Catcher in the Rye- Question 7

The question I will be answering is “What techniques does the author use to engage the audience and make the story effective?” from the book Catcher in the Rye. For a story to be interesting an author must find unique ways to make the reader want to keep reading the story. There are many techniques that J.D. Salinger uses were suspense, mystery, and the truth of human nature. In the book Holden owes a man five dollars and he doesn’t want to pay it to him. He then begins to get threatened by the man and he begins to punch him in the stomach. Holden is scared and feels as if he is dying. This gives the reader a sense of suspense because you want to just keep reading to see what happens but are a bit scared on how it will turn out. (Salinger, J.D. , pg. 102-104) Will he actually die? Well obviously he does not seeming’s as there is still half the book left, but that technique made the reader even question it. The second technique was mystery. The story was told in first person and because of this you were shut out on what everyone else was thinking and sometimes doing. This leaves a mysterious factor on what really might be going through the family, the teachers, or even the man, Maurice, who beats him up minds. This leaves me as the reader a chance to fill in my own blanks, which is yet another great tactic the author uses. The last technique the author used was just the raw truth of human nature. The raw truth makes any person interested and become invested in a book because even though we hate to hear it sometimes, we all want the truth. This keeps many people wanting to read even more and more of the book. Having used these techniques, gave the author and the book the recognition it got. Many authors have a problem with keeping a book current and interesting but J.D. Salinger did it perfectly.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.