Symbolism In The Catcher In The Rye

People need to read Catcher in the Rye at least once before they die. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is a book that takes the reader inside the head of Holden Caulfield, a depressed sixteen-year-old, who enters a strange series of adventures in New York City. Holden writes his story from a mental hospital in California, about how he was expelled from a fancy prep school, his experiences after spending a few days in NYC. The book has had critical success since its publication in 1951, selling sixty-five million total copies, after a splendid review from the New York Times. Catcher in the Rye is a great novel because of its subtle symbolism, amazing portrayal of Holden Caulfield and ends on a higher note than most people realize.

“I spent my whole childhood wishing I were older and now I'm spending my adulthood wishing I were younger.” Ricky Schroder. Some may want to grow old and some may want to stay young forever. Holden Caulfield describes his massive fears of change through symbolizes in his quick break of from school. J.D. Salinger displays throughout the revolutionary novel, Catcher in the Rye, that the wild that live in the pond in Central Park, New York, symbolizes multiple fears to Holden Caulfield.

In 1951 J.D. Salinger writes The Catcher in the Rye. This book tells a tail about a 16 year old boy who is afraid of changing. Holden Caulfield has yet again for the fourth time been expelled from school. For failing his classes except for english. He leaves Pencey Prep 3 days early and sets out on an adventure to find himself. Holden travels to New York and rents a hotel only to make a mistake and have a prostitute over. Maurice you delivered her to him comes back to the room to get Holden to pay up the rest of the money. Back talking results in Holden getting beat up. Maurice leaves after he gets the money, whist list Holden starts to cry. Later in the book Holden meets nuns and has a conversation with them that he enjoys. After his day with the nuns Holden meets up with his brother's ex-girlfriend Sally. Only their date doesn't last long as Holden tells her "you give me a royal pain in the ass" (Salinger 148) resulting in Sally crying and the date ending. Fast forward he meets with his sister Phoebe and tells what happened. As Holden is going through a rough time he gets checked into a mental institution. In The Catcher in the Rye Salinger uses 3 symbols to describe Holden's feelings. The 3 symbols that explain Holden's feelings, Holden's red hunting hat, the ducks in the lagoon, and Allie's baseball mitt. The three symbols represent Holden's fear of changing from a child and becoming an adult. Which he calls "phony".

During the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, author J.D. Salinger brings Holden’s pessimistic, antisocial personality to life through what he says, how he says it, and through the characters he meets. Salinger bases Holden’s expressions off of the culture of the 1950’s, his own personal dialect, and the everyday occurrences of Holden’s life in mind. J.D. Salinger manipulates the diction, uses syntax to criticize others, and controls the character interaction and dialogue in order to create the protagonist, Holden Caulfield.

The author J.D Salinger conveys the theme of the loss of innocence in title?? using symbolism.

Figurative language is one the most creative tools in the english language. Salinger models three in particular examples of that stand out the most. He uses these toget his point across. In The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger uses motifs, symbols, and extended metaphors to convey his idea that innocence can not be prevented.

In the novel, Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger uses a variety of symbols to support the thematic idea that maturation and the loss of innocence are an inescapable rite of passage for all of humanity. Three significant symbols that signify the importance of alteration and losing one’s purity to become more suited to live in the real world are the ducks in the lagoon of Central Park, the “Catcher in the Rye”, and the carousel and the gold ring. Furthermore, these three symbols hold a significant meaning for the main protagonist, Holden Caulfield as well.

The pencey advertisement is also something Holden finds repulsive. “ since 1888 we have been molding boys into splendid, clear-thinking young men,” (page 2). Holden gets suspended from school for his lack of good grades, while his roommate at Pencey Prep, Stradlater, gets by on his good looks and popularity, by having others do his work for him. This is what Holden finds wrong in the world. The prejudice of good looks and the pressure to fit in. Holden, was born into the rich and popular environment. Although, he was born into the rich and popular environment he still has trouble fitting into that world.

J.D. Salinger began the process of writing his first novel The Catcher in the Rye, just after being released from a mental hospital. According to mentalfloss.com. Salinger being a WWII veteran caused many to believe that he checked himself into the hospital due to the grim memories of the war. However, Salinger’s quiet profile prevents people from truly knowing him and his reasonings. As a reader it is your job to decipher the author's writing, that being said, because of Salinger’s reserved personality symbolism plays a big role in understanding his novel. In the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Salinger uses symbolism to represent the larger ideas of the book. The ducks in the Central Park Lagoon, Holden’s red hunting hat, and the carrousel are symbols that are important to the overall understanding of the Catcher in the Rye.

Many novels cannot be fully understood and appreciated if only read for face value, and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is no exception. The abundant use of symbolism in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is of such significance that it “proclaims itself in the very title of the novel” (Trowbridge par. 1). If the symbolism in this novel is studied closely, there should be no astonishment in learning that The Catcher in the Rye took approximately ten years to write and was originally twice its present length. J.D. Salinger uses copious amounts

J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye, was a skilled writer who included many distinct symbols in his writing. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger strategically placed objects around Holden, the protagonist, that have deeper meanings than their initial appearance. Holden is struggling with his own mental state and how he perceives the world around him. Throughout the novel, Holden refers to the people around him as ‘phonies’. This is perhaps because he is struggling with his own self-image and insecurity about being authentic and mature. Holden struggles with the idea of childhood innocence and he wants to protect his sister, Phoebe, from the harsh reality of adulthood. When Holden takes his sister to the carousel, he anxiously watches as she reaches for the gold ring, which in this case symbolises adulthood. Another reoccurring symbol in The Catcher in the Rye is Holden's red hunting hat. In his times of need, Holden would put on his hat as a way to isolate himself from the world around him. The strategic use of symbolism throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye gives the reader insight into the mind of Holden and how he perceives the world.

When people grow up for some it is painless while for others it is difficult. J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye is a book about a boy named Holden who is scared to grow up, he tries to hold on to his childhood for as long as he can. Growing up is something that Holden fears as seen throughout the story. Salinger revels Holden’s fear of change through The Museum of Natural History, Little Shirley Beans Record, and the ducks in Central Park.

Holden in The Catcher in the Rye loses his innocence at an early age; the author, J.D. Salinger uses symbolism to show the idea that innocence is something that will be lost and cannot be preserved.

Considered one of the best novels of the 20th century, The Catcher in the Rye has affected readers around the globe since its publication in 1951. Its contemporary critics, however, gave the novel mixed reviews. Compared to the ideals of 1950s America, Holden Caulfield, the emotionally immature, extremely judgmental, teen-aged main character of “Catcher,” embodies the antithesis. Holden was an affront to the new social order, which demanded conformity and propagated the “father knows best” mentality. Americans, however, despite the postwar economic boom, remained suspicious of authority. In idyllic suburban neighborhoods across the country, while families huddled around their new television screens, people discussed their neighbors’ movements, made distrustful even of their closest friends by the “Red Scare”. The American Dream seemed like a golden ring just out of reach, leaving people feeling like they were going around in circles without a clear destination or purpose. With his sense of nostalgia for better times, his bleak perspective of the future, and his contradictory nature, Holden speaks directly to this sense of confusion at the world that Americans felt during the 1950s.

The author from The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger utilizes motifs loneliness and depression to show how Holden a teenager from the book explains the struggles he had during the great depression. J.D. Salinger uses the motifs of loneliness and depression to illustrate the theme that when people feel lonely they try to connect with people to get rid of it.