What literary devices are used in Catcher in the Rye?

What literary devices are used in Catcher in the Rye?

Salinger uses many literary devices throughout this novel. Three of them include: symbolism, irony, and motifs. Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. A symbol used in The Catcher in the Rye is Holden’s red hunting hat.

Is The Catcher in the Rye illegal?

Between 1961 and 1982, The Catcher in the Rye was the most censored book in high schools and libraries in the United States. The book was briefly banned in the Issaquah, Washington, high schools in 1978 when three members of the School Board alleged the book was part of an “overall communist plot.”

Why is Catcher in the Rye offensive?

Offensive Language One of the main reasons people have banned The Catcher in The Rye is because it contains foul language. The protagonist, a sixteen-year-old boy named Holden swears throughout the book, which makes parents feel like he’s a bad role model for their teens who are reading the novel in school.

What is the metaphor in The Catcher in the Rye?

Holden’s secret goal is to be “the catcher in the rye.” In this metaphor, he envisions a field of rye standing by a dangerous cliff. Children play in the field with joy and abandon. If they should come too close to the edge of the cliff, however, Holden is there to catch them.

What is the irony in The Catcher in the Rye?

The irony of The Catcher in the Rye is that Holden subconsciously longs to be accepted yet feels he cannot make the connection. Yet he does by making Salinger the unwilling, erstwhile guru to a generation of displaced teenagers who made Holden an icon of their angst.

What are some symbols in The Catcher in the Rye?

Symbols

• The “Catcher in the Rye”
• Holden’s Red Hunting Hat.
• The Museum of Natural History.
• The Ducks in the Central Park Lagoon.

Who was killed because of Catcher in the Rye?

Mark David Chapman

What does the ending of Catcher in the Rye mean?

Holden indicates as much when in Chapter 26 he claims, “I sort of miss everybody I told about.” If it is true that Holden has grown less bitter by the end of the book and that he’s learned the value of other people, then he may grow past his current depressive slump and go on to have a more successful career at his new …

Is Holden in a mental hospital?

Holden (despite the confusion of the Harcourt Brace executive) is not crazy; he tells his story from a sanatorium (where he has gone because of a fear that he has t.b.), not a mental hospital.

How did Holden lose his innocence?

In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden loses his innocence at the age of thirteen, when his brother, Allie, dies of leukemia. This strips away his sense that the world is safe or fair.

What are the major themes of Catcher in the Rye?

Here’s a list of major themes in Catcher in the Rye.

• Self-alienating for the purpose of self-protection.
• Growing pains and loss of innocence.
• Adulthood is “Phony”
• Inability to take action.
• Maintaining appearances and performing happiness.

What are the main themes of Catcher in the Rye?

Themes

• Alienation as a Form of Self-Protection. Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded from and victimized by the world around him.
• The Painfulness of Growing Up.
• The Phoniness of the Adult World.
• Religion.
• Inaction.
• Appearances.
• Performance.

Why does Holden personify Sun in the catcher in the Rye?

The personification also is a very prominent method of figurative language used in the novel. Aside from adding flavor to the text, personification in The Catcher in the Rye serves two purposes. Firstly, it shows that Holden’s way of thinking is still somewhat childish, because he personifies sun and even bathrobe exactly in the way kids do.

Why did J D Salinger use figurative language in the catcher in the Rye?

J.D. Salinger uses a great deal of figurative language in ”The Catcher in the Rye” to explain the thoughts of Holden Caulfield as he teeters on the edge of sanity.

How is alliteration used in the catcher in the Rye?

Alliteration is rarely used for some other purposes than beautifying the language of the novel. In The Catcher in the Rye the language is very smooth and easy and pleasant to read, mostly due to the alliterations.

How does Holden Caulfield use personification in the story?

Lesson Summary. This lesson discusses the use of personification in the novel. During the story, Holden’s use of personification in referencing old Spencer’s ‘sad, ratty bathrobe’ indicates Holden’s judgment of his favorite teacher. His description of the sun near his brother’s grave site speaks of the defiance that Holden is exhibiting.