Holden Caulfield Symbolism

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Catcher in the Rye by Jerome David Salinger, J. D. Salinger for short, accurately portrays the experience of being a teenager through the main character, Holden Caulfield. Throughout the novel, Holden retrospectively tells the story of Pencey kicking him out of their institution after failing in most of his subjects. After he is kicked out, Holden wanders around New York City attempting to make sense of his life and purpose, and slowly descending into the madness of his own mind, wishing to latch onto any bit of childhood innocence he could. Holden is struggling through his teenage years, trying to figure out what he wants to achieve in his lifetime, and that clearly stresses him out tremendously. He wishes to go back to simpler times. He accurately …show more content…

And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t see where they’re going, I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.” (173), where he explains through symbolism that he wants to be the person to help keep children innocent, with the cliff side being a symbol for the delve into adulthood and the field of rye symbolizing a place and time of innocence. The connection between Holden and his wish to be the catcher in the rye shows Holden feels that adulthood and loss of innocence can make people worse off, and he’s trying to stop those who haven’t yet made the leap from falling into it. He wants the lives of young people to stay simple, carefree, and joyful. Holden shows the portrayal of what it is like to be a teenager through his obvious feelings and thoughts of isolation throughout his …show more content…

The answer is, you don't. I think I am, but how do I know?” (276). Holden is clearly struggling with his goal in life, and he does not know how to formulate his thoughts in a way that will help him succeed in this goal. Holden also feels this struggle due to his mental abilities. Holden hints in the quote “A lot of people, especially this one psychoanalyst guy they have here, keeps asking me if I'm going to apply myself when I go back to school” (276) that he is in a mental institution due to his attitude, actions, and the many times he has flunked out of school. This part of his personality heightens his inability to think logically, as well as hinders his ability to change the way he interacts with and interprets the world around him. Therefore, he is left feeling absolutely helpless, and full of despair. Holden’s poor circumstances led him to express the teenage emotion of cluelessness and helplessness in an exaggerated way. Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger perfectly understands and communicates the mental struggle of being a teenager through his character Holden

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