Catcher in the Rye Novel by J.D. Salinger

¶ … J.D. Salinger's novel Catcher in the Rye signals the relationship between the author and the narrator as well as between the truth and fiction. Moreover, the opening line of Catcher in the Rye is metafictional: as if it is self-conscious the line refers to other works of fiction to underscore the intention of the author and of the narrator. Novels written as fictional autobiographies especially draw attention to the perplexing questions: who is speaking? To what extent can the author of a novel remove himself or herself from the narrative?

The author is both absent and present in every literary work. An author's role resembles that of a ghost: neither fully present nor absent. In modern works of literature the author is more likely to be hidden: a phenomenon dubbed the "death of the author" by Roland Barthes. The phrase "death of the author" diminishes the author's supposed intentions in writing. Instead, literary critics and critical readers judge the literary work on its own terms, as if the work existed on its own without a creator.

When an author weaves a tale, he or she also creates a powerful connection between them and the reader that approaches telepathy. The relationship persists even when the author has been dead for centuries. For the reader the relationships persist beyond the author toward identification with the narrator as well as other characters in the story. Thus the fictional world mirrors the world of the reader.

However, the relationship between reader and author is almost always one-sided; the author can communicate with the reader on his or her own terms using the media of literature. On the other hand, the reader cannot generally interact with the author. As a result, readers often project their own beliefs, fantasies or expectations on an author. Authors are not as powerful as they may seem, though. An author is controlled by language just as much as he or she controls language when writing. The meanings imbued in a text do not belong to the author; they are universal human meanings. Authors are therefore not as omniscient as readers often imagine them to be. Coincidental with the "death of the author," then is the "birth of the reader." Readers are empowered by critical understandings of text that acknowledge an author's fallibility and bias. Authors are assumed to have authority.

Foucault suggested that the author as a powerful figure is a historical construction. The role and the idea of the author varies from situation to situation but also varies across different cultures and across time. Foucault also pointed out that ancient manuscripts were often circulated without authorial attributions. The author as a powerful entity matters most in societies in which the law protects intellectual property. In other words, authorship is bound up with historical and social as well as economic constructs. Readers may also feel comforted when reading a text that can be placed squarely within a certain context.