The Catcher in the Rye #3

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

"But I couldn't take a chance on giving her a buzz, because she was only a little kid ad she wouldn't have been up, let alone anywhere near the phone" (Salinger,  66-7).

The effects of first person take a prevalence as Holden enters and becomes apart of the city. Holden seems to be commonly leaving out details of his past such as his sister Phoebe and his brother Allie. Holden does not mention details until he is provoked by something. The glove for Allie and loneliness and confusion for Phoebe. Apart from leaving out details, the first person perspective from Holden's point of view can make issues seem dramatic to Holden. There is no accountability for Holden and what he says and does as there is not one familiar with him around. He countlessly uses the words hate, love, and kill loosely. This also lessens is accountability as a narrator as the words are immature and dramatic for situations that would probably be ordinary for someone else. He says "that killed me" (Salinger, 74) many times throughout for situations that clearly did not kill him or he would not be here to tell the story. Also, knowing from the beginning that Holden is writing this after the fact means that details could have been added or left out but there is again no one to hold Holden accountable for the details of his adventure.  Lastly, the dramatic instances of Holden blaming everyone else for his actions shows that Holden is wanting to convince the reader that he is not at fault for what he does. This also leads to distorted stories where the truth is blurry in the text.