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'The Catcher in the Rye' appeared in a sober and realistic time, a period when there was a general disenchantment with ideologies, with schemes for the salvation of the world. It inevitably stands out as Salinger's only novel to date. As a 'neo-picaresque', tire book shows itself to be concerned far less with the education or initiation of an adolescent than with a dramatic exposure of the manner in which mendacity assumes in our urban culture. The moving, even stabbing qualities of the novel derive, to some extent, from Salinger's refusal to adopt a satirical stance. The novel belongs to an ancient and honourable tradition, perhaps tire most profound in western fiction- the tradition of quest It seems fascinated with the outcast, tire person who defies tradition in order to arrive at some pristine knowledge, some personal integrity. The work confirms the saving grace of vulnerability, its protest debunking and indictments presupposes a willing response on the part of its hero.
The work of Salinger proves it self to be seriously engaged by a current and traditional aspect of reality in America It is tire new look of tire American Dream, dramatized by the encounter between a vision of innocence and tire reality of guilt. Salinger deals with the basic question: Whether human life itself has any value and how the concept of self has changed considerably in the contemporary world. The Catcher in the Rye discusses the protagonist Holden face to face with tire predicament the cause of which lies in himself, his soul and his psyche. He undertakes a journey to death and rebirth soon follows. The self he discovers is a human self and an involved one.
Salinger's novel, like tire decade for which it has become emblematic, begins with the words, "If you really want to hear about it", words tirât imply a full, sickening realization that something has happened that perhaps most readers would not want to know about. In tire novel, we find out what has happened to Salinger's hero narrator, Holden Caulfield and we also find out what has happened generally to human ideas on some simple and ultimate questions in the years following the war. Is it still possible to reconcile self and society? Is it...