Ellie Patterson

RWW9, Class 1
Ms. Bartz
March 2, 2016

Endings are the Best Part

How an author chooses to end chapters has consistently affected the readers
understanding and emotions towards a book. Some authors choose to end chapters on a
cliffhanger, creating suspense that propels the reader further into the book. However, in The
Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger ends every chapter with a lesson or some form of closure. By
doing this, he gives a sense of completion to the reader; he does this to characterize Holden.
The ending of each chapter helps characterize Holden and gives us a fulfilling feeling.
Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, the chapters end with one of Holdens thoughts, giving us a
closer look into his mind. For example, after spending a while speaking about his brother Allie,
he snaps back into reality and puts his focus on what is right in front of him, Ackley. Hes
snoring. After stating all of Ackleys faults, Holden says, You had to feel a little sorry for the
crazy sonuvabitch(39). This is the first time he says anything about Ackley that isnt negative.
Until this point, all he has done is point out his flaws, most of which he has no control over. This
is the first time the reader sees that Holden has feelings. Eventually, Holden ends up in a bar
alone, and sees an old acquaintance with her date. They sat to chat some, but then Holden says he
has to go because he has somewhere to be. He doesnt, Holden just isnt interested in staying
around. He proceeds to claim that people are always ruining things for you when in fact it was
he that created the situation(87). Holden didnt have to say that he had a date, but he did anyway.
He couldve moved tables, but he didnt. Holden creates the problems for himself then blames

them on other people. This is most likely due to not only his inability to connect with other
people, but his unwillingness to. Without these little snippets at the end of the chapters, we
would not receive a further look into Holdens thoughts that help us understand him.
Salingers way of ending chapters in The Catcher in the Rye is his way of helping to
characterize Holden. His goal is not to leave the reader wanting to read more, but rather to
understand Holdens actions more thoroughly. Had Salinger left out Holdens end thoughts, the
readers connection to Holden would have been diminished. Through the ending of each
paragraph, Salinger gives us more insight into the mind of Holden and adds a sense of
satisfaction. Through this, we can learn to realize the authors purpose in writing how they do.
Sometimes the purpose is to leave us wanting more, while other times the goal is to characterize.
As readers, we must learn to recognize the purpose of every word and use it to understand the
story.