Holden's Use Of Symbols And Motifs In Catcher In The Rye

To roughly describe Catcher in the Rye, one could say that we are told a story of an adolescent named Holden Caulfield as he searches for companionship and some sense of purpose. The novel cannot be described as lengthy as the actions that are vividly told from Holden’s point of view, occur over the course of three days. Within this three-day story we can see, both obviously and subtlety, many symbols and motifs, which drive the story, forward and urge Holden to continue his quest for purpose and friendship. It is important to note that these symbols and motifs arise purely because of Holden’s eccentric personality. For example, it is perfectly normal for a character like Holden to attach himself to mental images and pictures in a way in which

no other character would be considered coherent. Holden is a character who is constantly struggling with his wish to stay in limbo between the child and adult world – he feels pushed by society, his parents and school which causes him to be confused, depressed and pensive. The purpose of the novel’s motifs and symbols is to accentuate the themes of coming-of-age in the most unique and reflationary way in modern literature. Salinger paints a story which becomes equally as vivid as our own and thus, Holden’s struggles and woes seep into our thoughts and as readers we begin to spot and recognize these motifs (a reoccurring structure, contrast or literary device which develop a text’s major themes) and symbols (objects, characters, colors or figures which develop the text’s major messages) with relish and innate understanding. In this essay I would like to discuss these animated and vital symbols and motifs and their importance to both the character development and storyline.
A motif, which is both constant and vital for the novel’s plot, is the pervasive sense of loneliness and isolation that follows Holden throughout his entire journey.

It is immediately obvious that Holden is a peculiar boy with an irregular thought-process. He seeks companionship, yet avoids those places where he may find it, such as the football game at Pencey Prep; “… I remember around three o’clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill. You could see the whole field from there, and you could see the two teams bashing each other all over the place…You could hear them all yelling.” From this we see that Holden is an observer of interactions rather than a partaker in any form. Yet this self-imposed isolation can be pitied as we see time and time again that Holden craves companionship for any kind. We see that he often jumps into situations in the hopes of having some kind of interaction, without actually thinking of the consequences; “The first thing I did when I got off at Penn Station, I went into this phone booth. I felt like giving somebody a buzz… but as soon as I was inside I couldn’t think of anybody to call up.” It is clear that Holden has alienated himself from those he considers “phony” and “crumby”. It is interesting to note that this sense of isolation and failed connections is countered by the manner in which Holden speaks. Holden speaks as though addressing an audience and ends the novel with a warning about telling a story to

others – which thus, eliminates his isolation. The question that really arises from this is whether Holden uses his isolation as a form of self-preservation, which one can most definitely agree to.
Any reader becomes innately aware of the theme of sexuality, or more so intimacy through The Catcher in the Rye. Intimacy is a reoccurring motif throughout Holden’s journey which only helps aid his crippling isolation. Holden’s view of intimacy, sexuality and sexual intercourse is well-crafted for the reader to see. Essentially, Holden is a thoughtful and kind person, and we see this most with his appreciation of Jane in comparison to Stradlater’s single-minded sexual goal; “I used to play checkers with her all the time.”/ “Stradlater didn’t say anything. That kind of stuff doesn’t interest most people.” This kindness is shown equally through Holden’s childlike fear of the adult worth – all of the complex sexual natures found there. Although being a full-grown mad who knows it’s time for change, it is almost as if Holden is simply playing at being at adult. We see this most clearly through the time he spends with a prostitute named Sunny – who is his own age and equally faking maturity with brave words; “It was a real funny thing to say. It sounded like a real kid.” This innocence is an important part of Holden’s personality, who can recognize equal innocence in another person who is acting like an adult. He regrets even allowing Sunny into his hotel room and reacts with her nerves and ultimately doesn’t go through with it.
Although Holden is seventeen-year-old boy living with other boys of the same age, he is inherently different. This is due to his abnormal outlook on situations a regular seventeen-year-old boy would find himself it. The motif of sex is brought to Holden’s and the reader’s attention time and time again. From early on we realize that Holden views sex as degrading and shameful, stating that if you really liked a girl, you wouldn’t want to do “crumby stuff” to her. This is reiterated when Holden explains a key problem to his sex life; “… She keeps telling you to stop. The trouble with me is, I stop. Most guys don’t. I can’t help it.” we see that Holden has a hard time taking control of a sexual situation while remaining respectful. There are multiple times throughout the novel when Holden is openly presented with sexual activities, and he appears disgusted. The relevance of this motif is simple; through Holden’s sexual struggles and inability to understand why anyone would partake in sex we understand a different fraction of his personality; Holden is damaged. Through this motif we are given a key to Holden’s passed and an extra layer of ambiguity is added as we as readers try to understand what would cause a kind boy like Holden to be repulsed by sex.
Although Holden usually refers to this motif as “phoniness” we can see that both lying and deception have become instrumental in Holden’s life throughout these chaotic three days.

The most fundamental form of lying used in The Catcher in the Rye, is that of self-deception or manipulation. Holden and many of the other characters lie to themselves and others about who or what they are. Holden repeatedly calls others out for their blatant lies; “You remember I said before that Ackley was a slob in his personal habits? Well, so was Stradlater, but in a different way. Stradlater was more of a secret slob.” Although Holden is constantly explaining the “phoniness” and hypocrisy of others, we don’t know if Holden follows his own rules, as he is exceptionally quick to lie to himself and others. He lies when lying is unnecessary, as if for enjoyment, such as when he meets a classmates’ mother and decides to suddenly change his name; “I didn’t feel like giving her my whole life history.” His lies pervade the entire story – he lies about his age (and fails constantly), lies about his name, and the biggest lie of all is a lie of omission as he hides the truth of leaving Pency Prep from his parents. The purpose of this motif, and the repetition of the phrase “phony”, is to further to theme of self-realization and actualization, as we watch Holden struggle to come to terms with who

is.
It goes without saying that the book title The Catcher in the Rye deserves a mention, because of the subtlety and fragility of its’ meaning to Holden. The words arise for Holden as he watches a kid walk on the street rather that the sidewalk – and admires him. As Holden watches the kid sings a song that ask if it is wrong to have a romantic relationship in a field, out of side, but without commitment. The song makes Holden melancholic, as he wants to “catch” children before they lose their innocence. It is important to understand the title of the book originates from Holden mishearing the lyric. What he think it says is; “If a body catch a body comin’ through the rye”, yet when Phoebe corrects this to; “If a body meet a body comin’ through the rye”, the word “catch” stays with Holden. It stays with him so vividly that when asked what Holden wants to do with his life, it is the idea of saving innocence that arises to him first. This symbol serves the vital purpose of culminating Holden’s three-day journey into the final realization of the fragility of age.
Perhaps a far less ambiguous symbol and one that is inseparable from Holden is that of his red hunting hat. For any reader who visualizes as the read, it is nearly impossible to picture Holden in any scene without his hunting hat; “The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around to the back – very corny, I’ll admit, but I liked it that way. I looked good in it that way.” Undeniably, the red hunting hat signifies Holden’s uniqueness and special personality as it appears at many important moments throughout the novel. It is important to note that Holden takes off the hat when entering the pub or hotel, or anywhere which isn’t private to him. We see Holden cling to the hat in moments of vulnerability including when he bought it; “I saw it in the window of this sport’s store when we got out of the subway, just after I noticed that I lost all the goddamn foils.” The hat appears as Holden writes of his late brother’s baseball glove and after Stradlater punches him. Holden openly declares that it’s a people-shooting hat – so when he wears it he can feel threatening and insular.
If any reader needed more evidence toward Holden’s more youthful nature, they could look to his child-like curiosity if the ducks in the Central Park lagoon as a symbol. Holden is constantly concerned about the ducks’ welfare in the harsh weather; “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?” There is a possibility that Holden’s curiosity is linked to his own sense of morality, as a symbolic way of question that everything dies. Furthering this concept of the ducks in the lagoon as an important symbol for Holden, one should note that Holden questions how the ducks vanish in winter yet return in spring. This is a key transitional period for the ducks, symbolising Holden’s own transition from child to adult. This would answer as to why Holden is so obsessed with the inhospitable the ducks withstand as he sees them as a metaphor for his own difficulties which he worries will be permanent.
It terms of symbols which directly develop and change a reader’s attitude towards Holden there is none better than Allie’s left-handed baseball glove, which is covered in poems written in green ink. A quote, which shows the length at which his dead brother plays on his mind, is when Holden sets about writing a descriptive composition for his roommate; “So what I did, I wrote about my brother Allie’s baseball mitt. It was a very descriptive subject.” What makes this quote important is most likely what Holden does not say, yet we can infer that this means a great deal to him because he brought it to boarding school and when caught for something to think about, he choice his brother’s own possession. Later we discover that Holden had never shown it to anyone outside of his family before except for Jane. At this time we begin to feel sympathy for Holden who clearly went through a difficult time after Allie’s death; “I was only thirteen and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. I don’t blame them. I really don’t. I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all of the goddamn windows with my fist, just for the hell of it.” This most emotional of symbols has the effect of bringing the reader and Holden closer as we can understand his reaction to both his brother’s death and when his insensitive roommate speaks carelessly about the glove.
A symbol that Holden easily explains is that of the National History Museum. This museum holds great awe for Holden as the exhibits are never changing and are frozen in time. This reminds us of Holden’s worries for the ducks of Central Park and the harsh transition they are forced into, yet at the museum we can sense Holden’s calm at the unchanging nature of the exhibits; “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was.” Holden remarks that he feels like he had changed every time he’d visited the museum, but the museum had stayed the same. His connection to the museum is explicit and unchanging; “… You ought to be able to stick… in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.” It is as if Holden wishes that he could crawl into a glass case and be left alone and free of the burdens of growing up.
Another symbol of Holden’s reluctance towards a normal life path is the way he treats his sister Phoebe, who is his most trust member of the family. Although Phoebe is only ten Holden fears for her childhood innocence and the failures to come, but Phoebe counters these worries with an adult-like argument. Holden comes to the realization that he must let Phoebe grow up and find her own failures as he watches her ride a carrousel and lean from her seat to reach for the golden ring in the center; “… the thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” By saying this Holden is finally admitting that growing up in necessary for life, so it is better if you just accept it. It may also be important to mention that Holden recognizes that he is too old to ride the carrousel and sits back and enjoys the security of childhood from a safe and logical distance.
All in all, J.D. Salinger truly captured the essence of growing up throughout Holden’s intensive three-day journey, at the end of which Holden makes the decision not to run away from home. The story is littered with symbols with tell a unique coming-of-age story, through turmoil. It cannot be denied that the novel is both relatable and epic in its’ message. Holden Caulfield is a character we can empathize with, and laugh along with in a world of perplexing nature with challenges in every corner. The use of symbols and motifs for the purpose of creating such a well-crafted world is both commendable and touching.