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Motifs in Catcher in the Rye

By J. D. Salinger

Motif Defines

• a recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature

• A motif is important because it allows one to see main points and themes that the author is trying to express, in order that one might be able to interpret the work more accurately

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Motifs (reoccurring theme) Loneliness

Relationships, Intimacy, and Sexuality

Lying and Deception

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Loneliness Holden’s loneliness, a more concrete manifestation of his

alienation problem Most of the novel describes his almost obsessive quest for

companionship as he moves from one meaningless encounter to another.

While his behaviour indicates his loneliness, Holden consistently shies away from understanding his mind and thus doesn’t really know why he keeps behaving as he does

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Relationships, Intimacy, and Sexuality

Both physical and emotional relationships offer Holden opportunity to break out of his isolated shell. They also represent what he fears most about the adult world: complexity, unpredictability, and potential for conflict and change.

Although he encounters opportunities for both physical and emotional intimacy, he always fails by wrapping himself in a psychological protection of critical remarks and bitterness

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Lying and Deception Lying and deception are the most obvious and hurtful

elements of the larger category of phoniness. Holden’s definition of phoniness relies mostly on a kind of self-deception: he seems to reserve the most scorn for people who think that they are something they are not or who refuse to acknowledge their own weaknesses. But lying to others is also a kind of phoniness. Of course, Holden himself is guilty of both these crimes. His random and repeated lying highlights his own self-deception

He refuses to acknowledge his own shortcoming and is unwilling to consider how his behaviour and actions affects those around him