Catcher In The Rye Symbolism Analysis

Symbolism is the use of objects or people for a different idea or meaning. These can be inanimate objects, people, animals, or even ideas, and they can be used for many purposes. Symbolism is often subtle; it can be difficult to see without careful attention, and J. D. Salinger sneaks it in The Catcher in the Rye without making it obvious. He often portrays Holden’s thoughts in symbolism, without writing them word for word on the page. J. D. Salinger makes use of symbols in The Catcher in the Rye in order to convey Holden's desire to protect and prolong innocence in himself and others.

Throughout the book, Holden is depressed and has very few things he enjoys, but what he really wants to do is become the catcher in the rye. When he talks to his little sister Phoebe, he reiterates the fact that he’d “just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing that I’d really like to be,” and he’s telling the truth (225). Holden complains all the time, about how phony people are, or how he feels like he is the only normal one. He never gives a compliment, or even smiles for the majority of the book. But when he finally talks to someone he enjoys, he realizes what he wants to do: prohibit phoniness from

taking over the world. He has to protect the innocent kids from making the fall into adulthood, into the corrupting phony world. He has examples of people that have fallen, Sally, his old friend. She was hanging out with a phony on their date, which in Holden’s mind, makes her a phony. She fell of the cliff, and Holden failed at his job. Those who haven’t fallen yet, he tries extremely hard to protect. Phony does not have a specific definition, because it is Holden’s slang, but it means around the same thing as “fake” or “untrue”. Holden classifies people as fake or untrue by how the act around others. Those who brag, show off, or make believe are all put into this classification. Holden sees it as corruption, and tries to stop people from falling into this trap.
Of the people that represent innocence to Holden, Jane and Phoebe are constantly on his mind. His little sister Phoebe comforts him when he’s upset, she’s always there for him. Even when he comes home and hasn’t even seen her yet, he starts to “feel swell” (207). He makes good conversation with Phoebe, which is not present anywhere else in the book, showing he really cares about her. She is innocent, not grown up, and Holden really enjoys that about her. Phoebe is only in 4th grade, basically she hasn’t had the chance to become phony yet, and Holden is holding onto this time with pleasure. Jane is different though, because Holden has not seen her in a while. Only his memory of her innocence remains, how she played checkers, “She’d just leave [her kings] in the back row” (41). He likes to think of Jane as a little kid without a worry in the world, just like Phoebe and just like himself, because he doesn’t know what she’s like now. He constantly thinks about her, because he’s scared she changed, he says, “I got her on [my mind], and I couldn’t get her off” (99). When he finds something he agrees with, something that is innocent, he holds onto it tightly. He tries very hard not to let it go, and not to think that she has changed. Jane keeps Holden going for a couple chapters early in the book, because he’s holding onto hope that someone is like him. Innocent people remind Holden of himself, because in his preference, he too is innocent. Throughout the book, he keeps looking for someone in his own shoes, with the hardships he faces and the traits he has. These innocent people are the closest things he’s got.
Holden’s red hunting hat is the symbol of his own innocence, his signature article that represents himself. Whenever he feels vulnerable or surrounded by phonies, he puts on his red hunting hat to stand out, and be himself. For example, right in the beginning, he leaves the fencing equipment on the train. He buys his hat and puts it on because he is embarrassed and feels vulnerable. He is not shy about his hat, often bragging about how he bought it for a dollar and wearing it in the public even though he thinks it looks silly. But it really means a lot to him, his own unique mark on the world. He wears it many times in the book, but one time he feels more special than any other in the book. Phoebe “reached in my coat pocket and took out my red hunting hat and put it on my head,” something that really got to him emotionally (274). He feels special when Phoebe puts it on for him, like she is protecting his innocence too. As mentioned earlier, Phoebe is one of the most innocent people Holden knows, and he is trying to protect her from falling into corruption. When she finally returns the favor, he has a mixed feeling of joy, happiness, and relief. When someone does something nice for him out of the blue, he finds it phony, but when he does something nice and they are nice in return, he is very grateful. He finds kids innocent and is nice to them, so when they protects his innocence in return, it really gets to him emotionally like nothing else.
To Holden, innocence is the most important value in a person.

He stays near those with innocence, and separates himself from those who don’t have it. If you are not innocent, you must be phony, and virtually unworthy and useless to Holden. Jane, Phoebe, Holden’s red hunting hat, and above all, his catcher in the rye metaphor, all represent the innocence that Holden desires every moment of his life so far. But unfortunately for Holden, he sees so many more people as phony than as innocent, giving him a horrible nasty outlook on the world. This is why he’s so depressed all the time, because he seems to have nobody in his own shoes. He thinks innocence is hard to come by, but he’s desperate to get it, because innocence is Holden’s true

religion.