A Brief Analysis of Holden in Catcher in the Rye

马小力

【中圖分类号】G64 【文献标识码】A 【文章编号】2095-3089（2014）10-0042-01

1.Introduction

This paper is to give a brief analysis of the protagonist Holden in the Catcher in the Rye through several aspects， including Holdens situation， detest， and hope as well as some images appeared in the novel in order to reveal sources of mental illness of the Beat Generation and give an alarm to the growth of teenagers nowadays. For a deeper analysis， the detailed background is surely a necessity to be mentioned.

Three Stages This Book has been through

There are three stages of critics analysis of Salingers Catcher in the Rye. The first stage is from 1951 to the early 60s. At this time， there isnt much appreciation or disapproval of this novel because of its particular background—a moment that people just began to pick up new revolutionary values yet the upcoming Vietnam War didnt allow it. Government was to contain McCarthyism to remain current situation in which case some one are living without struggling and others choose to be silent and rebel against hypocritical society pessimistically. Some famous essay writers even call the novel “a cry for nothing”. The second stage is from 60s to the end of 70s. It is a time when outside factors become dominant yet individual existence become delusive and withered. It is during this time people began to notice and take value in this book. The third stage is from 1980 until now. Various critical theories appeared， and studying of Salinger flourished like mushrooms， including social， historical and religious aspects.

2.An analysis of the protagonist

A.Holdens situation

Holden is a sixteen？鄄year？鄄old prep school student who is an outsider of his surroundings. He sees through all hypocritical men and resents dark reality; he looks down upon worn？鄄out stereotypes and struggles against unreasonable phenomenon; he was dismissed from school yet still cannot accept phony persons and things. He is a representative of the popular Existentialism in the 1950s—a father who is a lawyer just for making money and a brother who is a talented writer yet catering to lower taste of Hollywood， a president who flatters the wealth and care nothing about the poor and a contributor who make unjust money in the name of a Christian follower. No wonder Holden cannot be one of them—a school of Pencey. Just like Hamlet， Holden is “standing in front of a collapsing world， deceived by this inhuman， materialized society.” Through Holdens eyes， Salinger shows us a frightening society with phony characters.

B.Holdens detest

Holden extremely rebels against the whole education system. “They would die if the car was marked or scratched.” “They just talk about nothing but women， drink and sex， and making small groups…” His pals are conceited and “fearless”. Stradlater， one of his roommates， is planning to hook on Holdens dreaming girl which destroyed Holdens pursuit for pure love; Carl Luce， a name representing “light”， reflects darkness satirically， as it is told that this guy in school time only talking about sex with a group of men at night; Ackley is Holdens neighbor who often comes to Holden for talks yet he set Holden aside when he is beaten. No one speaks truth in school. Kaiser， a student forced to jump off the dormitory for his not retrieving his word of a students arrogance.

C.Holdens hope

In Holdens heart， the only standard for social value is sincerity. Yet he can see everything but full-heart in that false society. Only children and people with a pure heart can open their heart to others. Certainly， what Holden loves most are his brother Allie and sister Phoebe. Allies life is deprived by illness， yet his consideration for others still occupy important place in Holdens mind. And Phoebe， what makes her different is that she has ears that will always listen to you and a clever brain that will always understand you. She is most reliable for Holden.

3.Conclusion

What we should do is to see clearly of the setting when The Catcher was written. Firstly， the political atmosphere in 50s-60s is rather depressing and stifling， which was due to restriction to freedom and democracy by “Cold Culture”① at that time. Besides， middle class casts a majority of Americans which often stands for individualism while it collides with policy for systematization of society， and their struggle for a better life is inevitably a pressure for teenagers， which also contributes to rebellion and confusion of the Generation.

Events are not very important to Salinger; little happens in his stories. Although he has a sharp eye for detail， the background， the setting， or locale seems to matter less than it does for almost any other American writer. Even character， as it is usually understood， seems not finally a major interest. What does interest Salinger is the human voice. Yet we know that the sound of one hand clapping is silent. It is our mission to hold the responsibility for our generation and next generation to better understand society and humanity.

References：

[1]Brown A R.Normans and the Norman Conquest [M].The Boy-dell Press.1968

[2]Rowley. Norman Heritage[M].Routledge&Kegan Paul.1983

[3]Sheard P H.English Medieaval Settlement [M].Edward Arnold Ltd.1979

[4]童明.《美國文学史》，译林出版社，2002

[5]萨尔兹曼.《麦田里的守望者新论》，北京大学出版社，2007

[6]潘丽，张碧竹.“战后美国青少年的心理历程”，国际关系学院学报，1996，

[7]张欲晓.“悬崖边上的人生困惑”，社会科学辑刊，2006，（2）