Dhruv

Review
Chapter 18 of this FANTASTIC book called ‘Catcher in the Rye”, tells the story of Holden trying to call Jane again, but gets no answer. He only has a few numbers in his address book, so he calls an old friend named Carl Luce, who now goes to Columbia. Carl agrees to meet him at ten o'clock. That gives Holden a lot of time to kill, so he goes to see a movie. He thinks about D.B.'s experiences during World War II. The chapter ends with Holden thinking that if there is another war, he will volunteer to sit on top of an atomic bomb.
Techniques
Imagery – When Holden recalls his movie experience he thinks about suicide and his selfishness, in thinking about war he thinks only of himself. It’s as if he’s so alienated the rest of the world doesn’t exist for him. His own perspective is a barrier between him assimilating into the society.
Narration – The whole chapter is in 1st person, making us learn only the character’s point of view. However, using 1st person can show some bias as we’ve seen in this chapter with Holden making comments on people and situations.
Allusion – Some of the allusions in this chapter is when Holden refers to The Great Gatsby and Ring Lardner. This not only helps us compare the situation but also shows that the character is educated as he’s making references to other texts.
Through these techniques we see that Holden alienates himself from society through his thinking and attitude towards other people. Also when he talks about suicide he means that by killing himself, it’s the only way out of this world which he can’t control or understand, as he can’t fit into one society and seems to be nomadic. Also with Holden wearing his red-hunting hat, it’s a sign of independence, separation, and protection from the world, he creates his own alienation for the same purpose. While his alienation protects him, it also severely harms him, making him intensely lonely and depressed. Therefore, he tries to meet with the other characters, in hope to show some sympathy.
Dhruv Kaushik