Salinger takes a rather unique approach in his stylistic choices. The fascinating thing about his style is that it sounds just like a sixteen year old is speaking to the reader. Salinger was an adult when he wrote this. He was very successful in this execution of style, however, and it helps the reader connect with Holden because he sounds just like a teenager. A teenager reading the book is able to connect with Holden through the first person point of view and Holden's blunt teenage statements because they understand exactly what he is saying. It's like another language; teenage language. Holden always goes back and forth and is very definite in his answers and believes everything he says is true. The contrasting viewpoints and fill in the blank sentence structure further help the reader make connections with Holden through their communicated language.
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"People are always ruining things for you." (Salinger 98)
Throughout the novel Salinger's style is displayed through his generalizations about people. He describes people as always or never doing things to create a negative tone. Through his generalizations, Holden is depicted as a sarcastic, cynical teenager. On top of his broad generalizations of the public, Salinger uses a lot of hyperboles to demonstrate Holden's youth. By exaggerating his points, Holden is able to sound more like a teenager. Along with the generalizations and hyperboles, Salinger uses a small vocabulary when Holden is having a conversation to also demonstrate his youth. Holden constantly repeats words like "boy", "old", and "phony" to show the reader Salinger's critical commentary on growing up. By using "phony" Salinger is displaying his cynical opinion on adulthood and contrasts between being a "boy" and being "old".
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Griffin Sullivan: Salinger's Style | |
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