Anatomy Of The Narcissistic Complex Of Holden Caulfield In The Catcher In The Rye

Since its publication in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye has been regarded as areflection of the psychological transformation of the post-war generation,representing the major thought of the "counter-cultural trend." The book has so farexperienced several ups and downs.Traditional reviews have analyzed the hero Holden from various perspectives,literary, cultural, and psychological. These critical reviews, however, focus more onthe political effect the novel has aroused, whereas the coherence between the noveland the literary tradition is somewhat ignored. And with the development ofglobalization, a new approach called schizoanalysis under psychoanalysis andpolitical philosophy emerges. Besides, the counter-cultural trend also reappears withstrong influence, which attracts people's eyeballs again. Due to the above reasons,reanalyzing The Catcher in the Rye with the latest theories becomes necessary.First of all, this thesis intends to interpret Holden's narcissistic complex, which isbelieved to be the very reason causing his alienation from the society. Moreover, itwill further develop the relationship between the novel and Western cultural tradition.Both aspects are studied in terms of Deleuzian anti-Oedipus perspective, i.e.schizoanalysis. The whole thesis is divided into seven chapters. Chapters one and twoserve as the general introduction to both the work and the theory. Chapter three tochapter six present detailed analyses and explanations about Holden's narcissisticcomplex with a guiding principle—schizoanalysis. Chapter seven reconnects thework with Western cultural tradition and brings the thesis to a conclusion.