Rhetorical Analysis Of The Catcher In The Rye

J.D. Salinger, in his novel The Catcher in the Rye, uses a variety of word and expressions to show the tone. The Tone in the novel is demonstrated as bitter and very cynical. First, the reader is introduced to holden. They see his actions and get a peek into his thinking. His character is quite harsh, he trust no one and he believes everyone but himself is a phony. He points out the bad attributes in everyone and everything. In chapter one of the novel when talking about himself he says "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me... my parents...They're nice and all--I'm not saying that--but

Though there is some verbal irony and situational irony present as well, the dramatic irony overshadows them. Dramatic irony is used in almost every chapter of the novel. In several moments in the book, Holden claims that everyone is a phony, whereas the readers can easily tell that Holden is the real phony. The audience can mostly tell that by seeing Holden is hypocritical of almost everything. Holden states that he is the “The most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera” (Salinger 16). This shows how fake and similar he is to, if not more fake than those he often criticizes. Revealing that Holden Caulfield as a hypocrite though he is repulsed by such fakeness, but in reality is no better than those he ridicules for being someone other than who he assumes them to be. Likewise, Holden cannot stand how unreal and artificial movies are, and as a result loathes them, however, he ends up attending them anyway. An example of verbal irony in the book can be seen when holden says “I'm the one that's flunking out of the goddam place, and you're asking me to write you a goddam composition”(Salinger 28) This is verbal irony because what holden is trying to say is he is the one failing for not being smart enough yet Stradlater is asking him to write a composition. He is basically

The novel is written in past tense. Holden is recounting what led up to a certain moment. The entire book is presented by holden caulfield, the protagonist, and every detail is told from his perspective. How he view things and people. The reader sees his outlook on life and his innate anger towards almost everyone and everything. Holden's view of the world around him is subjective and his whole narration can be seen as him warping reality because he can't get past his anger and complex. The purpose of the first person point of view is to get the audience to relate to the book. Salinger wants the audience to know how Holden is feeling in each situation, how he views his life and most important how he views those around him and why. The world as perceived through his experiences is what readers, especially young readers, identify with. The audience are able to identify with holden and his struggles. They understand the struggles of school and failing and just not ever being good enough. Holden goes through all the issues that most teenagers go through but in the end he is able to show that there is hope. For example toward the end of the book he says " I got pretty soaking wet, especially my neck and my pants….I didn't care though, I felt so damn happy all of a sudden" (Salinger 213). This is one of the most important lines in the book because from here the audience sees a little change in holden's