Analysis of Portrayal of The Protagonist in J.D.Salinger's 'The Catcher in The Rye'.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
i
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ii
CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
Background of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
Method of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
Organization of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
CHAPTER TWO : ANALYSIS OF THE PORTRAYAL OF THE
PROTAGONIST IN J.D. SALINGER’S THE CATCHER IN
THE RYE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
CHAPTER THREE : CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary of The Catcher in the Rye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Biography of J.D. Salinger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
20
21
i
ABSTRACT
Dalam Tugas Akhir ini saya menganalisis elemen penokohan dari buku
The Catcher in the Rye yang ditulis oleh J.D. Salinger. Novel ini berlatar belakang
tahun 1950an, pada saat Amerika menghadapi perubahan pada gaya hidup remaja
Amerika yang sedang bertumbuh menjadi dewasa. Mereka diberi kebebasan untuk
memasuki dunia orang dewasa. Holden Caulfield adalah remaja berumur 17
tahun yang mengalami kesulitan dalam beradaptasi dengan situasi baru tersebut.
Ia digambarkan sebagai remaja yang bersikap adil dan jujur sesuai standar
(idealistic), perhatian terhadap sesama (caring), namun kurang berpengalaman
(unsophisticated) dan tidak berdaya untuk mengubah situasi (impotent). Melalui
penggambaran tokoh utama seperti ini dapat terlihat bahwa Holden tidak
menyukai dunia orang dewasa yang penuh dengan kepura-puraan, ketidakjujuran
dan keanehan. Ia pun sangat memperhatikan kepolosan anak-anak remaja supaya
dunia orang dewasa tidak merusaknya. Namun, ia tidak cukup berpengalaman
dalam menghadapi situasi baru dalam dunia orang dewasa sehingga ia pun tidak
dapat mengatasi apa yang terjadi. Ia bahkan mengalami gangguan mental
karenanya. Melalui penokohan Holden Caulfied, J.D. Salinger ingin menunjukkan
bahwa tidaklah selalu mudah bagi remaja Amerika untuk beradaptasi dengan
situasi baru pada dekade 1950an.
ii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Summary of The Catcher in the Rye
The story is about a seventeen-year-old boy named Holden Caufield. He
studies in Pencey Prep school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. Later he drops out
from Pencey Prep School because he fails almost all the subjects, except English.
Actually, he does not like being surrounded by phonies.
Holden is supposed to return home to Manhattan. Before returning home,
he visits his history teacher, Mr. Spencer to say good bye. After a long
conversation with Mr. Spencer, he goes back to his dorm and unfortunately he has
a fight with his roommate, Stradlater. Later, instead of going home, he decides to
stay in a hotel. He feels bored so he goes to the Lavender room, a bar downstairs.
He orders alcoholic drinks but the waiter realizes his being a minor and refuses to
take the order, so he ends up ordering coke. After dancing and having some
conversation with women, he goes back to his room to take his coat and calls a
cab to go to Earnie’s night club in Greenwich Village.
In Earnie’s, everyone can order alcoholic drinks, even a minor. After
having alcoholic drinks, he goes back to the hotel. In the hotel’s elevator, the
elevator’s guy offers to send a girl to his room and he agrees. A girl comes to
Holden’s room and she is ready to do her job. Suddenly he is not in the mood and
tells the girl to go, but he still pays her. Unfortunately, Maurice the elevator guy
20
Maranatha Christian University
comes to Holden’s room and says that he only pays half of the agreement, and
Holden gets hit by Maurice.
On the next day he decides to call his former girlfriend, Sally Hayes to
meet up with him. After spending his day with Sally, Holden goes to see Phoebe,
his little sister. He spends the rest of the day with Phoebe. He ends up getting sick
and gets treatment from a psychoanalyst.
Biography of J.D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger, also known as J.D. Salinger, was an American
writer. He was born in New York City on 1st January 1919. His mother, Marie
Jillich, was of Scotch Irish decent and his father, Sol Salinger, was Jewish. He has
an elder sister named Doris. He attended a public school on the upper side in
Manhattan. He graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne,
Pennsylvania in 1936.
While at the Valley Forge Military Academy Salinger began writing short
stories under the blanket by using flashlight. He started his freshman year at New
York University but dropped out on the following spring. After that he attended
Ursinus College and again he dropped out after one semester. Salinger attends
writing course taught by Whit Burnett at Columbia University and his writing was
first published in the magazine- April 1940 issue. In 1942, Salinger was drafted in
the U.S. army and discharge from the army in 1946. He returned to New York and
continued writing short stories.
Salinger’s only novel is The Catcher in the Rye (1951), of which the
protagonist is Holden Caulfield, who symbolizes the growing pains of generation
21
Maranatha Christian University
of high school and college students. Salinger’s other works are in the form of
short stories. Some of them are Nine Stories (1953), Franny and Zooey (1961),
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963),
Fifty Great Short Stories (1952), Short Story Masterpieces (1954), and “Perfect
Day for Banana Fish” (1948).
At the age of 36, Salinger married Claire Douglas and had two children
Margaret and Matthew. Unfortunately Salinger and Claire got divorced in 1966.
After that, at the age of 53 he had a relationship with Joyce Maynard. Finally his
last wife was Colleen O’Neil. He died at the age of 91 on 27th January 2010
because of natural causes.
Source: “J.D. Salinger”, “Author Information: J.D. Salinger”, “J.D. Salinger
Biography”
22
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of Study
In the 1950s there was a dramatic change in the way American grew up
and also in the activities that they were involved in. During that time teenagers
saw responsibilities shrink and free time increase (“Teenager Popular Culture –
United States 1950s”). The word teenager is used as a title of a new and upcoming
age group of men and women that are not longer considered as a kid but not yet
adult. These teenagers also had found a new purpose of life, and that was to enjoy
their life and to be themselves. During the 50s teenagers were able to go out with
friends, buy more clothes, and buy more new music because they had less
responsibility and more support from their parents (“The Teenage Rebellion”). It
seems that the 1950s was a decade that gave teenagers happy time and happy
feelings.
J.D Salinger is a Jewish-American writer in the mid-20th century. He
becomes famous through his only novel The Catcher in the Rye, the novel that I
have chosen to analyse in this thesis. In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger talks
about the struggle of a teenager in facing the situation of the 1950s. He deals with
1
Maranatha Christian University
a teenager who is confused and depressed by the changes, which brings him to a
sanatorium. The novel itself was published in 1951 and listed as a best-seller novel in
the 20th century. “Despite also receiving some very harsh criticism on grounds of
promoting immoral views, the book, ironically became the most taught book of the
20th century with its inclusion in the curriculum of high school literature. A best
seller for life, the book has sold over 120 million copies all over the world” (“J.D.
Salinger”).
As The Catcher in the Rye is a novel about the struggle of the protagonist in
coping with the situation he faces, I will analyse the portrayal of the protagonist.
Protagonist is “the leading character of a drama, novel or other literary work.” (Shaw
305). By analyzing the portrayal of the protagonist, I can understand better the
purpose of the author in writing the novel.
Statement of the Problem
The problems I am going to discuss are:
1. How is the protagonist portrayed in the story?
2. What is the author’s purpose of creating such a character?
Purpose of the Study
The purposes of the study are:
1. To show how the protagonist is portrayed in the story.
2. To show the author’s purpose of creating such a character.
Method of Research
I use library research in writing my thesis. First, I read J.D. Salinger’s The
Catcher in the Rye as a primary text. Then, I take some data from the Internet sites
2
Maranatha Christian University
and sources to support my analysis of portrayal of the protagonist in the novel. In the
end, I draw some conclusion.
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis is organized into three chapters, which are preceded by the Table
of Contents and the Abstract. Chapter One contains the Background of the Study, the
Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the
Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two contains the analysis of the portrayal of the
protagonist in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Chapter Three is the
Conclusion. The thesis ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which
consist of the summary of the novel and the biography of the author.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analysing the portrayal of the protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s The
Catcher in the Rye, I conclude that Holden Caulfield is portrayed as a teenager
who is idealistic, caring, unsophisticated, and impotent. He cannot understand
what is going on around him. He is scared of the complexity of the adult world.
Holden feels depressed to find people in his surroundings are not honest. This fact
makes Holden, who is an idealistic person, angry.
Besides being idealistic, Holden is a caring person. He cares about people
around him especially children. He feels worried that innocent children will fall
into the adult world which, in his opinion, is cruel and full of phonies. He cannot
accept the fact that children will grow up, become adults and fall into the adult
world.
In his novel Holden is also portrayed as unsophisticated. Lacking in
experience when facing things of the adult world, as a teenager, he becomes
confused and feels depressed. This is the reflected from his reaction to the
situation he faces.
16
Maranatha Christian University
Moreover, he is portrayed as impotent. He cannot change the undesirable
situation and he also does not have guts to change it. The only thing he can do is
imagining things. Because of living under pressure of the adult world and thus,
having a mental breakdown, Holden ends up in a sanatorium.
From the portrayal of Holden Caulfield, the reader can see clearly that
Holden Caulfield faces some difficulties in adapting himself to the new situation
he is in. He even cannot bear the pressure that finally causes him to feel depressed
so that he should get psychological treatment. Holden’s characteristics are closely
related to the purpose of the author in creating such a character. The purpose of
the author is to show that it is not always easy for the teenagers in 1950s to adapt
themselves to the new situation.
J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye is successful in
portraying Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the novel. In the novel, Holden is
portrayed in a realistic way and thus, appears lifelike, so there will be a bond
between the reader and the book (“J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye:
Connections to Literature“). This kind of portrayal gives the reader the sense of
reality that someone like Holden really exists in this new era; someone who
cannot adapt to the changes and who is depressed by them. Thus, I am of the
opinion that J.D. Salinger has portrayed Holden Caulfield to reflect teenagers who
faces difficulties in adapting themselves to the new situation, as a part of the
teenagers in the 1950s America.
After reading J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and analysing the
portrayal of the protagonist of the novel, I can learn several things. The portrayal
of Holden Caulfield has led me to the understanding that although the majority of
17
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the American teenagers in 1950s feel comfortable with the changes, there are still
teenagers who feel the opposite. Holden Caulfield is an extreme example; instead
of feeling the euphoria of the new era, he is depressed and mentally disturbed by
the changes. These different feelings are undoubtedly plausible to happen in any
changes in the society. However, I am also surprised to know that such a new
condition can give negative impact on the people who are involved in it.
From what Holden describes as his experience, it seems that his parents do
not play any role in assisting Holden to cope with the difficulties he faces. In my
opinion, parental guidance will be of some help for teenagers in entering and
facing the new world, that is the adult world. Therefore, the teenagers will have
someone to share with or to solve their problems.
In conclusion, J.D.Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, however, has
given me a clear picture of a teenager in coping with the new situation in 1950s
America. Thus, it is worth reading and analysing.
18
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Text
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
1951. Print.
References
“Author Information: J.D. Salinger.” Internet Book List. Steven Jeffrey. n.d.
Web. 13 Apr. 2013.
“Caring.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.
“Decent.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.
“Impotent.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.
“J.D. Salinger”. The Biography Channel website. n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.
“J.D. Salinger Biography”. TheBestNotes.com. 11 May 2008. Web. 4 Apr 2014.
“J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye: Connections to Literature“. Teen Ink. n.d.
Web. 4 Apr 2014.
Shaw, Harry. “Protagonist.” Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: McGrawHill Book Company. 1972. Print.
“Teenager Popular Culture - United States 1950s”. n.d. Web. 27 Sep 2013.
“The Teenage Rebelion”. 1950s Teenagers. n.d. Web. 27 Sep 2013.
“Unsophisticated.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.
19
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
i
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ii
CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
Background of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
Method of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
Organization of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
CHAPTER TWO : ANALYSIS OF THE PORTRAYAL OF THE
PROTAGONIST IN J.D. SALINGER’S THE CATCHER IN
THE RYE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
CHAPTER THREE : CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary of The Catcher in the Rye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Biography of J.D. Salinger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
20
21
i
ABSTRACT
Dalam Tugas Akhir ini saya menganalisis elemen penokohan dari buku
The Catcher in the Rye yang ditulis oleh J.D. Salinger. Novel ini berlatar belakang
tahun 1950an, pada saat Amerika menghadapi perubahan pada gaya hidup remaja
Amerika yang sedang bertumbuh menjadi dewasa. Mereka diberi kebebasan untuk
memasuki dunia orang dewasa. Holden Caulfield adalah remaja berumur 17
tahun yang mengalami kesulitan dalam beradaptasi dengan situasi baru tersebut.
Ia digambarkan sebagai remaja yang bersikap adil dan jujur sesuai standar
(idealistic), perhatian terhadap sesama (caring), namun kurang berpengalaman
(unsophisticated) dan tidak berdaya untuk mengubah situasi (impotent). Melalui
penggambaran tokoh utama seperti ini dapat terlihat bahwa Holden tidak
menyukai dunia orang dewasa yang penuh dengan kepura-puraan, ketidakjujuran
dan keanehan. Ia pun sangat memperhatikan kepolosan anak-anak remaja supaya
dunia orang dewasa tidak merusaknya. Namun, ia tidak cukup berpengalaman
dalam menghadapi situasi baru dalam dunia orang dewasa sehingga ia pun tidak
dapat mengatasi apa yang terjadi. Ia bahkan mengalami gangguan mental
karenanya. Melalui penokohan Holden Caulfied, J.D. Salinger ingin menunjukkan
bahwa tidaklah selalu mudah bagi remaja Amerika untuk beradaptasi dengan
situasi baru pada dekade 1950an.
ii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Summary of The Catcher in the Rye
The story is about a seventeen-year-old boy named Holden Caufield. He
studies in Pencey Prep school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. Later he drops out
from Pencey Prep School because he fails almost all the subjects, except English.
Actually, he does not like being surrounded by phonies.
Holden is supposed to return home to Manhattan. Before returning home,
he visits his history teacher, Mr. Spencer to say good bye. After a long
conversation with Mr. Spencer, he goes back to his dorm and unfortunately he has
a fight with his roommate, Stradlater. Later, instead of going home, he decides to
stay in a hotel. He feels bored so he goes to the Lavender room, a bar downstairs.
He orders alcoholic drinks but the waiter realizes his being a minor and refuses to
take the order, so he ends up ordering coke. After dancing and having some
conversation with women, he goes back to his room to take his coat and calls a
cab to go to Earnie’s night club in Greenwich Village.
In Earnie’s, everyone can order alcoholic drinks, even a minor. After
having alcoholic drinks, he goes back to the hotel. In the hotel’s elevator, the
elevator’s guy offers to send a girl to his room and he agrees. A girl comes to
Holden’s room and she is ready to do her job. Suddenly he is not in the mood and
tells the girl to go, but he still pays her. Unfortunately, Maurice the elevator guy
20
Maranatha Christian University
comes to Holden’s room and says that he only pays half of the agreement, and
Holden gets hit by Maurice.
On the next day he decides to call his former girlfriend, Sally Hayes to
meet up with him. After spending his day with Sally, Holden goes to see Phoebe,
his little sister. He spends the rest of the day with Phoebe. He ends up getting sick
and gets treatment from a psychoanalyst.
Biography of J.D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger, also known as J.D. Salinger, was an American
writer. He was born in New York City on 1st January 1919. His mother, Marie
Jillich, was of Scotch Irish decent and his father, Sol Salinger, was Jewish. He has
an elder sister named Doris. He attended a public school on the upper side in
Manhattan. He graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne,
Pennsylvania in 1936.
While at the Valley Forge Military Academy Salinger began writing short
stories under the blanket by using flashlight. He started his freshman year at New
York University but dropped out on the following spring. After that he attended
Ursinus College and again he dropped out after one semester. Salinger attends
writing course taught by Whit Burnett at Columbia University and his writing was
first published in the magazine- April 1940 issue. In 1942, Salinger was drafted in
the U.S. army and discharge from the army in 1946. He returned to New York and
continued writing short stories.
Salinger’s only novel is The Catcher in the Rye (1951), of which the
protagonist is Holden Caulfield, who symbolizes the growing pains of generation
21
Maranatha Christian University
of high school and college students. Salinger’s other works are in the form of
short stories. Some of them are Nine Stories (1953), Franny and Zooey (1961),
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963),
Fifty Great Short Stories (1952), Short Story Masterpieces (1954), and “Perfect
Day for Banana Fish” (1948).
At the age of 36, Salinger married Claire Douglas and had two children
Margaret and Matthew. Unfortunately Salinger and Claire got divorced in 1966.
After that, at the age of 53 he had a relationship with Joyce Maynard. Finally his
last wife was Colleen O’Neil. He died at the age of 91 on 27th January 2010
because of natural causes.
Source: “J.D. Salinger”, “Author Information: J.D. Salinger”, “J.D. Salinger
Biography”
22
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of Study
In the 1950s there was a dramatic change in the way American grew up
and also in the activities that they were involved in. During that time teenagers
saw responsibilities shrink and free time increase (“Teenager Popular Culture –
United States 1950s”). The word teenager is used as a title of a new and upcoming
age group of men and women that are not longer considered as a kid but not yet
adult. These teenagers also had found a new purpose of life, and that was to enjoy
their life and to be themselves. During the 50s teenagers were able to go out with
friends, buy more clothes, and buy more new music because they had less
responsibility and more support from their parents (“The Teenage Rebellion”). It
seems that the 1950s was a decade that gave teenagers happy time and happy
feelings.
J.D Salinger is a Jewish-American writer in the mid-20th century. He
becomes famous through his only novel The Catcher in the Rye, the novel that I
have chosen to analyse in this thesis. In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger talks
about the struggle of a teenager in facing the situation of the 1950s. He deals with
1
Maranatha Christian University
a teenager who is confused and depressed by the changes, which brings him to a
sanatorium. The novel itself was published in 1951 and listed as a best-seller novel in
the 20th century. “Despite also receiving some very harsh criticism on grounds of
promoting immoral views, the book, ironically became the most taught book of the
20th century with its inclusion in the curriculum of high school literature. A best
seller for life, the book has sold over 120 million copies all over the world” (“J.D.
Salinger”).
As The Catcher in the Rye is a novel about the struggle of the protagonist in
coping with the situation he faces, I will analyse the portrayal of the protagonist.
Protagonist is “the leading character of a drama, novel or other literary work.” (Shaw
305). By analyzing the portrayal of the protagonist, I can understand better the
purpose of the author in writing the novel.
Statement of the Problem
The problems I am going to discuss are:
1. How is the protagonist portrayed in the story?
2. What is the author’s purpose of creating such a character?
Purpose of the Study
The purposes of the study are:
1. To show how the protagonist is portrayed in the story.
2. To show the author’s purpose of creating such a character.
Method of Research
I use library research in writing my thesis. First, I read J.D. Salinger’s The
Catcher in the Rye as a primary text. Then, I take some data from the Internet sites
2
Maranatha Christian University
and sources to support my analysis of portrayal of the protagonist in the novel. In the
end, I draw some conclusion.
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis is organized into three chapters, which are preceded by the Table
of Contents and the Abstract. Chapter One contains the Background of the Study, the
Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the
Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two contains the analysis of the portrayal of the
protagonist in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Chapter Three is the
Conclusion. The thesis ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which
consist of the summary of the novel and the biography of the author.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analysing the portrayal of the protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s The
Catcher in the Rye, I conclude that Holden Caulfield is portrayed as a teenager
who is idealistic, caring, unsophisticated, and impotent. He cannot understand
what is going on around him. He is scared of the complexity of the adult world.
Holden feels depressed to find people in his surroundings are not honest. This fact
makes Holden, who is an idealistic person, angry.
Besides being idealistic, Holden is a caring person. He cares about people
around him especially children. He feels worried that innocent children will fall
into the adult world which, in his opinion, is cruel and full of phonies. He cannot
accept the fact that children will grow up, become adults and fall into the adult
world.
In his novel Holden is also portrayed as unsophisticated. Lacking in
experience when facing things of the adult world, as a teenager, he becomes
confused and feels depressed. This is the reflected from his reaction to the
situation he faces.
16
Maranatha Christian University
Moreover, he is portrayed as impotent. He cannot change the undesirable
situation and he also does not have guts to change it. The only thing he can do is
imagining things. Because of living under pressure of the adult world and thus,
having a mental breakdown, Holden ends up in a sanatorium.
From the portrayal of Holden Caulfield, the reader can see clearly that
Holden Caulfield faces some difficulties in adapting himself to the new situation
he is in. He even cannot bear the pressure that finally causes him to feel depressed
so that he should get psychological treatment. Holden’s characteristics are closely
related to the purpose of the author in creating such a character. The purpose of
the author is to show that it is not always easy for the teenagers in 1950s to adapt
themselves to the new situation.
J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye is successful in
portraying Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the novel. In the novel, Holden is
portrayed in a realistic way and thus, appears lifelike, so there will be a bond
between the reader and the book (“J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye:
Connections to Literature“). This kind of portrayal gives the reader the sense of
reality that someone like Holden really exists in this new era; someone who
cannot adapt to the changes and who is depressed by them. Thus, I am of the
opinion that J.D. Salinger has portrayed Holden Caulfield to reflect teenagers who
faces difficulties in adapting themselves to the new situation, as a part of the
teenagers in the 1950s America.
After reading J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and analysing the
portrayal of the protagonist of the novel, I can learn several things. The portrayal
of Holden Caulfield has led me to the understanding that although the majority of
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the American teenagers in 1950s feel comfortable with the changes, there are still
teenagers who feel the opposite. Holden Caulfield is an extreme example; instead
of feeling the euphoria of the new era, he is depressed and mentally disturbed by
the changes. These different feelings are undoubtedly plausible to happen in any
changes in the society. However, I am also surprised to know that such a new
condition can give negative impact on the people who are involved in it.
From what Holden describes as his experience, it seems that his parents do
not play any role in assisting Holden to cope with the difficulties he faces. In my
opinion, parental guidance will be of some help for teenagers in entering and
facing the new world, that is the adult world. Therefore, the teenagers will have
someone to share with or to solve their problems.
In conclusion, J.D.Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, however, has
given me a clear picture of a teenager in coping with the new situation in 1950s
America. Thus, it is worth reading and analysing.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Text
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
1951. Print.
References
“Author Information: J.D. Salinger.” Internet Book List. Steven Jeffrey. n.d.
Web. 13 Apr. 2013.
“Caring.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.
“Decent.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.
“Impotent.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.
“J.D. Salinger”. The Biography Channel website. n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.
“J.D. Salinger Biography”. TheBestNotes.com. 11 May 2008. Web. 4 Apr 2014.
“J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye: Connections to Literature“. Teen Ink. n.d.
Web. 4 Apr 2014.
Shaw, Harry. “Protagonist.” Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: McGrawHill Book Company. 1972. Print.
“Teenager Popular Culture - United States 1950s”. n.d. Web. 27 Sep 2013.
“The Teenage Rebelion”. 1950s Teenagers. n.d. Web. 27 Sep 2013.
“Unsophisticated.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.
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