Need for Control in Catcher in the RyeWith his work, The Catcher in the Rye JD Salinger has created a very unique piece of literature. The entire novel was written from the first-person point of view of Holden Caulfield, a 17-year-old boy. The majority of the story is made up of Holden's rudimentary monologue of "complex and simple" thoughts, with the rest using his relay of previous dialogues. This, coupled with the use of unique punctuation, digressive explanations, and complex characterization, transforms the simple plot into a complex literary classic. The novel's dialogue and monologue manage to relay the feeling of natural language such as "I mean, you'd be different in some way - I can't explain what I mean." The contractions "you would" and "can't", since they are common in everyday language, establish a very common and simple tone. The emphasis on the first syllable of “different” reinforces the tone by demonstrating how typically they speak. It uses hyphens for pauses and signaling associative digressions. Instead of signaling pauses, commas are only used when mechanically necessary. "So all of a sudden I ran across the street like crazy - I almost got killed doing that, if you want to know the truth - and I went to this stationery store and I bought a notepad and a pencil." ***QUOTE THIS???***Holden Caulfield creates a thought-provoking point of view. On the surface, many of his thought patterns seem unrelated and off topic. Its association of subject with digression is used almost constantly throughout the novel. However, realizing that these digressions are very relevant and even crucial to the subject, he allows the reader to gain real insight into the character. His statements...... middle of paper ...... The fact that he is the only "big" person expresses his desire to be in control. Playing in a rye field next to a crazy cliff would represent being close to falling while being oblivious to the danger. His only wish is to be able to prevent this, to be in control. Then, after establishing his wishes, he deems this impossible by expressing thoughts of madness. He's decided he can't have control, but that's all he wants. In a world with no alternatives to his painful lifestyle, what can Holden do but blindly play the game in the rye field, right next to his cliff of sanity. "But life is a game, boy. Life is a game to be played by the rules."Bibliography 3rd edition Psychology (Bernstein-Stewart, Roy, Srull and Wickens) Houghton Mifflin Company Boston, Massachusetts 1994NOTES*** YOU MUST CITE ALL QUOTES FROM THE NOVEL***