Being Holden's Friend
A focus of our class discussions about the Catcher in the Rye has been Salinger’s unique style of including the reader in Holden Caulfield’s inner circle. I’ve read very few books that communicate with the reader so frequently, in a manner that makes the protagonist and reader distinct, like-minded people. Most books that make reference to “you,” the reader, are in second person narration; not portraying the protagonist and reader as acquaintances, but the same person, to make the story more emotionally fixating for the reader. Holden’s way of casually including the audience in his narration helps us to feel like his friends, like we are close to him in a way no other character in the book could be — except perhaps for Allie, Jane, and Phoebe. Given the way that Holden sees most people in the book as at least two-dimensional, if not entirely phony, his presumed intimacy with the reader makes us feel like we are special to him, and makes for a more engaging read. If the main character o