Look From The Narrative Style Of "the Catcher In The Rye Growth Topic

The Catcher in the Rye, which is the only novel by the contemporary American writer J· D· Salinger, earned the writer himself a fame. For a long time, the researchers both at home and abroad investigate the theme in the novel from all aspects, particularly the theme of growth embodied in the novel, which at the same time makes the novel a representative work among the contemporary masterpieces. In the literary world, the discussion on the novel of initiation has been hold for a long period of time. The initiation novel focuses on a certain group of people, the adolescence, as well as takes the most important growth period in the course of life as its content, thus presenting a common and similar growth experience of humans artistically and concentratedly. The catcher in the rye, with simple plots and personalized language, has been warmly popularized the moment it came out, mainly due to the description of the exquisite hero, Holden Caulfield, who is full of rebellion, discourtesy, and misbehavior superficially while internally disturbed by loneliness and longing for the pure love. Based on the previous research, this thesis tries to analyze the theme of growth inherited and innovated from tradition in order to reflect the theme of growth influenced by the background of the society. In addition, this thesis also discusses the growth theme revealed in the personalized language from the narrative perspective. In the novel, Salinger not only portrays the rebellious actions of the characters with vulgar language, but also describes a kind of obscure atmosphere with humorous and ridiculous language, which boasts as the most delicate technique of the whole novel and depicts the two opposite extremes of the hero both internally and externally, representing the main contradictions in growth theme and the struggles in the inner world. Finally, this thesis aims at investigating the growth aspects hidden in the novel from the psychological level of growth experience. The hero, a man who speaks to himself in the dream and fantasy a lot, is on the way to schizophrenia on the surface, however, in fact it reveals the growth period in human beings’life, which is unavoidable at any time. For three days and two nights’journey, the depressed hero’s experiences and inner feelings embodies the confusion and lost in the growth of the adolescence as well as reflects the hypocrisy and darkness in the social development, revealing the pretence and unstableness existing in the adult world. As for the profound interpretation of the growth theme to the novel, it acts as a vital enlightenment to modern human beings.