Holden Caulfield as
the Unreliable
Narrator
Analysis
Analysis
In the article written by Duane Edwards,
Holden Caulfield is discussed as being an unreliable
narrator. Holden is the main character in J.D.
Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye. In the novel
Holden’s character is confused and depressed.
Edwards starts off his article stating Holden’s largest
problem, which is himself. Throughout this article,
the author reveals Holden’s pitfalls and hazards
which the reader may or may not have discovered
for themselves. This analysis will discuss and enforce
certain topics which Duane Edwards covered in his
article.
Unreliable Narrator
In many pieces of literature, the unreliable
narrator can be seen. In most novels, unreliable
narrators are used to give different perspectives. In
The Catcher in the Rye however, Caulfield as the
unreliable narrator shows how the outside world
can be severely warped by changing what seems to
be reality. Edwards stated, “he’s too busy repressing
the truth” and that Caulfield “cannot name one
‘thing’ he likes”.
Distortions
A key element of The Catcher in the Rye is
the distortions in Holden Caulfield’s mind.
Throughout the majority of the novel, Caulfield is
constantly changing and ignoring the truth. This
technique was utilized by Salinger to give readers
the ability to analyze what descriptions are most
important in Caulfield’s narration. Duane Edwards
compared this technique to one of a psychoanalyst’s
analysis of a dream. Edwards indicated that this
technique helps readers find Caulfield’s greatest
fault; the distortion of his thoughts. This technique
can be seen when Holden changes the lyrics of
Robert Burns’ poem “Comin’ Through the Rye” to
“Catcher in the Rye”.
Displacement
Irony is not only associated with the distortions
of Holden’s mind, but also what Edwards liked to call his
“Displacement” as well. In literature, displacement is
known as the sense of feeling culturally, physically or
socially out of place. In Holden’s case, his thoughts were
out of place compared to what most people would think.
Edwards stated “He focuses on danger and potential
death instead of love and a personal relationship”.
Whenever some emotion may be struck on Holden, his
thoughts juxtapose what any normal person would feel.
This characteristic can be seen any time Holden meets
somebody new. For example, when Caulfield sees an old
acquaintance named Lillian Simmons, she greets him
kindly and Holden just thinks of her as “Strictly a
phony”(Salinger 86). Edwards concluded that this
displacement of Caulfield’s thoughts show readers how
he is an unreliable narrator.
Ambivalence
One of Caulfield’s most prominent characteristics
would be his ambivalence. Ambivalence is the
coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings. Throughout
the story Caulfield is always emotionally and
psychologically ambivalent. Specifically when making
judgments of people, Holden always has more than one
opinion of their true image. A perfect example of this
would be when Caulfield is talking to Mr. Antolini inside
his house. Caulfield says, “I don’t hate too many guys. I
may hate them for a little while, like this guy Stradlater…
but it doesn’t last too long”(Salinger 187). When
Caulfield gets in a fight with someone he knows, he hates
them with a passion, then after a few weeks, Holden will
have totally different feelings for them. Holden’s
ambivalence is another element of his character that
shows how ironic he really is.
Analysis
All of these faults in Caulfield’s character not only
deem him as an unreliable narrator, but as a very
psychologically disturbed person. The reader may have
trouble reading parts of Caulfield’s narration, but Salinger
purposefully wrote it that way. Caulfield’s life was
troubled too. Much of his pain originated after his
brother Allie’s death. When Holden misunderstood
Robert Burns’ poem “Comin Thro' The Rye” as “Catcher
in the Rye” there was a great deal of significance
concerning that. Holden wanted to save children from
falling off of a cliff- this was an analogy directed towards
himself. Similarly to the falling children, Holden’s life was
slipping away. Whether it was school grades, being
expelled or the lacking of friends, Holden needed
someone there to catch him if he started to fall- but no
one was there to support him.
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By Nicholas Diggle, Brynn Haley, Alexia HawkeyNoble, Sarah Sehl and Mariah Robichaud.