Analysis of Portrayal of The Protagonist in J.D.Salinger's 'The Catcher in The Rye'.

(1)

i

ABSTRACT

Dalam Tugas Akhir ini saya menganalisis elemen penokohan dari buku

The Catcher in the Rye yang ditulis oleh J.D. Salinger. Novel ini berlatar belakang

tahun 1950an, pada saat Amerika menghadapi perubahan pada gaya hidup remaja

Amerika yang sedang bertumbuh menjadi dewasa. Mereka diberi kebebasan untuk

memasuki dunia orang dewasa. Holden Caulfield adalah remaja berumur 17

tahun yang mengalami kesulitan dalam beradaptasi dengan situasi baru tersebut.

Ia digambarkan sebagai remaja yang bersikap adil dan jujur sesuai standar

(idealistic), perhatian terhadap sesama (caring), namun kurang berpengalaman

(unsophisticated) dan tidak berdaya untuk mengubah situasi (impotent). Melalui

penggambaran tokoh utama seperti ini dapat terlihat bahwa Holden tidak

menyukai dunia orang dewasa yang penuh dengan kepura-puraan, ketidakjujuran

dan keanehan. Ia pun sangat memperhatikan kepolosan anak-anak remaja supaya

dunia orang dewasa tidak merusaknya. Namun, ia tidak cukup berpengalaman

dalam menghadapi situasi baru dalam dunia orang dewasa sehingga ia pun tidak

dapat mengatasi apa yang terjadi. Ia bahkan mengalami gangguan mental

karenanya. Melalui penokohan Holden Caulfied, J.D. Salinger ingin menunjukkan

bahwa tidaklah selalu mudah bagi remaja Amerika untuk beradaptasi dengan

(3)

20

APPENDICES

Summary of The Catcher in the Rye

The story is about a seventeen-year-old boy named Holden Caufield. He

studies in Pencey Prep school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. Later he drops out

from Pencey Prep School because he fails almost all the subjects, except English.

Actually, he does not like being surrounded by phonies.

Holden is supposed to return home to Manhattan. Before returning home,

he visits his history teacher, Mr. Spencer to say good bye. After a long

conversation with Mr. Spencer, he goes back to his dorm and unfortunately he has

a fight with his roommate, Stradlater. Later, instead of going home, he decides to

stay in a hotel. He feels bored so he goes to the Lavender room, a bar downstairs.

He orders alcoholic drinks but the waiter realizes his being a minor and refuses to

take the order, so he ends up ordering coke. After dancing and having some

conversation with women, he goes back to his room to take his coat and calls a

cab to go to Earnie’s night club in Greenwich Village.

In Earnie’s, everyone can order alcoholic drinks, even a minor. After

having alcoholic drinks, he goes back to the hotel. In the hotel’s elevator, the

elevator’s guy offers to send a girl to his room and he agrees. A girl comes to

Holden’s room and she is ready to do her job. Suddenly he is not in the mood and

(4)

21

Maranatha Christian University comes to Holden’s room and says that he only pays half of the agreement, and

Holden gets hit by Maurice.

On the next day he decides to call his former girlfriend, Sally Hayes to

meet up with him. After spending his day with Sally, Holden goes to see Phoebe,

his little sister. He spends the rest of the day with Phoebe. He ends up getting sick

and gets treatment from a psychoanalyst.

Biography of J.D. Salinger

Jerome David Salinger, also known as J.D. Salinger, was an American

writer. He was born in New York City on 1st January 1919. His mother, Marie

Jillich, was of Scotch Irish decent and his father, Sol Salinger, was Jewish. He has

an elder sister named Doris. He attended a public school on the upper side in

Manhattan. He graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne,

Pennsylvania in 1936.

While at the Valley Forge Military Academy Salinger began writing short

stories under the blanket by using flashlight. He started his freshman year at New

York University but dropped out on the following spring. After that he attended

Ursinus College and again he dropped out after one semester. Salinger attends

writing course taught by Whit Burnett at Columbia University and his writing was

first published in the magazine- April 1940 issue. In 1942, Salinger was drafted in

the U.S. army and discharge from the army in 1946. He returned to New York and

continued writing short stories.

Salinger’s only novel is The Catcher in the Rye (1951), of which the

(5)

22

Maranatha Christian University of high school and college students. Salinger’s other works are in the form of

short stories. Some of them are Nine Stories (1953), Franny and Zooey (1961),

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963),

Fifty Great Short Stories (1952), Short Story Masterpieces (1954), and “Perfect

Day for Banana Fish” (1948).

At the age of 36, Salinger married Claire Douglas and had two children

Margaret and Matthew. Unfortunately Salinger and Claire got divorced in 1966.

After that, at the age of 53 he had a relationship with Joyce Maynard. Finally his

last wife was Colleen O’Neil. He died at the age of 91 on 27th January 2010

because of natural causes.

Source: “J.D. Salinger”, “Author Information: J.D. Salinger”, “J.D. Salinger

(6)

1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of Study

In the 1950s there was a dramatic change in the way American grew up

and also in the activities that they were involved in. During that time teenagers

saw responsibilities shrink and free time increase (“Teenager Popular Culture –

United States 1950s”). The word teenager is used as a title of a new and upcoming

age group of men and women that are not longer considered as a kid but not yet

adult. These teenagers also had found a new purpose of life, and that was to enjoy

their life and to be themselves. During the 50s teenagers were able to go out with

friends, buy more clothes, and buy more new music because they had less

responsibility and more support from their parents (“The Teenage Rebellion”). It

seems that the 1950s was a decade that gave teenagers happy time and happy

feelings.

J.D Salinger is a Jewish-American writer in the mid-20th century. He

becomes famous through his only novel The Catcher in the Rye, the novel that I

have chosen to analyse in this thesis. In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger talks

(7)

2

Maranatha Christian University a teenager who is confused and depressed by the changes, which brings him to a

sanatorium. The novel itself was published in 1951 and listed as a best-seller novel in

the 20th century. “Despite also receiving some very harsh criticism on grounds of

promoting immoral views, the book, ironically became the most taught book of the

20th century with its inclusion in the curriculum of high school literature. A best

seller for life, the book has sold over 120 million copies all over the world” (“J.D.

Salinger”).

As The Catcher in the Rye is a novel about the struggle of the protagonist in

coping with the situation he faces, I will analyse the portrayal of the protagonist.

Protagonist is “the leading character of a drama, novel or other literary work.” (Shaw

305). By analyzing the portrayal of the protagonist, I can understand better the

purpose of the author in writing the novel.

Statement of the Problem

The problems I am going to discuss are:

1. How is the protagonist portrayed in the story?

2. What is the author’s purpose of creating such a character?

Purpose of the Study

The purposes of the study are:

1. To show how the protagonist is portrayed in the story.

2. To show the author’s purpose of creating such a character.

Method of Research

I use library research in writing my thesis. First, I read J.D. Salinger’s The

(8)

3

Maranatha Christian University and sources to support my analysis of portrayal of the protagonist in the novel. In the

end, I draw some conclusion.

Organization of the Thesis

This thesis is organized into three chapters, which are preceded by the Table

of Contents and the Abstract. Chapter One contains the Background of the Study, the

Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research and the

Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two contains the analysis of the portrayal of the

protagonist in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Chapter Three is the

Conclusion. The thesis ends with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which

(9)

16

CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

After analysing the portrayal of the protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s The

Catcher in the Rye, I conclude that Holden Caulfield is portrayed as a teenager

who is idealistic, caring, unsophisticated, and impotent. He cannot understand

what is going on around him. He is scared of the complexity of the adult world.

Holden feels depressed to find people in his surroundings are not honest. This fact

makes Holden, who is an idealistic person, angry.

Besides being idealistic, Holden is a caring person. He cares about people

around him especially children. He feels worried that innocent children will fall

into the adult world which, in his opinion, is cruel and full of phonies. He cannot

accept the fact that children will grow up, become adults and fall into the adult

world.

In his novel Holden is also portrayed as unsophisticated. Lacking in

experience when facing things of the adult world, as a teenager, he becomes

confused and feels depressed. This is the reflected from his reaction to the

(10)

17

Maranatha Christian University Moreover, he is portrayed as impotent. He cannot change the undesirable

situation and he also does not have guts to change it. The only thing he can do is

imagining things. Because of living under pressure of the adult world and thus,

having a mental breakdown, Holden ends up in a sanatorium.

From the portrayal of Holden Caulfield, the reader can see clearly that

Holden Caulfield faces some difficulties in adapting himself to the new situation

he is in. He even cannot bear the pressure that finally causes him to feel depressed

so that he should get psychological treatment. Holden’s characteristics are closely

related to the purpose of the author in creating such a character. The purpose of

the author is to show that it is not always easy for the teenagers in 1950s to adapt

themselves to the new situation.

J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye is successful in portraying Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the novel. In the novel, Holden is

portrayed in a realistic way and thus, appears lifelike, so there will be a bond

between the reader and the book (“J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye:

Connections to Literature“). This kind of portrayal gives the reader the sense of

reality that someone like Holden really exists in this new era; someone who

cannot adapt to the changes and who is depressed by them. Thus, I am of the

opinion that J.D. Salinger has portrayed Holden Caulfield to reflect teenagers who

faces difficulties in adapting themselves to the new situation, as a part of the

teenagers in the 1950s America.

After reading J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and analysing the

portrayal of the protagonist of the novel, I can learn several things. The portrayal

(11)

18

Maranatha Christian University the American teenagers in 1950s feel comfortable with the changes, there are still

teenagers who feel the opposite. Holden Caulfield is an extreme example; instead

of feeling the euphoria of the new era, he is depressed and mentally disturbed by

the changes. These different feelings are undoubtedly plausible to happen in any

changes in the society. However, I am also surprised to know that such a new

condition can give negative impact on the people who are involved in it.

From what Holden describes as his experience, it seems that his parents do

not play any role in assisting Holden to cope with the difficulties he faces. In my

opinion, parental guidance will be of some help for teenagers in entering and

facing the new world, that is the adult world. Therefore, the teenagers will have

someone to share with or to solve their problems.

In conclusion, J.D.Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, however, has

given me a clear picture of a teenager in coping with the new situation in 1950s

(12)

19

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Text

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

1951. Print.

References

“Author Information: J.D. Salinger.” Internet Book List. Steven Jeffrey. n.d.

Web. 13 Apr. 2013.

“Caring.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Decent.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“Impotent.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 8th ed. 2010. Print.

“J.D. Salinger”. The Biography Channel website. n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.

“J.D. Salinger Biography”. TheBestNotes.com. 11 May 2008. Web. 4 Apr 2014.

“J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye: Connections to Literature“. Teen Ink. n.d.

Web. 4 Apr 2014.

Shaw, Harry. “Protagonist.” Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York:

McGraw-Hill Book Company. 1972. Print.

“Teenager Popular Culture - United States 1950s”. n.d. Web. 27 Sep 2013.

“The Teenage Rebelion”. 1950s Teenagers. n.d. Web. 27 Sep 2013.