Practice Diction Analysis

J. D. Salinger's coarse and personal language in Catcher in the Rye creates an informal characterization of the narrator and his circumstances that is easy to relate to. The uncensored and colloquial words used in this excerpt are blunt and common in elevation. The narrator references David Copperfield by stating that his childhood was full of that "kind of crap," which underscores the idea that the narrator himself is part of the hoi polloi. The language most often has a negative connotation, including a phrase the describes certain characters as, "touchy as hell." The narrator's tone is resentful toward his own circumstances, of which he obviously has poor impressions. The language lacks any sort of mellifluous musicality, the sounds are dull and discordant. They too convey the narrator's "crumby" perspective on others' lives and successes.