Creating realistic characters in Catcher In the Rye

Creating living characters is one of the greatest challenges for novelists, often due to the extraordinary situations the characters themselves are placed in. However, Salinger is able to accomplish this feat in his novel Catcher in the Rye by giving the characters flaws, thus making them more human. The characters are also very human, in that they have reasonable reactions that we can understand. Salinger creates the characters with the intent that we can relate to them, allowing us to do just that and at the same time making them seem even more real and understandable to us. This also makes Salinger’s main character, Holden, seem a bit unreal, as most readers are unable to relate to some of the dire circumstances he is placed in, but through this, the other characters seem even more real. In all of this, we can truly relate to his characters, thereby making them more realistic.
In every novel that seeks to create living characters, the characters have their flaws and traits. As ...