Abstract：Jerome David Salinger (January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) is one of the most famous American writers in the mid-twentieth century. His work, The Catcher in the Rye, is regarded as one of his most important and classical works for its literary values. Although came out long before, the book still sells well in the market. Reading this book from the comparative point of view and analyzing the dream of Holden, we can explore the fact that Holden is destined for a tragic life because of his contradictory personalities and the disunity between his infeasible dream and the reality. Through such analysis, the author hopes that readers can make a better appreciation of the image of the lost generation in 1920s in the United States, and calls for attention to the developmental education of younger generation.

Key words: The Catcher in the Rye; tragic life; contradictory personalities; disunity

中文摘要：杰罗姆•大卫•塞林格（1919-2010）是二十世纪中期美国著名作家的杰出代表。其代表作《麦田里的守望者》在世界文学史上有着重要价值，成为人们喜爱的经典著作。这本书尽管出版了很久，但仍很受读者追捧。从比较的角度解读这本书，并分析霍尔顿的梦想，我们可以探讨出这样的事实：霍尔顿矛盾的个性和他不可行的梦想与现实之间的不统一，注定了他悲剧的人生。通过分析，作者希望读者对美国20世纪20年代“迷失的一代”的意象能有一个更好的理解，并呼吁人们重视对年轻一代的发展教育。

关键词：麦田里的守望者；悲剧人生；矛盾人格；冲突

　　　This paper figures out Holden’s contradictory personalities --- rebellious but timid, detested hypocrisy but being phony. In some degree, they help to reveal the fate of hero that he will suffer a miserable life if they cannot harmonize. At the same time, rather than be a lawyer that his family expects him to be, he would want to be a catcher in the rye, who stands on the edge of some crazy cliff and catches everyone if they start to go over the cliff. In other words, he will be able to help protect the childhood grace and resist falling headlong into the adulthood. However, the dream cannot work as a result of the pressure from the real society and the natural rule that growth-up cannot be stemmed. So the dream was dashed so that he could not reconcile his mental world, he final felt disappointed, despaired, or even insane, resulting in his tragic life. Thus, it embodies that the spiritual crisis, represented by Holden, of United States 50s’ teenagers, neither colluding with society, nor isolating with the society.