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The Catcher in the Rye

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The Catcher in the Rye
“Characters and how they interrelate is the main focus of the novel.”
To what extent do you agree with this view?

To a significant extent I agree with the viewpoint that in “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger “characters and how they interrelate is the main focus of the novel”. This relates with the fact that the protagonist of the story, Holden Caulfield’s perceptions of life and of society and the main themes and motifs are all derived off of and presented through character interrelation. If this is not the case and this expressed viewpoint in not intended as the sole focus of the novel then it may well be one of them. Reasons that influence the significance of the viewpoint are apparent in the way Holden interacts with many characters over the short space of the novel, the fact that the plot of the novel is not ‘action packed’ and nothing extremely coherent happens, exempting interrelations with various characters, and because the narrative style is in first person and so therefore the focal point of character associations is magnified.

I agree to some extent that this the main focus of the novel simply because Holden relates with a lot of characters over the text and they all bring about alternative ideas, postulations and perceptions we can analyse. When Holden meets someone new we can distinguish recurring different themes in the novel, primarily those of alienation, the desire to stay immutable and the ‘phoniness’ of the adult world, by the way he reacts. The character interrelations bring together the main points of the novel. This is highlighted through collaborations which characters such as Mr. Spencer, Holden’s history teacher whom is the first individual we are physically introduced to. When Holden goes to visit Spencer he is soon feeling alienated and uncomfortable around him. Spencer is the first representative of the ‘stolid’ adult that Holden repudiates and we are only aware of his rebellion through his internal dialogue to himself,

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