Saturday, December 10, 2011

What is the point of view in the novel and how does it affect the book and why?

In The Catcher in the Rye, the
point-of-view is first person flashback told in "sweet style" teenage vernacular
arranged in an episodic structure to show a humorous and rebellious tone.  The narration
also adds psychological depth of an alienated narrator caught in an unjust society.  The
last two points below (K. & L.) are key.


Here are
the nuts and bolts from my lecture notes:


I.
Narration


A.
Bildungsroman: novel of maturation


B. Coming-of-Age
(apprenticeship novel)


C. Bookend structure: framed in
California; story proper is Penn., NYC


D. Holden’s voice is
implicitly male voice


E. American
voice


F. Folksy voice


G.
Youthful, teenage voice with adult voice behind it


1.
conversational style


2. simple
language


3. colloquial
(slang)


4. lots of
repetition


5. cussing


6. many
digressions


H. Holden is unreliable
narrator


I. Confession (“If you really want to hear about
it…)


1. to a
psychiatrist/psychologist?


2. to a priest,
monk?


3. to Allie?


4. to
Phoebe?


J. Narrating from a “rest
home”


1. psychiatrist’s
office?


2. mental facility?


3.
D.B.’s pad?


K. Only rants and complains (no
morals)


L. Holden is marginalized (exists on the fringes of
society)

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