A Negative Translation of the Catcher in the Rye
2011
This project began as an exploration of the defense mechanism reaction formation. The unconscious process in reaction formation is to express/portray the opposite point of view than the one that is held internally by the subject. Here, I took an oppositional character, Holden Caulfield, and wondered what his overt expressions might convey if translated into an opposite expression. Where I love you means I hate you, etc. The project eventually transformed into a direct negative translation of each word in the first Chapter of the Catcher in the Rye. Below, the original text is in black and the negative translation is in green.
