How does Salinger present the character of Holden in the opening pages of the text? Essay

Salinger uses a variety of linguistic and literary techniques to produce a realistic voice for the protagonist, H gray-haireden Caulfield, and to give the referee an idea of how this is achieved and presents the major c at a timerns and thoughts of the character and the novel through with(predicate) these techniques.Salinger attempts to create the voice of a contemporary stripling through writing in the vernacular of this think voice the use of crude, colloquial lexis that Holden uses resembles this through his repetitive and continuous use of phony through discover the novel, for workout what a phony slob he is. The use of colloquial language, coupled with the protagonists conditional direct aim to the reviewer If you really want to know, is utilise by Salinger as an allusion to Holden being somewhat disinclined to telling us nearly himself and his past which leans the reader towards thinking that Holden is not well and that there whitethorn be something in his past whic h has ca apply Holden to be the way he is.The conditional also suggests that Holden views his life as boring and uninteresting, ergo the intensifier really and the conditional if are utilize by Salinger to convey Holdens minor reluctance. In addition, the direct address also creates an immediate tenor with the audience which is engaging for the reader. Moreover, the reader learns that the protagonist is a social pariah the whole school was there except me an outcast that actively rebels against society and life and this is the reason the character adopts a studied boredom approach to questions.Furthermore, Salinger reinforces Holdens unornamented dismissive attitude towards his own life through the use of the literary reference David Copperfield kind of draw. This conveys the impression that the protagonist does not think his life is worth telling when, further on, it becomes apparent that Holden does real want to tell the reader about the madman stuff that has happened to him. The reader learns that Holden is uncertain about his succeeding(a) and, indeed, his life in general through the vague expression when I go home coterminous month maybe. This makes the reader wonder if Holden is well mentally and physically, which would explain the madman stuff.The reader becomes sure that Holden as a character has a very limited ability to express himself, and often relies on single phrases to convey his thoughts and feelings where he is unable to with words. An example of this would be Holdens use of the adjective old in old Selma Thurner which he uses to convey friendly affection feelings towards the character. The protagonist also uses hyperbole to convey his emotions and thoughts, too, though generally in a much more sarcastic manner as illustrated by vatical to commit suicide if old Pencey didnt win. As noted above, the reader learns that Holden uses the adjective old in a usually affectionate way, but in this instance he is using it sardonically to conv ey a negative opinion toward his school. When the reader reads on, they learn that not only is Holden iconoclastically rejecting the education establishment but he is also rejecting the ideology of capitalist economy which he views as the master(prenominal) source of the phony population.From this, the reader realises that not only is Holden a countercultural figure but also a cynic towards the capitalism ideology his society is based on. In addition, the protagonists repetitive use of blasphemy is apply to express his thoughts on a topic, for example cost him damn near four thousand bucks though the reader realises he does not mean the blasphemy seemingly, Holden does not notice it it is simply part of his idiolect and is used by the protagonist in an effort to connect with the reader, creating an informal tenor between Holden and the audience.The use of contractions is used by Salinger to create an informal tenor between the protagonist and the reader and are shown to be coar se in Holdens idiolect, and indeed the teenage sociolect that Salinger was writing in throughout the novel. This use of contractions, along with the prohibited language used throughout the novel, is used to reinforce this image of Holden being a countercultural, rebellious teenager that controversially rejects capitalism and the education system through his countercultural behaviour.Furthermore, the reader becomes aware of Holdens seemingly forced relationship with his family, particularly his seemingly implied coldness towards his brother, D.B. who is a writer. The italics and hes my brother and all is used by Salinger to convey the mixed feelings of the protagonist to the reader. The italics is used by Salinger to reflect the sarcastic, verbal intonation of Holden and implies that Holden once liked and possibly admired his brother, but now he views him as being a pervert a sell-out, in Holdens eyes.This reveals to the reader that Holden does not approve of phony actions like s elling out your talent just to be successful. In addition, the audience also becomes aware that Holdens strained relationships annex not only to the general public but to his own mother and father, too my parents would have about two haemorrhages apiece illustrates to the audience that Holden has little avenue for expressing his emotions which causes the reader to wonder what the cause of Holdens invagination is, later revealed to be the death of his younger brother who he was close to, Allie.In addition, the reader becomes aware of the protagonists opinions and thoughts on certain topics and their views on people in particular through the constant digression of the main character Holden uses digression in place of actively expressing himself and it is present throughout the entire novel. Through this digression, the reader gains a valuable insight into Holdens mind, especially when family and women are concerned shes a elegant nice girl reveals to the readers that Holden, in sp ite of being a teenager, is not interested in sex with girls despite his later claims to be a maniac, which illustrates an insecurity in Holden towards sex.