In both “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger and “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles we see the use of a paradox of narrative authority. This is used because the rebellious adolescent narrator cannot deliver the message of growth, the adolescent narrative voice must, at crucial moments, surrender narrative authority to an adult voice which can deliver the message about growth and maturity. In the beginning of both novels the audience meets the narrator in their adult form. There is a brief introduction period in both where our adult narrators begin to introduce the setting and some background information before the adolescent narrator takes the reins.
As both an adult and adolescent narrator Holden, the protagonist in “The Catcher in
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In the novel, the more emotionally mature, independent characters in the book, such as Mr. Spencer, Mr. Antolini, Sally, Carl Luce, and even Phoebe, his younger sister, rarely use slang and frequently scold Holden …show more content…
Unlike Holden’s 17-18 year old adult form in “The Catcher in the Rye'', the adult version of Gene is around 30 years old. And while Holden’s novel reads like a personal conversation to retell his time of difficulty and growth, Gene’s story reads more like an emotional reflection of a time he still struggles to fully understand. Gene’s reflection of his time at Devon boy’s school is in a very melancholic mood and tone. Adult Gene is visiting Devon to reflect on the “war” he experienced in his life. He reflects on page 10 that, “Looking back now across fifteen years, I could see with great clarity the fear I had lived in,which must mean that in the interval I had succeeded in a very important undertaking: I must have made my escape from it.” Gene's reflection on the growth he made in the development of himself despite the fear he felt, can be interpreted as growth and maturity. He then goes on to state on page 14 that, “The tree was not only stripped by the cold season, it seemed weary from age, enfeebled, dry. I was thankful, very thankful that I had seen it. So the more things remain the same, the more they change after all—plus c'est la même chose, plus ça change. Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence. Changed, I headed back through the mud.” This reflection, most importantly the use of the phrase “The more things remain