Abstract

Jerome David Salinger is one of the spokesmen of American writers after World War II. The Catcher in the Rye is his only long-length novel and also his masterpiece. With the publication of the novel, Salinger becomes extremely popular all over the world. As the protagonist of the novel, Holden has attracted the attention of scholars. Many scholars have analyzed Holden from different aspects. Holden is the only complete image of The Catcher in the Rye, his thinking and behavior patterns in particular environment manifest his main character. On puberty in his youth, Holden is quite cynical. He hates the adult world, because he can only find phonies in that world. And he cannot bear to get away from the innocent world of the children. Living in the cold world, Holden struggles to find love, but he fails to find it. So, finally he becomes a lonely teenager who gets lost in all places. He resists against the society with his behavior and tries to escape from the society, even he volunteers to be a lonely catcher. This paper will analyze the image of Holden from the perspective of his rebellion. We will discuss his rebellion from three aspects--- the reasons for Holden’s resistance, the ways of his rebellion, the significance and the results of his resistance. Understanding Holden and his rebellion can enlighten us on solving the problems of youth’s growth. And at the same time, it is also helpful for us to understand the spiritual crisis behind social material.

Keyword: J. D. Salinger; The Catcher in the Rye; Holden; rebellion; phony

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Background Information-1

1.2 Researches both at Home and Abroad-1

1.3 The Structure of the Paper-2

2. The Causes of Holden’s Rebellion-4

2.1 Holden’s Family-4

2.2 Holden’s School-5

2.3 The Phony Society-7

3. Holden as an Immature Rebel-9

3.1 Rebelling by Lying-9

3.2 Rebelling by Alienating Himself from the Phony World-10

3.3 Rebelling by Personalized Dress-up and Deviant Habits-11

4. The Results and Significance of Holden’s Rebellion-13

4.1 The Results-13

4.2 The Significance-14

5. Conclusion-15

References-16