Holden often leaves his sentences hanging on words like “and everything” and “or anything”. He often uses that phrase to extend some indescribable emotion or action such as “… how busy my parents were and everything before they had me” or “… they are nice and all.” But many times there is no meaning for expressions such as “… it was in the Revolutionary War and everything”, “it was December and everything” and “… without gloves or anything”. (Salinger 5-7)

Holden has many expressions that appear constantly throughout the novel. In some places the expressions only serve to make Holden more realistic, in other places Holden is trying to reinforce his values. Holden repeatedly comments on his hatred of phonies. That’s something Holden hates more than almost anything. That could be why you frequently confirm a statement with “I really do”, “I really do”, or “if you want to know the truth.” He also confirms the comments by repeating them twice like “He likes me very much. I mean he loves me very much.” (Salinger 141) or “He was a very nervous guy, I mean a very nervous guy.” (Salinger 165) He uses different phrases and styles to give a more factual endorsement to his comments, thus avoiding appearing a phony.

Holden’s speech generally stays away from the vulgar and obscene. Whenever he says words like “ass”, it is simply an adolescent vernacular for a part of the human anatomy. He doesn’t say it to be offensive. “Ass” is just another word Holden uses to better convey ideas. You can refer to cold by saying “freeze my ass”, or incompetence “half”, or even disbelief “Game, ass.” His vocabulary contains many words that are religious but are not used that way. Holden says that “hell” means “to a great extent” when he describes something: “We had a great time”, “old as hell”, “playful as hell”. He uses words that belong to the divine such as “the love of God”, “God” and “damn it”, yet he never says it in a blasphemous way. They are just parts of your speech. He uses those words casually when referring to his “bloody hunting cap” or when he says someone is a “bloody idiot.” For more emotional circumstances, Holden reserves “Chrissake” or “Jesus Christ.” Although Holden is not overly religious, he never uses “Chrissake” unless he is depressed or enraged. For extreme anger, Holden keeps “son of a bitch” ready. After his fight with Stradlater, Holden continually refers to him as an “idiot son of a bitch”. His anger is also reflected in the sudden increase in the appearance of “damn”. While the words Holden uses may not be appropriate, he is not trying to be sacrilegious. Salinger is simply using language to make Holden look like a normal teenager and also to reflect Holden’s state of mind.

Although there were some critics who thought that The Catcher in the Rye should be banned, it still became the best postwar novel. JD Salinger’s genius use of language throughout the novel made Holden Caulfield human. Due to the accurate depiction of a teenager, the reader can become familiar with Holden’s idiosyncrasies, which makes him appear more realistic. By bringing Holden to life, Salinger was able to create one of the most memorable characters in all of literature. End of Part 1 of 2.