What techniques does the author use to engage the reader of The Catcher in the Rye?

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the author uses a lot of humor to make the novel engaging for the reader. By using humor, the reader is entertained and will want to keep reading and eventually finish The Catcher in the Rye. The humor in The Catcher in the Rye comes from Holden's point of view and how he describes the things around him. For instance, Holden's unique sense of humor comes out when he is describing his handsome roommate Stradlater. Holden calls him a "secret slob", and goes on to talk about how Stradlater always looks good, but has poor hygiene (Salinger 35). I thought that this was pretty amusing, and made me want to like Holden as a narrator. Another time the author used humor through Holden, is when Holden says to the reader, "I already told you what a sexy bastard Stradlater was." (Salinger 45). I find this just to be a funny phrase to use, and Holden's humor saves him from being a depressing main character.

In addition to using humor to keep the reader engaged in The Catcher in the Rye, the author also uses mystery. The mystery in this book is caused by Holden never saying outright what happened to him after the events in the novel. At the end of the novel he only says, "I could probably tell you what I did after I went home, and how I got sick and all, and what school I'm supposed to go to next fall, after I get out of here, but I don't feel like it. I really don't."(Salinger 276). This makes the reader what Holden is sick with. It leads the reader to think that he had a mental breakdown of some sort, but we cannot be sure. It also begs the question to where Holden is when he is telling the story. I suspect he is being examined at some mental health facility, but Holden never quite comes out and says it.

Bibliography:Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.