Tone

The tone of the novel The Catcher in the Rye is set by the main character, Holden Caulfield's, outlook on life and on other people. Holden views the world with ugly eyes, seeing bitterness, cynicism, and disgust. Because of this, the novel carries these tones as well, but delivered by the author in a colloquial style that is a little easier to understand and relate to. Along with the slightly unappealing tones of the novel, there is also a nostalgic longing that Holden experiences and often speaks of and thinks about.

Holden seems to have always struggled to live normally, so in some aspects he has given that up all together. Instead of trying mesh with society like many people do, Holden instead becomes a critic, judging people and finding all the errors he can. In a way, this is a reassurance to Holden. He already tends to think as adults as bad and fake people, so his warped perception and judging of people is just more support to his beliefs. The novel is also cynical, just like Holden. "Cynic" is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "a person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in selfless acts". Holden firmly believes that adults have ulterior motives and that their phoniness is the worst possible quality in the world. However, Holden somehow fails to realize that not everyone has an ulterior motive, and that not every adult is fake.

Because of his inability to interact with others (namely adults), Holden has become bitter. This is one of the reasons he despises the idea of adulthood so much, and why he looks down on so many people when he himself is flawed. On some level, Holden knows that he is extremely different than other people, and not necessarily in a good way. He may not want to acknowledge this, but it is always going to be there, and is always going to be true.