COMPARISON ESSAY
CATCHER IN THE RYE & HIGH FIDLEITY
By Monica Urbina “The Catcher in the Rye” and “High Fidelity” feature protagonists facing uncertainty. Both Holden’s and Rob’s story is told through their own distressed minds, which often misrepresents the experiences. Their insecure and ‘hot-headed’ personalities lead each character to produce an unreliable first person point of view. Holden and Rob outline their unreliability through their identity issues, their chosen isolation from others and their social interactions/perception of a situation. First of all, Holden and Rob both did not have a strong sense of who they are. They struggled with identity issues several times throughout each novel. Their switch in character often deceived the reader, making analysing the situations and characters more complex. In “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden, in several cases, is on a search for his identity. He mimicked the personality of others, as well as acted out of character to impress those surrounding him. This was evident quite early in the novel when Holden was accompanied by an older woman on a train. When introducing himself, he says ““Rudolf Schmidt,” I told her. I didn’t feel like giving her my whole life history.” (Salinger pg. 54-55). His only justification for his identity change was that he “just felt like it”. Holden often ends his anecdotes with lines such as “I’m not kidding” or “I really do”. “I get bored sometimes when people tell me to act my age. Sometimes I act a lot older than I am – I really do – but people never notice it” (Salinger pg. 9). It was evident at this point that Holden tried to overcompensate to try to convince the reader for his lack of certainty. Rob also faced identity issues. The reader learns very quickly of the lack of ambition he places on in his life. “It's no wonder we're all such a mess, is it? We're like Tom Hanks in Big. Little boys and girls trapped in adult bodies and forced to get on with it” (Hornby pg. 578). As a middle aged man, he acted as though he did not care enough to change his life, yet glimpse of ambition were seen between the lines. This is seen when he makes a list of potential occupation upgrades. “It’s not even as though this list is my top five, either: there isn’t a number six or seven that I had to omit because of the limitations of the exercise” (Hornby pg. 667). Second of all, Holden and Rob both isolate themselves from others. Prolonged social isolation can be mentally detrimental. Both protagonists have not only chosen to isolate themselves, but have been faced with isolation for the majority of their lives. Holden confuses the reader due to his chosen isolation. In some cases, he states that he wants nothing to do with social interaction. This is seen when he stayed back during the Pencey Prep football game. “I remember around three o'clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill. […] You could see the whole field from there, and you could see the two teams bashing each other all over the place. […] You could hear them all yelling” (Salinger pg. 2). However on the other hand, Holden seems to want to be accompanied. "Well – take me to the Edmont then," I said. "Would you care to stop on the way and join me for a cocktail? On me, I'm loaded” (Salinger pg. 60). Holden is so desperate for someone to talk to that he tries inviting the cabbie out for a drink. Rob on the other hand, was not shy to outline how alone he was; “Is it so wrong, wanting to be at home with your record collection? […]There's a whole world in here.” (Hornby pg. 205). He often romanticised his isolation (“It's brilliant, being depressed; you can behave as badly as you like.”{Salinger pg. 205}), and did so to shield the reader of his true feelings. It isn’t until the end of the novel where the reader realizes he’s be craving accompaniment the whole time. Third of all, both Holden’s and Rob’s perception of a situation may alter the true occurrence. As explained through their eyes, a social interaction may have resulted differently than what the reader is told. This is seen numerous times in The Catcher in the Rye. Throughout the story Holden is both emotionally and psychologically ambivalent. An example of this would be when he is talking to Mr. Antolini. He says, “I don’t hate too many guys. What I may do, I may hate them for a little while, like this guy Stradlater… but it doesn’t last too long” (Salinger pg. 187). The reader must unravel clues to notices the differences between Holden’s perception and reality. His interactions with others also help to reveal Holden’s unreliability. For example, after getting into rant with his date, Sally Hayes, Holden is unaware that he had begun shouting. “‘Don’t shout, please,’ old Sally said. Which was very funny, because I wasn’t even shouting” (Salinger pg. 130). The reader likewise has to closely read the context to unravel Rob’s narration. It’s through his interaction with other characters and his environment that Rob’s unreliability becomes visible. In the novel, Rob’s girlfriend, Laura, moves out of their house after breaking up with him. When taking to Laura’s best friend, he realizes that Laura missed him. “She’s had a pretty rough few weeks already, without this,” says Liz, and I feel a little surge of something like pride: That’s was me. I made her feel like that” (Salinger pg. 560-561). His inappropriate and dark internal comment shocks the reader, and in turn, they begin to question him. Rob also withholds information from the reader. The reader isn’t exposed to his actions until a phone call from Laura’s new partner, Ian. He asks Rob if he can stop phoning Laura ten times a day. Rob is unable to comprehend his harassing actions, and in fact becomes enraged by this request. Rob threatens Ian saying; “One day soon you’ll look back on one visit to the house and ten phone calls a night as a golden age” (Salinger pg. 418). Holden and Rob both pose as unreliable narrators. Their identity issues, isolation and social interactions display their unreliability. As a result, “The Catcher in the Rye” and “High Fidelity features protagonists producing an undependable first person point of view.
BOOKS CITED:

Salinger, J.D. The Cather In The Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Print
Hornby, Nick. High Fidelity. New York: Riverhead Books, 1995. Print