In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield, narrates the events that unfolded when he was sixteen shortly after his expulsion from the prestigious, Pencey prep school. From moving place to place and deciding to both meet and avoid people of his past, Holden experiences the painful transition many adolescent teens go through; becoming an adult. Holden is reluctant to leave his youth and be a part of the phoniness that is the adult world, and it is because of this does he avoid his parents and isolate himself, but his efforts of seclusion does not get far. Time to time in the novel, Holden has wayward thoughts about the ducks in the Central Park Lagoon. Holden’s curiosity of the ducks greatly reflects …show more content…
his thoughts about adulthood, and it is when he goes to Central Park himself, drunk and freezing, does he realize that change in life is only cyclical. This pivotal moment shapes the meaning of the novel as a whole because it is here in this coming-of-age story that Holden comes to term with change and goes back home, the place he has been avoiding for a majority of the novel. Aside from being a youthful thought that contradicts Holden’s grumpy and pessimistic attitude towards the world, the ducks and the pond go hand in hand to symbolically represent Holden’s fear: change.
The reason why Holden fascinates so much about the ducks in the winter pond is because he can relate to their situation. The answer as to how they can survive the inhospitable environment that is their frozen pond and still come back in the Spring is what Holden wants to find out. To him, he is the duck in the pond. Their fragility in the pond represents him, and their playful connotation represent what he wants to keep: innocence and youth. The pond that freezes in the winter and thaws in the Spring are the changes in the world, the transition from childhood to adulthood that Holden is resistant to …show more content…
accept. When Holden takes it upon himself to look at the pond himself to see if the ducks are there in chapter 20, he sees the pond as “partly frozen and partly not frozen.” Although he does not see the ducks, it is here that Holden realizes the fact that change is inevitable but not permanent. The lake is not entirely frozen, meaning when Holden becomes an adult he won’t lose all aspects of his childhood and the innocence he wants to hold on to dearly. To be partly frozen and not partly not frozen, means the ponds transition between two states. For the ducks to survive in the pond in both states mean that Holden can grow up and adjust to adulthood instead of losing himself entirely in the transition. With Holden bashing on the phoniness of the adult world and society, he finds comfort in the thought that like himself, the ducks will always go back, for change is seasonal but never indefinite. Throughout the story, Holden refuses to go back home and face the consequences of being expelled from Pencey.
He wants so see Phoebe numerous times but doesn’t do so until after he finds himself drunk and shivering in Central Park. Like the ducks in the frozen pond, Holden is in the middle of a dangerous situation with icicles forming in his hair due to the cold and fearing about succumbing to pneumonia. Thinking about death and not wanting to vanish like his late brother, Allie, Holden does not want to die and have phony adults and especially Phoebe attend his funeral. Despite his condition, Holden stops running away and starts the long walk back home to see Phoebe. Wondering where the ducks go has always been a mystery, and although he never found out where they went, Holden knew they went somewhere. If the ducks were to remain in the freezing pool they would’ve died. For Holden to get up and go home represents the ducks leaving the pond in the face of harsh conditions. He abandons his solitary lifestyle to go back home instead of continuing living that way where if he kept up his habits he would likely end up freezing to
death. Ironically, Holden lives like an adult even though he wants to avoid becoming one. There are many times where Holden thinks about staying as a child. He was fascinated at the exhibits behind museum glass because to him it felt like time stood still, and that’s all Holden wants, to not grow up. Even with these thoughts, he continues to live the heavy drinking and lustful lifestyle that comes to an abrupt end when he finds himself shivering and drunk in Central Park. The previous mentioning of ducks in the pond has been reflecting Holden’s curiosity in the transition from boy to man. Time after time the instances of Holden thinking about them builds up to when he goes to Central Park to see if they are there himself. Although there are nowhere to be seen, and even though Holden never finds out where they go, he knows they go somewhere and that they always come back. To stay in the cold park would be like the ducks staying in the freezing pond, so Holden picks himself up and goes back home to face the fact that becoming an adult is going to happen regardless. Reluctant to the transition to adulthood, Holden knows that the ducks always come back, because there will always be tough times, but it doesn’t mean things will be different forever.
Allie, his brother, was ripped away from him in a tragic accident. Then, Holden was immediately sent to a school where he was taunted and shunned by his classmates. As shown by Holden’s feelings with the ducks in the pond, he is still trying to find his innocence: “ ‘You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? THat little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know here they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know?’ ” (60). Holden is desperately trying to hold on to his sense of innocence because he is afraid of growing up and facing his
Holden twice inquired about the “disappearing” ducks in Central Park. When the pond is frozen in the winter, where would the ducks go? This symbolizes that Holden is curious about his own mortality which was affected him by his brother’s death. So he came here to look for answers, but he didn’t find any duck. “I nearly fell in, but I couldn’t find any…Boy, I was still shivering like a bastard… I thought I probably get pneumonia and die.” (154)
The origins of Holden’s disillusionment and the reason that it all started is the death of his younger brother which he was very fond of and admired, Allie, three years ago. The death of Allie is very significant in Holden’s mind since it is an event which he remembers quite clearly at multiple occasions during the book. For example, when Holden is writing a descriptive composition for his roommate Stradlater, he decides to write about Allie’s baseball mitt since it is the only thing on his mind. “My brother Allie had this left-handed fielder’s mitt. He was
When Holden attempts to make connections with other people in the city but is unsuccessful, Salinger shows that he focuses too much on what society expects from him rather than what he wants. While Holden walks through the city and pond in the park, he notices ducks. He later takes a cab and while talking with Horwitz the cab driver Holden asks him,
At several points during the course of the novel, Holden asks as to what happens to the ducks who 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?
Catcher in the Rye is a complicated book about a young man going through, what appears to be a nervous break down. This is a book about the boy’s negative self-talk, horrible outlook on life, and a life itself that seems to keep swirling down the toilet. He keeps trying to fill his life with something, but the reality of it is he doesn’t exactly now what he needs. It’s complicated to understand at parts, because all he does is think of things in the worst possible conditions.
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
...eir thought processes are flawed or not. But this unwillingness to conform was what caused James’ jump out the window. Although Holden does admire James’s integrity, he also realizes that if he does not change his ways, he could end up like James. But Holden would not have someone like Mr. Antolini to help him out and cover his body. Holden must find a driving force within himself that wants to make him change. He must find a new outlook on life, and he cannot be afraid of growing up. He must set an example for Phoebe, and show her that running away or flying away from her problems are not an option. Ducks can only fly for so long. And Holden must realize that he cannot progress when he is judging all of the phonies of the world. The Catcher in the Rye must find a balance between becoming an adult, and flying away.
At various points during the course of the novel, Holden inquires as to what happens to the ducks who are normally on a pond in Central Park, when winter comes and the water freezes. As he inquires, the answers he receives range from as farfetched answers 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 a stupid question!" remark. 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 numerous schools, he can’t get good grades, his parents are angry with him, and he spends his days wandering through New York City. He doesn’t know where he is going to go, reflecting his question about the ducks. Perhaps if he knew where the ducks went, he could follow their example.
One final illustration of Holden’s misconception of death is evident in Chapter 12, on pages 81-82. In this instance Holden once again poses the question of what happens to the ducks in the lake in Central Park during the winter. This driver, Horowitz, responds much more climactically than the anonymous driver in Chapter 9. , and he provides a ardent series of remarks. Horowitz changes the subject of the conversation from ducks to fish, because he can cope with them. Horowitz is also a believer of the rightness of things. His departing comment: "Listen,…if you was a fish, Mother Nature’d take care of you, wouldn’t she?
...ing stays frozen and everyone belongs in society. Therefore, during the winter time, the ducks are isolated as once, but they still belong together. Holden is isolated from the people around him and he is more protected within himself. Holden doesn’t know how he is going to make it through his own winter, just like he doesn’t where the ducks will end up during winter.
In J.D. Salinger’s controversial 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character is Holden Caulfield. When the story begins Holden at age sixteen, due to his poor grades is kicked out of Pencey Prep, a boys’ school in Pennsylvania. This being the third school he has been expelled from, he is in no hurry to face his parents. Holden travels to New York for several days to cope with his disappointments. As James Lundquist explains, “Holden is so full of despair and loneliness that he is literally nauseated most of the time.” In this novel, Holden, a lonely and confused teenager, attempts to find love and direction in his life. Holden’s story is realistic because many adolescent’s face similar challenges.
He is continuously saying he is lonely or depressed because no one is ever around. Everytime he goes to call someone, he does not feel like calling anymore. For example, he attempts to call Jane a lot throughout the story, but does not do it because he is never in the mood for it. He gets so close to doing it and then a switch flips in his mind and he does not have the patience anymore. He also asks about the ducks in central park. He cannot stop thinking about it, so he asks the cab driver. The ducks reflect the stage of growing up which Holden fails to grasp. He wants things to stay the same for him and everything around him.
Lies, failure, depression, and loneliness are only some of the aspects that Holden Caulfield goes through in the novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger. Salinger reflects Holden’s character through his own childhood experiences. Salinger admitted in a 1953 interview that "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book.… [I]t was a great relief telling people about it” (Wikipedia). Thus, the book is somewhat the life story of J.D. Salinger as a reckless seventeen-year-old who lives in New York City and goes through awful hardships after his expulsion and departure from an elite prep school. Holden, the protagonist in this novel, is created as a depressed, cynical, and isolated character and he expresses this attitude through his dialogue, tone, and diction.
Holden Caulfield alienates himself from the rest of society to hopefully escape the means of growing up shown by his dialogue and behaviour. Holden doesn’t want to grow up because he doesn’t want to have to accept the responsibilities that come with it. Holden is constantly getting kicked out of different schools, “They kicked me out… on account that… I was not applying myself and all.” (pg. 3) Not only was Holden not applying himself at school slowing down the process of him growing up, he also kept his mindset young by wondering where the ducks go in winter. “You know those ducks on that lagoon… do you happen to know where they go… when it gets frozen over?” (pg. 54) Holden has a close connection to the ducks as to him it is a change that isn’t permanent as they leave in the Winter and come back in the spring, he asks where they go to see if he can make this un-permanent connection to changes such as growing up in his own life. Holden would love to live in a world where everything is time is practically frozen and nothing ...