In Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger portrays the life of a young man by the name of Holden Caulfield who is telling the story of his life after being expelled from Pencey Prep School to a psychiatrist. The story tells about Holden's life for about the past two days after he was expelled from school and the numerous trials he has been through including getting into numerous fights with people whom he both knows and doesn't know. In the novel Salinger uses violence to develop Holden's personality and character in the novel
             Holden gets in a fight in almost the beginning of the novel when he and his roommate have an argument over Jane Gallagher, a girl that they both know. Holden is very fond of Jane and he becomes very upset at the single thought of his roommate Stradlater taking her out on a date because he knows of Stradlater's reputation. He begins to ask Stradlater questions about the date and with every answer Stradlater gives him his anger increases. This side of Holden helps the novel advance because it shows of Holden's nature and whom he really cares about, because as the novel progresses we come to realize that Holden likes very few people, on of them being Jane. The fight
             between Holden and Stradlater makes us realize that Holden has a hard time expressing feelings of love towards people. He never openly admits to loving anyone but his
             younger sister Phoebe. The reader however knows that Holden does have tender feelings for Jane though he would never admit it. His fight with Stradlater is one way in which we come to realize that Holden does care about other people though he rarely shows it. With this single incident Holden showed us that he did have a caring side to him. This may have been a surprise to many readers because Holden had spent the hold novel trying to show us that he didn't really care for anyone.
             In the novel Salinger uses violence very effectively because it gives the...