Abstract

Jerome David Salinger (1919-2010) is one of the famous American “recluse writers”. His only novel The Catcher in the Rye is regarded as a “modern classic” in post-war American literature. The story told by sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfied, the protagonist and narrator of the novel, is focused on what Holden has experienced in his three –day odyssey in New York after he is expelled from Pencey Prep around Christmas for his bad grades. It shows us the state of mind of some middle-class young men. Facing the decadent and declining post-war American society, they suffer greatly from spiritual depression, feeling at loss as to what to do.
This thesis aims to analyze the reality and ideal of “the watcher” (Holden) in The Catcher in the Rye and then to explore the practical significance of keeping watching. It consists of five parts. Part one is the introduction. Part two provides background information about the novel and the author. Part three is an analysis of Holden’s spiritual world—Holden’s reality: 1. a rebel against the educational system; 2. a malcontent of western culture; 3. a protestor of the utilitarianism; 4.an escapee of the present world. Then it describes Holden’s dream—a watcher of the world of sincerity and explains the contradiction between his dream and reality. The last section of this part analyses the causes leading to Holden’s contradiction: 1. social background of post-war America; 2. the adult world (parents) giving up their vocation of keeping watch; 3. Holden’s undergoing adolescent’s crisis. Part four goes back to the current world, exploring the indispensible practical significance of “keeping watching” to adolescents, to our life and to the whole society. Part five concludes the paper.   

Key Words: The Catcher in the Rye; Holden; spiritual world; dream; contradiction; causes; watching; practical significance

摘  要

杰罗姆•大卫•塞林格是美国当代著名的“遁世”作家之一。他的唯一一部长篇小说《麦田里的守望者》在美国战后文学中被誉为“现代经典”。小说以主人公，16岁的霍尔顿•考尔菲德以自述的形式回忆了他圣诞节前被潘西中学开除后在纽约三天流浪式生活的经历，写出了某些中产阶级子弟面对战后美国社会的平庸鄙俗、腐朽丑恶，既苦闷彷徨，又无所适从的精神状态。
该论文旨在分析“守望者” 霍尔顿的现实与理想，并以此探索守望在当今世界的现实意义。主要包含五个部分。第一部分为介绍；第二部分是关于小说的和作者的背景知识；第三部分是论文的中心，可分为四个小节。第一节写霍尔顿的精神世界解析——霍尔顿的现实：1. 教育制度的叛逆者2. 西方文化的反抗者3. 实利主义的抗议者4. 现实世界的逃避者。第二节阐述霍尔顿的理想—纯真世界的守望者；第三节论述霍尔顿是一个理想和现实的矛盾体。最后一节分析造成霍尔顿这种矛盾的原因：1.二战后美国社会的大背景2. 成人世界（父母）放弃了自己的守望天职3. 霍尔顿所处的特殊年龄阶段——青春期少年。论文第四部分由小说回归现实，探讨守望对于青少年、对于人的一生、对于世界的不可或缺的现实意义。第五部分为总结。

关键词:《麦田里的守望者》；霍尔顿；精神世界；理想；矛盾；原因；守望；现实意义