In an initial reading of Catcher in the Rye the text suggests that the novel focuses on the main character, Holden, and that the text is concerned with his ability to grow and mature; however, similarly to how Salinger portrays the ducks as changing and unnoticed, Holden is as well. The ducks are in the midst of a large change in their lives, about to migrate and move on from one part of their life to the next, Holden is trying to move on from childhood to adulthood. Amongst the confusion of change in itself, Holden and the ducks, go severely under appreciated and unnoticed by community members. It is a constant throughout the story that Holden is unpleased with what his life has to offer and, consequently, is in a persistent pursuit of some …show more content…
At the start of the novel, Holden admits to thinking of an irrelevant topic during his symposium with Mr.Spencer. (Salinger 13). Subsequent to Holden’s consultation with Mr. Spencer, Holden asked two different cab drivers if they had the answer to the puzzling duck conundrum. Curiosity peaked within Holden, he felt he must unravel the mystery himself. He reconnoitered the lagoon in Central Park solitarily. Almost falling into the freezing cold waters just to get a glimpse of a single duck. Once completed his search he realized there were no ducks in the lagoon to be found. It seems abundantly clear that the ducks hold some sort of significance to Holden, even though the reasoning to both the reader seems inevident. Quite frankly, if Holden ever pondered it himself, I’m sure it would be unclear to him as …show more content…
Salinger put Holden in a specific place and time, so, ultimately, every facet of the story could concatenate together, like completing a puzzle. That being said, it seems reasonable for me to believe Salinger used a common literary device known as pathetic fallacy when attributing certain aspects of winter to Holden’s harsh realization of adulthood. The story starts out in December, right before Christmas break. Snow had fallen over the state of New York in which the story takes place. The air is sometimes too cold for comfort as Holden carries on in his journey. At one point Holden had considered the frigid temperatures as a health risk stating (Salinger 154). The brumal climate was not only affecting Holden is also was dramatically impacting the ducks. The ducks were forced to migrate for the winter as the lake had recently become uninhabitable for
In chapter 2 of The Catcher in the Rye Holden ponders while conversing with his teacher “where the ducks go when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over.” Holden views himself as one of the ducks that are forced to adapt
Holden Caulfield, the teenage protagonist of Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, struggles with having to enter the adult world. Holden leaves school early and stays in New York by himself until he is ready to return home. Holden wants to be individual, yet he also wants to fit in and not grow up. The author uses symbolism to represent Holden’s internal struggle.
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
Early in the book, while Holden is still in Pencey, he takes a snowball and something quite odd and remarkable. Holden picks up snow, makes a snowball, looks at a car, gets ready to throw it, but he doesn’t because “the car looks so nice and white” (Salinger 36). Holden then decided he should throw it at a fire hydrant “but, it looked too nice and white, too” (Salinger 36). Both of these things were too perfect for Holden to destroy. If Holden didn’t want things to stay the same, he would have thrown the snowball maybe not at the car, but at least the fire hydrant. Holden then attempted to get on the bus, but the bus driver said he couldn’t take the snowball on the bus. Holden said, “I wasn’t going to chuck it at anybody, but he wouldn’t believe me” (Salinger 37). Holden seems to have respect for nature according to this story about him and his way of thinking. It could very well be the f...
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?
The one thing that stands in the way of what Holden needs is himself. He continues to cut himself off from everything he had once loved. His negative self will not let him get close to anyone else, while trying to get distant from those he once was close with. Holden never looks to the positive side of anything. He is just stuck in a deep hole and he can’t find a way out. Whenever Holden believes that he has found something that could help him, he himself some how shuts the door to his own happiness.
He comes to some realizations, but nothing that makes him less pessimistic, making him a shining example of how being immoderately idealistic can disrupt your expectations for the world. It is glaringly clear that Salinger purposely portrayed Holden as a mess in order to show off the flaws of setting expectations above the healthy dose. If you only accept people without flaws and never leave room for air, you will always be
... struggles. Holden just wanted someone to talk to and wants to break his depression by succeeding. In my opinion, I believe Holden does find what he’s looking for due to Phoebe riding on the carousel ride as it makes Holden happy, “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way Phoebe kept going around and around” (213). Holden’s struggles have came across his fate from being depressed and as long as Phoebe is by his side, Holden has someone to communicate with, and to now live a peaceful and comfortable life. The life-lessons that Holden has had to face throughout the book have changed his life completely by knowing his true character towards the end of the novel. His life revolves around his problems, and he seemed helpless in evading them. With that being said, Holden found himself facing the issues of acceptance of death, growing up, and his own self-intentions.
Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye follows the journey of a young boy, Holden Caulfield, from adolescence to adulthood. There are a number of symbols that Salinger uses to help to portray the various stages that Holden goes through as he matures into adulthood. The snowball incident, his sense of fulfillment when at the museum, and his run in with a pimp, are all representations of how Holden is deeply obsessed with innocence thoughts and how reluctant he is to give them up.
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?
“I was crying and all, I don’t know why, but I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome” (53), Holden says. As humans, we have a hard time belonging in society. This is the same case for Holden Caulfield, the main character from the Catcher in the Rye. The Catcher in the rye, a novel by J.D Salinger, is about Holden, a lost boy in desperate need of help. Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded by the world around him. He continually attempts to try and belong in a world in which he is isolating from. In this novel, Salinger uses symbols such as the red hunting hat, the ducks and Allie’s glove to support the theme, belonging and isolation.
J.D. Salinger conveys The Catcher in the Rye’s meaning by combining three of the novel’s elements: Holden’s personality, resistance to having guidance in his life, and actions. Primarily, he uses Holden, The Catcher in the Rye’s protagonist, as an example of a teenager who has failed to develop during the essential period of youth. Additionally, he uses the characters of Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini to act as voices of reason to Holden, while also showing Holden’s missed opportunities in life when he does not take their advice. Lastly, Salinger utilizes Holden’s desire to act both older and younger than his age to show the dangers that come with poor decision making, as well as their consequences. The main purpose of Salinger’s novel, The Catcher
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 ...