Levels of Literature

For my blog on the "five levels of reading", I have chosen to use J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. Since the novel contains literal, emotional, moral, symbolic, and hyperbolic meanings, it seems like the appropriate choice for this assignment. Also, it's an amazing novel.

The first meaning of the novel, the literal meaning, is that it centres around a young man named Holden Caulfield, and his frequent struggles and problems with society. Throughout the novel, the reader witnesses a disheveled Holden, who leaves his prestigious school to live in New York City. After troublesome experiences and one unsavory encounter after another, Holden realizes what it is that he is actually looking for in his life. Therefore, the literal meaning of Catcher in the Rye is that it is a novel about Holden Caulfield and his soul-searching adventures in New York City.

The emotional level stems from the reader having to choose sides in the novel. The person either becomes emotionally drawn to the character of Holden, as they are able to understand or relate to the problems that he describes, or they see Holden as an extremely pessimistic specimen, and they will be utterly annoyed by his lectures on the human race. As people will either become emotionally attached to the character of Holden, or they will be emotionally disturbed by him, this can be seen as the emotional level of Catcher in the Rye.

A moral level of Catcher in the Rye can be taken from the ending of the novel. After going through all of his experiences, Holden Caulfield warns the reader at the end of the novel that "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.". By Holden stating a direct lesson and supporting it with his personal account, Holden enforces a moral that he wishes his readers to learn.

A symbolic level that can be extrapalated from Catcher in the Rye is Holden Caulfield. Many well-known critics, authors and casual readers have symbolized Holden as a figure of teenage angst. His actions and thoughts reflect typical teenage views and their feelings of "not belonging" in the world. Many teenagers think in a similar fashion (although maybe not as extreme) while growing up, as the pressures of the adult reality finally start to hit them, and thus, Holden can be seen as a reflection of the teenage generations and a symbolic representation of them.

A hyperbolic level that could be extracted out of Catcher in the Rye are the people that Holden encounters during his time in New York City. All of the people he encounters are described to be displaying common themes that occur in every day society. From the girls at the bar's extreme fascination with the "rich and famous" (star-gazing, celebrity gossip, celebrity worship), to the way that characters act at the bar in New York, all of these portrayals are satire of the way that the majority of the human race acts in those situations. Thus, a hyperbolic level can be gained by examining the actions and manners of the people that Holden encounters.