The Catcher in the Rye Literary Elements

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In the Novel The Catcher in the Rye, The main character (Holden Caulfield) feels like a real human being, not a fictional character. Not only does Salinger put some of himself into the character, he also uses humorous irony, descriptive diction, and ever irksome repetition to help personify Holden, positively or negatively. Nobody can deny that Holden is an ironic person. When someone says that “It will be a terrific bore,” (pg.91) no matter what they are talking about, you know something cannot be terrific and boring. This also feeds into the whole situation with Sunny the...courtesan. This whole scenario is quite ironic-- Her name is Sunny, yet she's gloomy and (as you surely must know) her branch of the private sector usually gets more, for lack of a better word, work in the evening hours. She also doesn't curse, which is rather odd for people of her profession. Unquestionably, Holden's word choice (diction) further plays into the personification of the character we love to hate. As said on page two, “...and scrawny and faggy on the Saxon Hall side,” his choice of words further portrays his maturity and age. Usually, as you are well aware of (being a highschool teacher and all), people curse to try and sound older/cool, even though it usually has an adverse effect. He also hints on the time period when “...there were some lulus...” (pg. 129). The word lulu isn't often used, if at all, as of February 14, 2012. Frankly, the last time they used that was the 50's! This word choice helps us get a grasp on the time period. After all, it doesn't give you any sense of time, it doesn't even tell you how long the book spans over! Furthermore, there's no Holden without repetition. He's the reason we hate him so much. Real people are annoying, too! When you say things like “Boy, I can't stand that sonuvabitch. He's one sonuvabitch I really can't stand!”(pg. 23)
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