In Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, the voice of Holden Caulfield is, at times, hilarious. Because Holden's narration, which is sometimes described as an internal monologue, reads almost like a journal, the words seem to come out of Holden's brain and onto the page without a filter or any editing. Salinger's style is inspired by the narrative technique known as stream-of-consciousness—where anything and everything goes onto the page and out to the reader as if we were reading the thoughts overflowing from the character's brain. This way of writing creates a raw honesty that comes across in a refreshing and unconstrained way. That being said, there are a number of three-word one-liners that Holden uses throughout the story that help to depict how he would probably talk when surrounded by friends. Since Holden is sixteen, he would say certain phrases with his friends that he probably wouldn't use when speaking with adults or writing an academic paper. These phrases also help to show Holden's personality, which is sometimes funny and sometimes depressed and intense. The following is a list of a few phrases that he repeats throughout the story:
1. "For God's sake!" (83).
2. "Swear to God!" (84).
3. "I'm not kidding" (85).
4. "I really did" (90).
5. "That killed me" (17, 55) or "It killed me" (106).
6. "Full of phonies" (13).
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