What Is The Mood Of The Catcher In The Rye

The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is one of the many great novels in American literature to this day. The novel follows a young man named Holden Caulfield and the journey he goes through during his teenage years. The story is told through the perspective of Holden as he struggles with finding the right path for his life and dealing with the struggles of growing up. During this book the reader follows Holden through his bad experiences Pencey Preparatory, leading up to him getting expelled, continuing through his experiences in New York City, and with his family. During this time Holden is struggling with the death of his younger brother, Allie. Throughout the novel Holden feels trapped, due to his thoughts on growing up and

Since the given central idea is pertaining to the loss of innocence, the mood also brings together the discovered theme that life can be hard when you are feeling lost and do not know where to go with your life. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye Holden tries to hold himself together, but at parts Holden is often depressed and breaks down and starts to cry. In chapter 23, Holden stops home secretly to check in with Phoebe, his younger sister. During their reuniting, Holden began to breakdown crying. “But I couldn’t stop for a long time. I thought I was going to choke to death or something. Boy, I scared the hell out of old Phoebe” (p.198). This quote reinforces the mood of sadness and despair because this was at a time where Holden broke down after stopping himself from almost crying. Also his mention of almost dying makes the reader feel a sad vibe because most people associate death with sadness and grief. In the poem “Where do I go?” the mood is similar to that of The Catcher in the Rye. The poem is very repetitive where brings n the curiosity of where should this person go. The quote, “Is there an answer in there sweet faces, that tells me why I live and why I die?’’ also brings to light the mood of sadness and despair. Although when read it gives off a curious mood, the talk of death makes the reader feel the sense of sadness and gloom. As Holden and the character referred to in the poem think about and mention death, this allows the mood of sadness and despair to be shown amongst these two works. This mood also strengthens the theme that life can be hard when you are feeling lost and do not know where to go with your