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The Narrative Voice: “The Catcher in the Rye.”
“The Catcher in the Rye” is a novel that illustrates how potent the use of first person narrative can be as a story-telling device. ... The authenticity of the voice puts the reader both inside the and outside the action as an observer. ...
In the case of Holden Caulfield, a privileged 16-year-old child of the early 50’s, the story is told in a narrative voice that recounts a series of events that lead to what might be described as a breakdown. ...
In the first chapter of “The Catcher in the Rye,” the reader is informed by Holden that he won’t “tell you my goddamn autobiography or anything. ... ”
The authenticity of the 16-year-old voice makes the reader ask questions. ... In this sequence, the voice is ‘reliable’ in the sense that we have no reason to doubt what Holden may be telling us with the exception that the professor may not actually yell all the time. ... This is one of his reasons for not liking the school but it is in this scene with ‘old Spenser’ that reveals the content of Holden’s paper where we go from the unreliable voice depicting a school of phonies to a reliable voice that recounts this telling detail about Holden’s schoolwork. ... They, along with the narrative voice, work together to illustrate Holden’s state of mind. ...
It is in the narrative voice appearing in the third chapter that we see just what a ‘terrific liar’ Holden can be. ... So here it is through the unreliable voice that we begin to see early in the book just how desperate he is becoming. ...
The narrative voice reveals that he is aware of his desperation. ...
While this chapter of lies unfolds, the unreliable voice reveals quite a few things about Holden’s character that have only been alluded to in previous chapters. ... ”
It is the hand to the mouth and “and all” that makes the unreliable voice reliable. ...
As the plot moves forward, the reliable and unreliable voice continue working in tandem. ... ”
It is the cabdriver who thinks that Holden is speaking in an unreliable voice only this time he is sincere. ...
As the reader gets to know the character better through the narrative voice, the reliable and unreliable voices merge. ... By the end of “The Catcher in the Rye,” Holden is reaching out to his sister.
Approximate Word count = 2506
Approximate Pages = 10
(250 words per page double spaced)
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