Blog #37: The Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger uses one clear technique in The Catcher in the Rye to keep the reader engaged. I believe that the technique that he uses is the bond that the reader has with Holden. I think that by having Holden personally tell the story from his own point of view keeps the readers hooked. Because Holden tells the reader about every emotion that he has, I feel like I developed a connection with Holden. Holden was just that teenage boy that has all of the problems in the world. Holden was not a very formal narrator because he always used curse words and slang. The author purposefully made spelling errors to exaggerate the slang and dialect of which Holden spoke. I liked the fact that the narrator was the main character because I could actually believe everything that he said about himself. I was engaged in reading this book because Holden was telling a very interesting story. I'm not sure if I would have remembered the book the same way if I had not sat down and read the entire book in one sitting. And yes, that is the truth I spent a whole day laying on the couch reading The Catcher in the Rye. I thought that it was the best of the summer reading novels because I felt like J.D. Salinger did a good job along with Holden Caulfield of keeping the readers engaged in the story. I think that they even got me to the point that I was kind of feeling the emotions that Holden was describing. When Holden was watching his sister, Phoebe, on the carousel, I felt the joy that Holden was feeling as he sat there and watched her in the rain. I think that the readers were also engaged in the story because there was so much detail. I think that the detail that Holden was sitting in the rain watching his sister made it much more apparent that Holden was truly happy for his little sister and he did not care about himself getting wet as he sat there under the protection of his hunting hat (Salinger 275).

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Back Bay, 2001. Print.