Abstract
As one of the most classic works since the Second World War, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger has had tremendous influence on American society since its publication, fascinating a large number of readers and scholars to study it. Its hero, Holden Caulfield, became an idol for American teenagers to follow and imitate. This book was introduced to Chinese readers after the Reforming and Opening-up and soon enough it aroused among Chinese readers a craze for Holden, which has lasted up to now. Yet in or abroad, critics and readers hold completely distinct attitude towards the book in terms of the characterization of Holden Caulfield. Does Holden represent the goodness, honesty and pureness of fighting against the world and chasing after dreams or the depravation of capitalism? How to categorize Holden Caulfield? These questions have been in the center of debates among scholars and critics studying Holden.
Based on the theory of characterization, this thesis mostly focuses on the self-contradiction of Holden Caulfield and its causes. And the research methods contain content analysis and references study. To start with, it briefly introduces the theory of characterization and the background information of the novel; then it analyzes Holden’s self-contradiction from six aspects and gives a detailed explanation of his self-contradiction as displayed in the content. After that, it explores and concludes the factors that have influence on the characterization of Holden Caulfield, which can be three aspects, the environment Holden grew up in, the overall social background and the author Salinger himself.
The finding of this thesis will complement the shortages of former researches. It can also provide some reference for readers and critics of the Catcher in the Rye to better understand the character of Holden Caulfield.
Key words: the Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, characterization, self-contradiction, causes ，英语论文，英语论文题目 |
