EVOLUTION OF
THE MODERN NOVEL
GROUP 3: Cody, Cassie, Caed & Allie | TLIT 458 | SPR 19
An image of Holden Caulfield, protagonist and narrator of The Catcher in the Rye. Holden is surrounded by various images and symbols that represent him, and the novel itself.
This is an image of the hat Holden is believed to wear throughout the story. Above is the story of Holden catching children in a field of rye. The color red is meant to symbolize innocence and strength, and is mentioned various times throughout the novel itself.
This is an important image and scene described in the novel. Towards the end of the story, after Holden notifies his sister that he is leaving, he is aware of her following him and leads her to a carousel. She quickly hops on the ride, and can be seen smiling and laughing. Holden is brought to tears, and walks away. This is a moment in the story where Holden has some sort of awakening from his fantasy, and starts to recognize reality.
1900 - TODAY: THE CATCHER IN THE RYE
The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger, published in 1951.
​
The story itself is set around the 1950’s (Post WWII) and is narrated by Holden Caulfield. A troubled teenage boy who has been kicked out of yet again, another school, and is making his way back home to Manhattan, New York. While home, Holden finds himself in sticky situations, some from his past, and goes along a journey in understanding himself.
​
This is a novel that captures what the Modern Novel truly entails. In discussion of character analysis and similarities amongst characters throughout novels, Holden relates to Don Quixote. Similar to Don Quixote, Holden holds some sort of belief that he is the untouchable. There is a fine line between fantasy and reality -- Holden finds himself walking along that line constantly throughout the story. Similar to Don Quixote, Holden is on a trial and error quest of finding himself. While he feels he is living his life, and doing no wrong, the rest of the world views Holden as a disaster -- he is simply a young boy with no guidance. This is how society viewed Don Quixote -- simply as the village nuisance, unsure of his position in life.
​
In reference to similarities of the author, J.D. Salinger, to authors in the past, along with writing techniques, there is evidence of Salinger continuing methodologies of modernism throughout his piece. Salinger tells the story of Holden by using writing methodologies such as having a high self-awareness of both the protagonist and the narrator, and also uses style techniques such as engagement in generalization of language, which signifies a sense of unsureness. These are important aspects that have been seen in various writings when it comes to defining or explaining the evolution of the Modern Novel. As seen in Miguel de Cervantes novel, Don Quixote, although both are drastically different stories, Salinger incorporates, or seems to incorporate, similar modern writings methodologies of Don Quixote. What has constantly been admired about Don Quixote is the awareness of the narrator telling the story, as well as the psychological inner-self as well as self-identification Don Quixote possesses. These are things that may be seen after further reading and evaluation of Salinger’s novel. Another comparison between these two novels are the technique of keeping things generalized, which allows interpretation. This is another modern technique found in both pieces, in which it allows readers to become one with the story, and to keep the audience interpreting the story in various ways as each chapter moves along.