Adolescence is a time of change and confusion. It is also a journey that we each take on our own road to self discovery. This time between childhood and adulthood is often a tough transition because the sugar coated world we live in as children becomes a dangerous, unknown abyss in which we much leap into and continue our journey through life. Perhaps one of the greatest novels that feature the journey through adolescent life is “The Catcher in the Rye.” In this story, an adolescent named Holden is going through his own road to self discovery. His observations and peculiar attitude leads to Holden into problems as he transitions from a child to an adult. In his book, “The Catcher in the Rye”, author J.D. Salinger uses a series of motifs and hints of symbolism to illustrate Holden’s difficulty growing up due to his own isolation and cynicism of the world.
The Catcher in the Rye show cases the narrator, an adolescent boy named Holden Caughfield steering his way through life. Holden lives his life in his own isolation and cynicism to protect himself from the world he views as “phony.” There are many motifs throughout the story that help the reader get a grasp on to Holden’s perspective of life. One example of a motif throughout the story is the sense of loneliness. Throughout the book Holden cradles himself in his own loneliness. It appears as if he desires to remain alone in order to detach from society. An example of his desired solo status is when Holden scores a date with the character Sally Hayes, he deliberately sabotages it with his outrageous and inappropriate behavior towards her. The date ends with Sally Hayes being surprised and scared off by Holden’s behavior and thus illustrates Holden’s constant need to remain alone.
Another motif in the story is that of deception. Deception is one of the larger elements of the story that builds up to Holden’s belief that the world is phony. Holden’s view of the world as “phony” is the source of his problems and inability to face the world.
Spark Notes explains that one of Holden’s most notable encounters with deception is his own self deception. They explain, “He seems to reserve the most scorn for people who think they are something that they are not or who refuse to acknowledge their own weaknesses” (Spark Notes ). They go on to explain that Holden is guilty of this behavior because he fails to recognize his own weaknesses. Another reviewer goes along with this idea of self deception and its effects. Paul Engle explains, “Continuing to berate others for phoniness, Holden cannot recognize the same sense of vapidity in himself” (Engle 3). This hypocritical way of thinking contributes to Holden’s struggle of facing the world.
The Catcher in the Rye is also dipped in symbolism that relate to all of Holden’s problems. One of the more notable symbols throughout the story is the symbol of the red hunting hat. In the story Holden possesses a unique red hunting hat. I read the hat as a symbol of Holden’s individuality. It is Holden’s individuality and unique personality that constrains him in his own isolation and self misery. He refuses to be like anyone else in order to preserve him self from the world’s corruption. Homework online suggests that this symbol runs deeper than simply Holden’s strong sense of individuality. They explain, “Perhaps the “hunting” Holden does is not one of killing people, but criticizing them. When he gives his hat to Pheobe (his sister), it may be symbolic that Holden has chosen not to separate himself from society any longer” (homework online 1998).
One of my favorite uses of symbolism in this story is the symbolism of the Catcher in the Rye. This symbol resulted from when Holden explains to his sister Pheobe what he wants to do with his life. He compares his goals to images that branch off from the song “Comin’Thro the Rye”. He imagines a field of rye that rests on top of a cliff. There are children that are playing on this field. He explains that it is his wish to catch any child who begins to fall from the cliff. This is a parallel of Holden’s admiration for innocence. This need for Holden to have preservation of innocence adds to his difficulty of becoming a mature adult. Review S.N. Behrman explains that, “Holden’s Catcher in the Rye fantasy reflects his innocence, his belief in pure uncorrupted youth, and his desire to protect that spirit; on the other hand, it represents his extreme disconnection from reality and his naïve view of the world” ( Behrman 76).
The Museum of Natural History becomes a vital symbol throughout the story. Holden admires the museum because it contains glass cages that prevent any type of change. He knows he can go there and the Museum will never change. It will always remain the same. Review Aaron Schwartz explains, “He wants to save his memories as a key to the door of childhood world to be able to hide there from the hardships of life anytime he wishes but he doesn’t want to look for a new perspective in life and for the new doors to open as he rejects the future and the entering the world of adults” (Schwartz 1).
A more complex symbol of Holden’s difficult transition into adulthood is the symbol of the ducks mentioned throughout the story. In the book Holden begins to question what happens to the ducks when the lagoon freezes over. Throughout the rest of the story Holden begins asking everyone what their take on the ducks’ whereabouts are. It is a very strange consistent mention. This has raised a lot of discussion of different reviewers of what this duck scenario alludes to. Virgilia Peterson suggests Holden’s questioning of the ducks is “a question that is really for himself, where does a person go to when his environment can no longer support him?” (Peterson 3). This explanation of the symbol indicates that Holden, who has been kicked out of numerous prep schools, and who constantly alienates himself from society feels that has not found his place in the world. There are explanations that suggest that Holden’s questions of the whereabouts of the ducks parallel Holden’s desire to find out where he belongs. Grade saver explains, “He doesn’t know where he is going to go, reflecting his question about the ducks. Perhaps if he knew where the ducks were he could follow their example” (Grade Saver 1999). Holden’s questioning of the ducks directly relates to the questions he has about his own life. From this symbol readers instantly recognize the frustrations that Holden experiences during his adolescence.
The story Catcher in the Rye is such a famous literary work because it is incredibly relatable. Jumping from the familiar comforts of childhood and jumping into the unknown abyss known as adulthood has been a journey that every human being experiences. J.D. Salinger focuses in on the difficulties of this natural life transition. He does this by creating a character who observes the world with such a cynical, observant viewpoint that it hurts his ability to accept adult hood and all of the changes and realities that it entails. Salinger does an impressive job of displaying the troubles during adolescence with his refreshing literary devices that make this story brilliant.
