The Most Terrific Liar Unreliable Narration in The Catcher in the Rye

This paper explores the often-trod notion that J.D. Salinger’s Holden Caulfield is an unreliable narrator. However, it challenges the received notion that unreliable narrators are used to express views that are counter to those of the implied author. Rather, Caulfield’s unreliable world view is reflective of and integral to a narrative detailing the character’s grief, coming of age and the confusion arising from both.