The period of transition between adolescence and adulthood can diminish one’s innocence and positive outlook of life. The Catcher in the Rye depicts a seventeen year old boy’s struggle as he deals with the the hopelessness and tragedies of reality. J.D. Salinger weaves together a wistful novel that details the depressing life of Holden Caulfield. Through his creative usage of simple syntax, mundane setting, and relatable diction, Salinger concocts a story so wonderfully written that the reader feels the same heartache and anger that Holden does.
Salinger combines the understandable diction with very simple and straightforward syntax. Throughout the story, very few sentences contain long clauses and intricate style. He includes several short or terse statements that Holden says throughout the novel. For example, Holden
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Pencey Prep educates many young men that Holden persistently refers to as “phonies”. Holden claims they indirectly made him leave because he hated going to the same school as them. He then leaves and spends the remaining portion of the novel in New York City. Everyone has heard of New York City and a vast number of people have lived or been to New York City. Its busy streets and Empire State building can be recognized easily by almost every American. Salinger chose such a place to contrast with Holden’s situation. New York constantly buzzes with thousands of citizens yet Holden still feels so alone. It showcases the isolation felt by Holden extremely well. He has “lived in New York all [his] life, and [knows] Central Park like the back of [his] hand...but had the most terrific trouble finding the lagoon…” (154). By using such a well known place, Salinger gives the reader an idea of how desperately lonely Holden becomes after leaving Pencey Prep; he illustrates Holden’s struggle to find his way in the park and in his