Symbols and Symbolism in “the Catcher in the Rye”
”There are a few things that define one as an adult: maturity, responsibility, and integrity. Does
Holden Caulfield have any of these? J.D. Salinger’s novel, “The Catcher in the Rye,” follows the
life of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old protagonist, who is on the road to becoming an adult
and is trying to find all of the three terms above. Holden is living in a world with people that he
classifies as morons or phonies. The self realization that he cannot save children from becoming
morons or phonies is the key to becoming an adult in Holden’s case, yet there are still symbols
that Holden encounters that slowly but surely matures him, makes him responsible and helps
him obtain integrity. My first symbol is the title of the book. The title of the novel has a very
large connection to the story. The title explains the main character, Holden Caulfield, and his
feelings toward life and human nature. In society he has found enormous corruption, harm, and
offenses. He knows that the children of the world are ruined by the corruption of adults around
them and, he states that his purpose in life will be to help save the children from vulgarity.
Holden wants to be a “Catcher in the Rye.” We first hear the title of the novel being used in
chapter16, and in chapter 22 we have the full explanation of this title. Allie, Holden's younger
brother who died several years earlier, was a major symbol throughout the story. When Holden
remembers incidents from his past involving Allie, his attitude changes, such as when he writes
the composition about Allie's baseball glove or when Holden broke his hand after punching all
of the windows after Allie died. "I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the
goddamn windows with my fist, just for the hell of it". (39) He feels that Allie was one of the
few people who were not phony in a world full of phonies. More importantly, Allie represents
the innocence and childhood that Holden strives to find throughout his three-day journey. In
Holden's opinion, Allie represents the purity that Holden looks for in the world. Holden admits
that he admires Allie more than he admires Jesus, and even prays to Allie at one point, rather
than Jesus. Allie is Holden's role model, whom he judges the rest of the world according to.
When Allie dies, it creates a commotion in Holden's life. Later on in the novel, Holden asks as
what happens to the ducks that are normally on a pond in Central Park, when winter comes and
the water freezes. On page 60, Holden asks, "You know those ducks in that lagoon right near
Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the
ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?" As he inquires,
the answers he receives range from as farfetched answer as the idea that the ducks still remain
there under the ice, just as the fish do, to uncaring answers such as a simple "What're ya tryna
do, bud? Kid me?" (60) Despite the answer he gets, Holden is never satisfied with the reply.
Holden doesn't consciously realize that the ducks relate to him. Whether he will admit it or not,
Holden is scared. He has been kicked out of a number of schools, he can't get good grades, his
parents are angry with him, and he spends his days wandering through New York City. He does
not know where he is going to go, reflecting his question about the ducks. Holden is using the
ducks to ask the question for himself. Perhaps if he knew where the ducks went, he could
follow their example. The next symbol is Jane Gallagher. Jane Gallagher was an old friend of
Holden, who he mentions many times during the story. He mentions that he will call her, but he
never gets the nerve to. She is an important part of his past that he misses a lot, and he wants
to go back and be with her again. Jane Gallagher has a lot of influence on Holden. For example
he states, “…You never even worried, with Jane, whether your hand was sweaty or not. All you
knew was, you were happy. You really were.” In this sense, Holden shows how he feels when he
gets around Jane. Holden says that he feels good and happy when around Jane. Another
instance where Jane demonstrates her influence over Holden is when he states, “…Then I’d
crawl back to my room and call up Jane and have her come over and bandage up my guts. I
pictured her holding a cigarette for me to smoke while I was…” Here, Holden imagines Jane
coming over to help him, which reveals that Holden feels secure and protected by her. It also
shows how Holden feels about Jane, the girl of his dreams, who he falls in love with. Jane
clearly has much influence over Holden. While walking through New York City, Holden arrives at
the Museum of Natural History. He remarks about the Museum that he likes the glass cases
that the museum officials place all of their exhibits in. He wishes he could place parts of his life
in glass cases because they won't change. In the end, he decides not to go into the museum. He
likes the museum because he used to go there in his younger years every Saturday with his
teacher, Miss Aigletinger, a time that he remembers with happiness. Since the glass cases inside
the museum don't allow anyone to change anything, it would be the one place for Holden to go
if he wanted everything to be as it was during his childhood. However, he chooses to remain
outside because he is afraid that there is a chance that the museum might have changed. Jane
Gallagher changed since his childhood and Holden thought that was unbelievable, so if Jane
could change, perhaps the museum could change, as well. Jane was a friend of Holden's. When
they would play checkers, she would always keep all of her kings in the back row for some odd
reason. Holden knows that if the museum does not remain the same, it could hurt him, so he
makes a conscious decision not to enter, even if his reasons are subconscious. “Catcher in the
Rye” was a very well thought out and symbolic book written from the eyes of a troubled
teenager. The themes are clearly visualized through the symbols, which the author makes sure
the reader identifies. J.D. Salinger’s use of symbolism in the Catcher in the Rye conveys hidden
messages of what Holden is thinking. The ducks, Jane Gallagher, and the Museum of Natural
History all symbolically give the reader an idea of what not only goes on in Holden’s mind but in
the life of the modern teenager, even when it is not openly expressed.