The Catcher in the Rye

      J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye includes quite a bit of characterization of the main character, Holden. Another prevalent quality of Holden is that he is not extremely confident. He is always calling himself a moron or other names. When talking about how brilliant his siblings are, he says, "I'm the only really dumb one" (67). However, he may have a point. He was kicked out of multiple schools. Although, I feel he really could be smart, he just doesn't apply himself. Also, his careless attitude probably relates back to his psychological issues. The book seems to be set in a psych ward, so we will likely find out why he is there and why he is so strange. The author does a good job of making the reader forget that the whole story is a flashback, and that eventually we will find out what is happening currently with Holden.