Holden, in Catcher in the Rye, is a very distant character. He never really gets close to any of the other characters. When someone tries to talk to him, he shuts them out and moves on to the next one. Most of his conversations are filled with either anger or sadness. To keep himself at a distance, he uses the passive voice. When he is standing on the hill away from the football game, he uses the passive voice to give the hint that he is far away from everyone - he is isolated. Also, Holden never really feels certain about his views or his actions. In the novel, "the phrase 'sort of' appears...179 times" (Green). He is always saying that he "sort of" did this or "sort of" did that. He never states that he does anything straight forwardly.
The story is told by Holden in a first person narrative. He is unreliable and extreme in his thoughts, which makes the reader see situations happen differently than they may have. Although this is true, the reader can see much more about Holden than he may hope. His dialogue with the other characters brings his true personality out. He does not know it, but "the dialogue is a truth separate from what’s inside Holden’s head” (Norton). The majority of the story may be told in his point of view and through his eyes, but by seeing his conversations with others, the reader can take on a whole new view.
Holden, in Catcher in the Rye, is a very distant character. He never really gets close to any of the other characters. When someone tries to talk to him, he shuts them out and moves on to the next one. Most of his conversations are filled with either anger or sadness. To keep himself at a distance, he uses the passive voice. When he is standing on the hill away from the football game, he uses the passive voice to give the hint that he is far away from everyone - he is isolated. Also, Holden never really feels certain about his views or his actions. In the novel, "the phrase 'sort of' appears...179 times" (Green). He is always saying that he "sort of" did this or "sort of" did that. He never states that he does anything straight forwardly.
ReplyDeleteThe story is told by Holden in a first person narrative. He is unreliable and extreme in his thoughts, which makes the reader see situations happen differently than they may have. Although this is true, the reader can see much more about Holden than he may hope. His dialogue with the other characters brings his true personality out. He does not know it, but "the dialogue is a truth separate from what’s inside Holden’s head” (Norton). The majority of the story may be told in his point of view and through his eyes, but by seeing his conversations with others, the reader can take on a whole new view.