Analysis of The Catcher in the Rye from the Perspective of Functional Stylistics

The Catcher in the Rye is the representative work of the American writer J.D. Salinger and his only full-length novel. With this novel, Salinger secured his place as one of the most prominent writers in 20th-century American literature. Over the years, researchers at home and abroad have primarily analyzed The Catcher in the Rye from a literary perspective, focusing on its thematic significance, character portrayal, and social value. However, studies from a linguistic perspective remain relatively scarce. As an interdisciplinary field combining linguistic and literary studies, functional stylistics emphasizes the exploration of linguistic forms and features in literary texts. Based on Halliday's theory of the three metafunctions of language, this paper analyzes The Catcher in the Rye at the lexical, syntactic, and discourse levels. By examining specific linguistic forms, it seeks to uncover the stylistic effects produced by these forms.