Interpretation of Holden’s Mental Transformation from Transitivity Perspective

【Abstract】： The Catcher in the Rye reflects the spiritual crisis of the time in America and explores the inner world of American teenagers. And the publication of An Inquiry into the Language of William Golding’s The Inheritor proved that Functional Linguistics can be employed to study the literary narratives. On the basis of transitivity theory， the study attempts to find the transitive patterns in several chapters and track down the protagonist’s mental transformation. The research employs a new perspective to study the novel and gives objective assessment of the novel and records the track of language features， mapping out the spiritual journey the protagonist has undergone.

【Key Words】： transitivity； mental transformation； reconciliation

1.1Research Background

The Catcher in the Rye led to a storm of deep reflection as well as criticism. Many critics sang high praise for the novel， such as Chicago Tribune reviewer. He made a comment that the story was “emotional without being sentimental， dramatic without being melodramatic and honest without simply being obscene.” And in China， it is believed that there are few people who can depict the inner world of teenagers better than Salinger （Chang Yaoxin 2008）. However， it is believed that the book should be banned because the language is so vulgar and obscene that it easily causes susceptible teenagers to go astray. However， its significance cannot be discounted， so the novel is analyzed with diversified theories to explore its significance from the perspectives of literature criticism. These critics focus on analysis of protagonist’s characters， symbolic meanings of certain scenes or objects in the novel or historic study about the novel from the vantage point of narrator， culture and American history and etc. （for instance， John Seelye 2008； Michael Cowa 2008）. Few studies have been done to study language features or to account for Holden’s spiritual journey from the aspect of linguistics. By contrast， the present study reveals how Holden’s mental states have changed over time.

Hallidayan linguistics—Functional Grammar （FG） is one of the most important worldwide recognized linguistic theories in the late 20th century. The useful tool to analyze texts provides a brand new way to give an objective assessment of materials. A model example can be found in the thesis written by M. A. K. Halliday， entitled Linguistic Function and Literary Style： An Inquiry into the Language of William Golding’s The Inheritors which is widely recognized as a pioneering investigation of FG application to literature narratives.

1.2Research Methodology

Transitivity system is adopted to analyze the thesis with the purpose to discover the connection between the transitivity features and protagonist’s mental changes. The quantitive method is used to calculate the numbers of representative process types， participants and circumstance and its portion. There are six process types that have been identified and each type is “characterized by process-participant configurations where the functions are particular to that type （M. A. K. Halliday Christian Matthiessen 2004：230）”. ① Material process represents what we experience as going on in the world around us， that is， our outer experiences. It is characterized by the dynamic verbs， Actor （usually the Subject） and Goal （usually the Object）.② Mental process represents what we experience as going on in the world of our consciousness， which involves two participants： the Sensor and the Phenomenon.③ Relational Process is a process of being， which distinguishes it into two categories： Attributive and Identifying. It acts as connection relating one fragment of experience to another. Besides， further categories have been “l(fā)ocated at the three boundaries， not so clearly set apart， but nevertheless recognizable in the grammar as intermediate between the different pairs （M.A.K. Halliday Christian Matthiessen 2004：271）”④ Behavioral Process represents the outer manifestations of inner workings， the acting out of processes of consciousness. It is on the borderline between Material and Mental process.⑤ Verbal Process is symbolic relationships constructed in human consciousness and enacted in the form of language， like saying and meaning. ⑥ Existential process is phenomena of all kinds that are simply recognized to be or to happen. It is on the borderline between Relational and Material process.The analysis of the novel is conducted on several selected chapters， that is， Chapter 1， Chapter 23 and Chapter 25.

1.3 Mental Transformation from Transitivity Features

Stage One： Alienation and Isolation

The initial chapter of Hold’s flashback to his family and school life is marked by his alienation and isolation. By employing the terminology of transitivity to analyze the first Chapter， it can be said that Holden acts as Participant in only 4 processes out of 30 （13.3%）， a minor proportion compared to that of “school”. Obviously， the processes where Holden acts as Participant include the passive verbs leave and hang around to highlight his situation of being kicked out of the boarding school by force and of being left aimless.

When it comes to Mental process with Holden as the Sensor， its dominating proportion of the whole clauses （8 out of 30， 26.7%） reflects his sensitivity to the outer world， which is quite different from the paucity of clauses in Material process. He perceives the external world by his sensory organs （eyes， ears， etc.） and immerses himself in his feelings， which can be explained by his own spiritual experience of becoming an adult from a teenager.

Furthermore， it is worthwhile to examine the phenomenon of Holden’s mental activities. At this stage， what Holden sees and hears is immediate scenes， such as the game. The scope of Holden’s perception is restricted to the objects around him as showed in the first chapter.

Stage Two： Psychological Progression

Quiet different from the clauses in the first chapter， Holden， in Chapter 23， acts as Participant in 14 processes out of the total 34 （41.1%）， an overwhelming proportion in contrast to the small number of clauses in Chapter 1. Among these clauses， 16 verbs out of 19 are transitive in nature； Holden’s actions and mental activities are orientated towards specific persons （e.g. “I put my arm around her， too”） and concrete objects （e.g. “I finished buttoning my coat”） instead of being targetless. By this means it means that Holden gradually steps out of his lonely world and begins to relate himself to other people and to other objects surrounding him. The point is further illustrated in the Mental processes involved. Compared to Chapter 1， cognitive activities such as thought， figured， wished account for a larger proportion in the whole Mental processes than perception and affection activities. This indicates that Holden is capable of thinking， more than feeling， seeing or hearing.

The Phenomena in this chapter also imply that the protagonist’s horizon has been broadened and extended beyond immediate scenes and his own feelings. In Chapter 23， Holden can feel Phoebe’s shivering more than his own feelings. Most importantly， Holden’s cognitive activity extends to accommodate their families. And Holden’s mental phenomena also expand to the specific object： the hunting hat. According to analysis of the symbolic meaning behind the red hat （宋冰 2004）， the hat stands for the rebellious spirit against the nasty world covered in regular， peaceful and wonderful delusion. However， in this chapter， Holden took his hat out of his pocket and gave it to his sister， a gesture suggestive of Holden’s willingness to lay down his weapon to fight the world and his preparation to reconcile with the world.

Stage Three： Reconciliation and Return

Accordingly， transitivity features in Chapter 25 and 26 take on a new look. Different from the situation in Chapter 23 where Mental processes account for a large proportion， there exists an abundance of process types of all kinds reflecting Holden’s mental changes. The diversity of process types demonstrates that Holder tries to direct his concrete acts towards specific targets （Material）， to base his judgment on the combination of what he perceives with his inner feeling （Mental）， to identify the potential relationship between events （Relational）， to locate himself as an existential entity in the broad social context （Existential） and to reveal his ideas through speech acts （Verbal）.

The other notable feature of Chapter 25 and 26 is the predominant proportion of human Participants （10 out of 28， 35.7%） shared by Holden and other people. The anguish and agony of Holden’s inner world eventually releases， preparing him to embark on a new spiritual journey and making it possible for him to integrate into society.

Most importantly， Holden’s cognitive mental activity extends more to accommodate nearly every person with whom he acquaints himself and some of whom he once hated to such a degree that he uses some dirty words to describe them than the previous study on Chapter 23.

Apart from Mental and Material processes， there is a noticeable sign that real conversation or communication takes place between Holden and Phoebe. It is Phoebe’s question that leads Holden to talk of some of his hidden ideas and reflects on them in a philosophical way.

1.4 Theme Reconciliation Derived from Transitivity Patterns

The transitivity features through the analysis from above can be summarized as following transitivity patterns：

First of all， the ascending degree of proportion of Holden as the Participant in the selected chapters. At the first stage， the process of Holden as the Participant only account for 13.3%， a minor proportion compared with that at the second stage （41.1%） and at the third stage （35.7%， including other people）. The figures demonstrate clearly the ascending tendency of Holden’s activeness.

Secondly， the complexity of Holden as the Sensor in the selected chapters. The transitivity features have shown that Holden’s mental activities have undergone remarkable changes from superficial level of perception and affection to the advanced level of cognition.

Lastly， the diversity of process types in the selected chapters. In contrast with Chapter 1， there is an increase in Chapter 24， 25 in the diversity of process types and the latter chapters add some dialogues to enrich the protagonist’s narrative.

1.5 Conclusion

Analysis of Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye’s transitivity features and the theme of reconciliation reflected by three transitivity patterns reveals Holden’s reconciliation journey marked by changes from passiveness to activeness， from despair to rebirth， from isolation to integration and the essential meaning of his mental transformation. From a microcosmic view， Holden’s development is divided into three stages according to the plot， each corresponding with its own transitivity features serving to analyze his mental states. From a macrocosmic view， Holden’s mental states are connected to construe a “geography” of his spiritual journey， mapping out the track of its transitivity patterns and then leading to the theme of reconciliation.

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