Abstract. A close relationship between literary works by J. D. Salinger and those by Jack Kerouac have occasionally been noted by several Salinger scholars. However, both critics of Salinger and Kerouac have not meticulously analyzed the literary texts and discussed the specific sections being similar and their manner of interaction. Considering both authors seem to have acknowledged the other’s work, it is imperative that novels by Salinger and Kerouac be examined comparatively to identify the similarities more concretely. Through the comparative investigations, I will discuss that a migration, which is deeply involved in Kerouac’s On the road (1957), is a significant motif that also underlies Salinger’s The catcher in the rye (1951). It will finally be argued that an analogy between the two novels can be found in their representation of migration, which is one of the essential elements that strengthens their implied mutual relationship.
Key Words: J. D. Salinger; Jack Kerouac; The catcher in the rye; On the road; migration; American literature

Oda T (2025) Holden Caulfield on the road: migration and its impossibility in J. D. Salinger and Jack Kerouac. Creativity 8(2): 519–533. doi:10.22381/C8220253