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Catcher In The Rye Symbolism - School Essays

Catcher In The Rye Symbolism

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a roller coaster ride through the mind of an angry, frustrated and confused teenager named Holden Caulfield. After getting expelled from Pencey, Holden takes a trip to New York City where Holden keeps asking the cab drivers where all the ducks in the lagoon near the Central Park South go in the winter. This lagoon and the animals in it are constantly are used by J.D. Salinger to show Holden's rejection for adulthood.
Holden's curiosity about the ducks in Central Park relates to his own adulthood insecurities. Just as the ducks face the hard times of winter, Holden is at the peak of his teen-aged years, just about to go on to the hard times of ...

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Or if they are dependent on a parental figure such as the truck that comes to their rescue and takes them away similar to the way Holden wants to stay a child and dependent. Also the idea that the ducks are saved by a truck suggests Holden wanting to be the Catcher in the Rye, saving children from the hardship of adulthood. The ducks, in whatever way, avoid the coldness and hardships of winter and are nowhere to be found during this time. This symbolizes Holden wanting to avoid adulthood and go away to some place where he won't have to face the problems of being an adult.
Holden's interpretation of adulthood is symbolically criticized as his conversation with the taxi cab driver takes a turn and the fish that live in the lagoon is brought up. When Holden asks the taxi driver where the fish go when winter comes and the pond becomes a solid block of ice, he responds: "They live right in the goddamn ice. It's their nature, for Chrissake. They get frozen right in one ...

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Catcher In The Rye Symbolism. (2008, January 3). Retrieved April 16, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Catcher-In-The-Rye-Symbolism/76899

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 1/3/2008 02:38:56 PM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Free Paper
Words: 1029
Pages: 4

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