Holden Caulfield Reliable Narrator

Catcher in the Rye
At the end of the novel, Holden Caulfield notes, “.. D.B. asked me what I thought about all this stuff I just finished telling you about. I didn 't know what the hell to say. If you want to know the truth, I don 't know what I think about it” (234). Three major episodes that Holden mentions throughout the novel shows a little of who he is as a narrator; the ducks at central park, the lunatic, and the fight with Stradlater. The three episodes shows his lack of insight in his life, ignorance of himself, and his inaccurate observations which clearly demonstrates why Holden is a unreliable narrator.
During his time at New York, as a teenage boy, Holden is unaware and lack the insight in his life so as he narrates, he

In the novel, Holden mentions about the lunatic and “ like him ten times as much as the Disciples” (111). Holden is similar to the lunatic even though he is ignorant of it and doesn’t know the reasons for liking the lunatic. Firstly, the lunatic and Holden are both madmans. According to the bible, it states that “no man could bind him, no , not with chains” (Mark 5). The passage is saying that the lunatic is uncontrollable and no one can make the lunatic regain his sanity until the lord has arrived. Holden, on the other hand, has struggled with mental issues throughout the novel. For example, in the novel, Holden says, “I 'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas” (1). Holden uses the word “madman”, which is referred to him, and the word “madman” means someone in a mentally ill state. Holden is unaware of the fact that he and the lunatic are both madmans. Next, they 're both destructive towards themselves. The lunatic was “cutting himself with stones” (Mark 5), and much like Holden, who “broke all the windows in the garage” (44) as a result of Allie’s death. Furthermore, They’re both isolated from society. In the bible, it says that the lunatic was “always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs” (Mark 5). The passage says that the lunatic is alone and isolated everyday. In the novel, Holden says,

Throughout the novel, Holden’s observations are often unreliable because he lacks experience to fully understand or simply because he is denies the truth. After the fight with Stradlater, Holden says "All that blood and all sort of made me look tough. I 'd only been in about two fights in my life, and I lost both of them. I 'm not too tough. I 'm a pacifist, if you want to know the truth" (46). Without doubt, this exemplifies Holden’s ability to make observations. Holden doesn’t wash his face because the gore made him look tough and he likes it but he also proclaims that he’s a “pacifist”. Holden does one but says the opposite, this demonstrates Holden’s poor observation skills. Furthermore, in the novel, Holden says “I 'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It 's awful” (19). Again, Holden says that he’s a “terrific” liar although he’s an “awful” liar. Holden doesn’t make the observation here because he’s denying the truth. Holden isn’t reliable because his observations is inaccurate and the readers has to interpret what he