In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, the first person
             narration is critical in helping the reader to know and understand
             the main character, Holden Caulfield. Holden, in his narration,
             relates a flashback of a significant period of his life, three days
             and nights on his own in New York City. Through his narration,
             Holden discloses to the reader his innermost thoughts and feelings.
             He thus provides the reader not only with information of what
             occurred, but also how he felt about what happened.
             Holden's thoughts and ideas reveal many of his character
             traits. One late Saturday night, four days before the beginning of
             school vacation, Holden is alone, bored and restless, wondering
             what to do. He decides to leave Pencey, his school, at once and
             travels to New York by train. He decides that, once in New York,
             he will stay in a cheap motel until Wednesday, when he is to return
             home. His plan shows the reader how very impetuous he is and how
             he acts on a whim. He is unrealistic, thinking that he has a
             foolproof plan, even though the extent of his plans are to "take a
             room in a hotel.., and just take it easy till Wednesday."
             Holden's excessive thoughts on death are not typical of most
             adolescents. His near obsession with death might come from having
             experienced two deaths in his early life. He constantly dwells on
             Allie, his brother's, death. From Holden's thoughts, it is obvious
             that he loves and misses Allie. In order to hold on to his brother
             and to minimize the pain of his loss, Holden brings Allie's
             baseball mitt along with him where ever he goes. The mitt has
             additional meaning and significance for Holden because Allie had
             written poetry, which Holden reads, on the baseball mitt. Holden's
             preoccupation with death can be seen in his contemplation of a dead
             ...