe to the trial through the sexual mores of his equals and seniors, the instructions of his instruction, and his ain emerging sense of ego. Throughout the old ages, the linguistic communication of the narrative has startled some readers. Salinger & # 8217 ; s control of Holden & # 8217 ; s easy, colloquial mode makes the debuts of these larger subjects appear natural and credible.

At the clip of the novel through today, Holden & # 8217 ; s speech rings true to the informal address of adolescents. The survey of the linguistic communication in this narrative & # 8220 ; can be justified non merely on the footing of literary involvement, but besides on the footing of lingual significance & # 8221 ; ( Costello 44 ) . Such address includes both simple description and cursing. For illustration, Holden says, & # 8220 ; They & # 8217 ; re nice and all & # 8221 ; , every bit good as, & # 8220 ; I & # 8217 ; m non traveling to state you my whole goddam autobiography or anything & # 8221 ; ( Salinger 3 ) . In the first case, he uses the term & # 8220 ; nice & # 8221 ; which highly simplifies his parents & # 8217 ; character, connoting he does non wish to disrespect them, yet at the same clip he does non praise them. At best, he deems them as & # 8220 ; nice and all. & # 8221 ; Holden farther cuts short his description when he states he will non state his & # 8220 ; whole goddam autobiography or anything. & # 8221 ; From the start, the reader picks up Holden & # 8217 ; s ill will and involuntariness to portion his positions purely by his usage of linguistic communication.

From the last two illustrations, another different idiom can be seen. Holden has a wont of stoping his descriptions with tag phrases such as & # 8220 ; and all & # 8221 ; or & # 8220 ; or anything. & # 8221 ; Not merely does Holden talk like this in the beginning of the novel, but throughout the book, doing this form a portion of his character. One could conceive of Holden often stoping his sentences with & # 8220 ; and all, & # 8221 ; recognizing it is a character trait since non all adolescents used that phrase. So the & # 8220 ; and all & # 8221 ; ticket to Holden & # 8217 ; s address served to do his address reliable and single. It is besides thought that & # 8220 ; Salinger & # 8216 ; imposed upon a tacky age the manner that it lacked & # 8217 ; & # 8221 ; ( Salzman 13 ) . Salinger deliberately used such address forms to assist individualise Holden, yet to besides do him a credible adolescent of the early 1950 & # 8217 ; s ( Salzman 13 ) .

Another illustration of how Holden & # 8217 ; s address helped specify his character is how he invariably had to corroborate any avowal he made, as if even he did non rather believe himself. Such reconfirmations include phrases such as & # 8220 ; & # 8230 ; if you want to cognize the truth, & # 8221 ; or & # 8220 ; & # 8230 ; it truly does. & # 8221 ; Holden says the first phrase several times. & # 8220 ; I have no air current, if you want to cognize the truth, & # 8221 ; & # 8220 ; I & # 8217 ; m pacificist, if you want to cognize the truth, & # 8221 ; and a fluctuation: & # 8220 ; She had a batch of sex entreaty, excessively, if you truly want to know. & # 8221 ; In each of the above cases, Holden makes a statement so feels compelled to clear up that is he is non doing it up but is, in fact, stating the truth. These idiosyncrasies may indicate to several facets of his character. For illustration, Holden is on the brink of neglecting out of preparative school and frights stating his parents. Because he did non make good in school, Holden may hold felt as though no 1 of all time took him earnestly and realized his actions left him with no solid academic standing. Since Holden is basically a failure at school with no serious friendly relationships, he attempts to solidify some communicating in inquiring for blessing by saying & # 8220 ; if you want to cognize the truth. & # 8221 ; Holden wants people to believe him so he speaks to seek blessing ( Costello, 1990 ) . Again, Salinger creates this address form as credible for a common adolescent, yet it besides seems to belong separately to Holden.

The Catcher in the Rye gained much of its ill fame for the linguistic communication used in it, peculiarly the petroleum words ( Gwynn, 1958 ) . Like most conversational utilizations of organic structure parts, accidents of birth, or spiritual intensions, Holden does non purely

brand usage of words in mention to their original significance. The word “hell” is a basic of Holden’s vocabulary, and he uses it frequently with both positive and negative intensions. In one case, he tells us he had a “helluva clip, ” when he and Phoebe sneaked off and had a good clip shopping for places downtown. Other statements include “pretty as snake pit, ” “playful as snake pit, ” or “hot as hell.”

Holden & # 8217 ; s perceptual experience that state of affairss were anything but normal in some relation to the extremes of the use of & # 8220 ; snake pit & # 8221 ; is applied to both positive and negative state of affairss. In each usage of the word, Holden uses & # 8220 ; snake pit & # 8221 ; as a manner to show the confusion of adolescence and his ain regular usage of it illustrates his ain utmost sensitiveness as a character ( Gwynn, 1958 ) .

As Holden & # 8217 ; s experiences alteration, so does his usage of rough linguistic communication. When he is caught up in his ain jokes and is enraged, & # 8220 ; sonuvabitch & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; bastard & # 8221 ; often find their manner into his vocabulary. However, when he addresses the reader as a storyteller, Holden seldom, if of all time, slips into his accustomed usage of curse ( Costello, 1990 ) . & # 8220 ; Sonuvabitch & # 8221 ; is reserved for his extreme choler, as when he kept naming Stradlater a & # 8220 ; moron sonuvabitch & # 8221 ; for the male child & # 8217 ; s apparently violative intervention of Jane Gallagher. Again, Holden & # 8217 ; s sporadic usage of & # 8220 ; sonuvabitch & # 8221 ; in his angriest minutes alerts the reader to the serious quality of his choler. Salinger carefully crafted such address forms to assist us place Holden & # 8217 ; s character without drawn-out descriptions of such. Here, the offending words lets the reader know when Holden is most angry and the types of state of affairss that make him so, thereby offering farther penetration into his character, frequently through the usage of a individual word.

Holden & # 8217 ; s regular usage of expletive words to depict his position of any given state of affairs leaves the feeling that his vocabulary is limited, as observed in one much younger than himself. However, Holden recognizes that he has a limited vocabulary and uncomprehendingly identifies it himself ( Salzman, 1991 ) . He makes usage of cussing in an attempt to add accent to his otherwise simplistic verbalism. For illustration, Holden says & # 8220 ; That cat Morrow was approximately every bit sensitive as a blasted lavatory place & # 8221 ; ( Salinger, 1951 ) . The best mention Holden could believe of was & # 8220 ; toilet place, & # 8221 ; a simple point readily grasped by even immature kids. To give this simile more accent, Holden, as usual, flips in a expletive word. Holden makes another toilet-like mention when he says & # 8220 ; He started managing my paper like it was a crap or something, & # 8221 ; ( Salinger, 1951 ) when mentioning to his instructor & # 8217 ; s looks and organic structure linguistic communication while picking up some written work Holden had done. & # 8220 ; Turd & # 8221 ; is a word a late pot-trained kid might utilize alternatively of a prep school adolescent. So, Holden non merely admits to holding a limited vocabulary, but he has a vocabulary apparently limited to one even younger than his age.

Holden & # 8217 ; s regular usage of cussing demonstates non merely the deepness of his emotion, but signals the reader to the fact that he is caught in the phase where childhood and nearing adulthood collide. He relates ill to cases other than those from his early young person, and attempts in vain to bridge the spread between stripling and grownup universes with his usage of profanity. He fails to detect that his cursing loses much of his intended rebellious impact by his overexploitation of the words. Rather than successfully arising against school or his parents, Holden appears sometimes anguished and hapless, and sometimes merely kick silly.

This shallowness of young person leaves him with small ability to pass on because he relies so to a great extent on simple words and ideas to show the bulk of his feelings. While Holden & # 8217 ; s teenage angst is evident, Salinger carefully crafted Holden & # 8217 ; s vocabulary to make a character who is credible.

As Holden & # 8217 ; s vocabulary and mentality on life demonstrate to us his character as a fictional character, the realistic spirit of his vocabulary assorted with emotion unfailingly ties him with the rough worlds of adolescence and the young person of his clip.

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