Catcher inthe rye lit analysis on holdens reliability
...for the whole novel questionable because no one trusts a liar. These above examples show that Holden is an undependable narrator. Another ingredient in this awful recipe is the ability to forget past occurrences. Holden displays himself in a way that infers he has the ability to not be trusted as the master of tales. After Stradlater gets back from his date with Jane, Holden says, “Some things are hard to remember. … I swear I can’t remember,” (40). This statement further explains how Holden is a deceitful chronicler in the novel. He is actually saying that he can’t remember past happenings, so he should not be trusted. If a narrator cannot remember a story he is telling, then he should definitely not be retelling the story to others. He may remember parts of a situation, but if he fills in the missing parts with fictitious details, then the whole story is to be considered worthless and unacceptable. This is another reason why Holden is an objectionable narrator. An additional instance of his unstableness is when Holden is with Sally Hayes. He, once again, displays the disposition of an unstable narrator. “Don’t shout, please,” old Sally said. Which was funny, because I wasn’t even shouting,” (130). He can’t remember shouting at Sally, which shows how he is not to be trusted. A person does not just go tell someone to stop yelling at him or her for no reason. Obviously, Holden was yelling at her and he can’t remember it. This is an additional reason why he is an unreliable character. An extra reason why Holden is unreliable happens when Holden enters the taxi. Holden, upon entering the taxi for the first time in the book, gives the reader further reason to believe that he is an untrustworthy narrator. “ I’m so damn absent minded … ,”(60). This quote illustrates why Holden cannot be a capable narrator. He directly says that he is absent minded. If he says he is absent minded, then that leads one to believe that he is incapable of telling the truth over a period of five days of his life, which the story covers. The quality of being absent minded travels hand in hand with forgetfulness. If Holden is absent-minded, which he out right says, then he is also forgetful, which causes him to forget parts of the story. The story is what Holden is reiterating to the reader. If Holden cannot tell the story correctly then it shouldn’t be considered valid, which makes him an unreliable character. This is another reason why he is an unreliable narrator through his words. A further example of his forgetfulness occurred when he was with the fencing team at Pencey Prep. He forgot the team’s equipment for the meet. “ I left all the foils and equipment and stuff on the goddamn subway,” (3). This just shows he is not only forgetful with mental instances, but also physical objects he cannot remember. If he cannot remember physical objects, then he cannot remember how to retell his story correctly. This makes him a compromising narrator for telling the story. A third ingredient that is required for the recipe is an intellectual problem. Holden is unreliable because he has a problem with his intellect. While he carries a conversation with Luce in a bar, Holden says, “ You mean go to a psychoanalyst and all? That’s what he told me I ought to do. His father was a psychoanalyst and all,” (148). This quote displays the value of intellect Holden possesses. His intelligence is obviously in question. When a person, especially a friend, suggested to Holden that he see a psychoanalyst, it infers that he has a d...