Instruction
Point of view is vital to the uniqueness of this novel and the main characters voice. What sort of first impression do you get of Holden in the first chapter and later in the final chapter? How reliable is Holden as a narrator? Do you trust him? Is he honest with himself and us as readers? Is he seriously mentally ill or just a typical teenage boy acting as such? Are his feelings of depression, suicide, loneliness common among teenage boys especially at a time when mental illness was hidden and shameful? How would this story be different if it took place in present day with a heightened awareness of mental health and suicide? Would Holdens life and desperation to find someone to talk to, to accept him for him be different if he had Facebook?