How Does Holden Misinterpretation Of The Catcher In The Rye

I would like to discuss how Holden’s misinterpretation of the

Robert Burns poem, “Coming Through the Rye”, sums up his

deepest desires by taking a journey through his troubled

adolescence and his journey to self–discovery that results in

his breakdown. According to Phoebe, the original line in the

poem is “if a body meet a body”. However, Holden’s

misinterpretation of “if a body catch a body” removes all

sexual connotations from the original poem.

Holden is a deeply disturbed adolescent in search of a way to

preserve his childhood innocence. His “red hunting cap” is a

symbol of his uniqueness and his rejection to conform to

society. His constant fear of loneliness is invoked by his

hostile attitude as he displayed on his date

with “Sally Hayes”
(a girl he dated in the past) at “Radio city.”

Holden’s deepest desire is to become “the catcher in the rye”
(also the title of the book) who catches children before they
fall off the edge of a cliff, which to Holden means saving
children from the fall of innocence.

Page 38 is a typical

example of how Holden values the qualities of purity and

innocence. He attempts to throw a snowball against a car

and fire hydrant, but quickly refrains from doing so, “the fact

that he does not throw the snowball is “an attempt to

preserve innocence (graham 2007:39). I strongly agree with

this statement, as Holden’s fear of change is highlighted

throughout the novel, which in turn paints a clear picture to

the reader of Holden’s deepest desire, which is to preserve

the innocence of childhood that gets hopelessly lost in

the“phony” world of adulthood. Holden’s constant referral to

adults as being “phony” is rather ironic as he says that one

“wouldn’t” know If one was “being phony” this clearly means

that he himself does not realize weather or not he himself is

phony.

Holden’s life went through a major change at the age of 13

when his younger brother, Allie lost his battle to Leukemia.

Holden fondly speaks of his red headed brother in the

novel
and discusses his brother Allie’s left handed fielder’s mitt.
The glove symbolizes catching. This is where I contend
Holden’s deepest desires to become a “catcher in the rye”
stems from. The loss of his brother Allie is where I posit
Holden started his downward spiral into depression. My
reasoning for this accusation is due to his parents suggesting
to have him psycho-analyzed when he smashed the garage
windows after the news of his brother’s (Allies) death.

This

clearly depicts that his parents were aware of his mental

state.

His fear of change leads to his infatuation with the ducks in

the park and the concern of what happens to them during the

winter months. His concern for the ducks is so

overwhelming that he takes a trip down to the lake while

intoxicated in search of them (pg166).

The climax is reached in the second last chapter of the novel.

Holden reaches his lowest state of depression when he

spends the night at Grand Central Station. The following

statement is a clear indication of this, “and I think I was more

depressed than I ever was in my whole life” (pg209) - proves

his demise into total depression. I strongly believe that at

this stage, Holden has reached breaking point.

So, to conclude, I contend that Holden’s version of the poem

sums up his deepest desire which is to preserve the

innocence and purity of childhood. Things that don’t change

give’s him a sense of comfort and security. What Holden

eventually realizes is his powerlessness, and that growing

up
is a natural process of life, and even if he were to be a
“catcher in the rye”, it most certainly cannot stop the
transition from adolescent to adulthood