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Unit Notes: Catcher in the Rye
Phoniness
He wrote this terrific book of short stories…now he’s out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute.”
(1-2)
Holden introduces the theme of phoniness through his comment upon his bother, D.B.. He respected
his brother when he was a “regular writer” (1) and called him “my favourite writer.”(18) However,
now that he writes for the movies, he thinks his brother is a sellout and that is why he uses the term,
“prostitute”. He sells something that Holden views as sacred and personal – his unique and
individual talent to write – for a Jaguar that “damn near cost him four thousand bucks.”
“In the first place, I hate actors. They never act like people. They just think they do...If an actor
acts [a play] out, I hardly listen. I keep worrying about whether he's going to do something phony
every minute.” (117)
Acting/movies is again a symbol of phoniness and the over-simplified and romanticized view of the
world that, in the long run, only serves to hurt us as we grow up and have our innocence so brutally
and cruelly stripped away.
Chapter 12
“It was very phony...I don't even think he knows anymore when he's playing right or not. It isn't
all his fault. I partly blame all those dopes that clap their heads off – they'd foul up anybody if
you gave them a chance. Anyway, it made me feel depressed and lousy again...”
(84)
Holden is referring to the saxophone player, Ernie, who he sees performing at a club one night.
Ernie is yet one more example for Holden of all the phoniness and fakery in society. He has to fake
what he plays to please the audience. He puts in “all these dumb, show-offy ripples in the high
notes” (84) because he knows this is what the audience, in their musical ignorance, applauds.
Holden feels Ernie hasn't played what he feels for so long that he's forgotten how to do it. Ernie
symbolizes how, even though we may hate the phoniness of the world, we, ourselves, have to be
fakes or phonies to survive in this artificial world of our own making. If we do it for long enough, we
start to forget that we, ourselves, have become phonies. It just becomes the way we survive and
keep ourselves protected.
Chapter 18
1/ “I've watched that guy [who plays the kettle drum] since I was about eight years old...He only
gets a chance to bang them a couple of times during the whole piece, but he never looks bored
when he's doing it. Then when he does bang them, he does it so nice and sweet, with this nervous
expression on his face.” (138)
The kettle drum player has a small and, seemingly, insignificant part to play in the Rockette's
Christmas show but when he bangs the kettle drum, he puts every thing into it and obviously enjoys
his role. Holden can relate to him because he is not a phony or a fake like Ernie who tries to please
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the crowd by playing “show-offy” stuff that they might like. Neither is he a phony or a fake like
some of the main attractions in the Rockette's show who look like “they could hardly wait to get a
cigarette or something.” (137) Holden can also probably relate to the kettle drum player because
he reassures Holden that, despite his seeming insignificance in this big, wide universe, he can still
matter and have a life and purpose of some consequence and meaning...and most importantly, be
happy within that life. This gives Holden a sense of hope, no matter how small, when he is feeling
most hopeless.
2/ “You take somebody that cries their eyes out over phony stuff in the movies, and nine times out
of ten they're mean bastards at heart.” (140)
Holden watches a movie immediately after the Rockette's show and its phoniness and it's fake
happy ending makes him “...want to puke all over himself.” (139) because he is beginning to see
that movies which have “everybody at this long dinner table laughing their asses off” (139) are not
a reflection of adult reality. Not every life, as in the movies, ends with a happy ending where the
“homey babe [gets] married...the drunkard gets his nerves back” or the blind “can see again (139)
as they all live happily ever after. The movies and actors, throughout the entire book, serve as a
symbol of the phoniness of, not only the adult world, but of our idealistic and overly romanticized
childhood view of that adult world. The above quote goes even further to suggest that people who
buy into this fake view of the world end up being nothing but phonies themselves who, s a result,
are”mean bastards at heart. Holden could quite easily be talking about himself here as he watches
what he, himself, is becoming with his shield of contempt and cynicism.
Chapter 22
1/ “[Pencey] was full of phonies. And mean guys. You never saw so many mean guys in your life.
For instance, if you were having a bull session in somebody's room, and somebody wanted to
come in, nobody'd let them come in if they were some dopey, pimply guy. Everybody was always
locking their door when somebody wanted to come in. And they had this...secret fraternity that I
was too yellow not to join. There was this one pimply, boring guy, Robert Ackley, that wanted to
get in. He kept trying to join, and they wouldn't let him. Just because he was boring and pimply.”
(167)
The theme of isolation and alienation, and phoniness is directly referenced in this passage as Holden
talks about how people like Ackley are made outcasts for purely superficial reasons. Acceptance and
inclusion depend on these superficial standards set by a phony and judgmental society. This is why
Holden is so afraid to let people see the real him. He is afraid of being rejected the same way Ackley
is. He knows he is a phony, too, and that he, in his own way, judges Ackley and others the same way
the rest of society does. However, even though he finds Ackley disgusting and bothersome, he still
makes a point of including him in things like going to the movies. He knows what being isolated feels
like. Sadly though, when he says “I was too yellow not to join...this secret fraternity” that the other
boys would not let Ackley join, it reveals how even though Holden hates the superficiality and
phoniness of the world, and of himself, it also reveals how he lacks the courage not to be a phony,
himself. It is what he has to do to fit in and not be totally rejected by the world in which he must live
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and survive. He hates the isolation and loneliness of his own separateness and he will do anything
to combat it, whether it is paying a prostitute like Sunny to spend time with him or inviting a total
stranger of a taxi cab driver out for a drink or even joining some phony fraternity that at least gives
him some reprieve from his own loneliness, no matter how temporary or personally disgusting.
Holden, p. 59: "Then I started to read the timetable I had in my pocket. Just to stop lying. Once
I get started, I can go for hours if I feel like it. No kidding. Hours."
Starting on page 54, Holden concocts an elaborate lie--running four and-a-half pages--on the train
with the mother of Earnest Morrow, one of his classmates. Holden seems to enjoy pulling her leg and
it obviously made her feel good about her son to know his classmates had wanted him to run for class
president. Holden knows that his mother would surely confront him later with the news about his
"popularity," as he is in reality very unpopular at school.
The scene provides insight into Holden’s character. He is quick to condemn what he deems as
phoniness in others and here provides evidence of his hypocrisy. He tells elaborate lies to Ernest’s
mother and he has no real reason for the lies. He is more superficial, and phony than any other
character in the novel that that point.
"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."
There is one point in the novel where Holden declares himself to be really happy. So happy, in fact,
that he's "damn near bawling." In Chapter Twenty-Five, as he's out in the rain watching Phoebe go
around on the carousel. She just looks so nice, he says, in her blue coat, going around and around.
A few things have just happened: (1) Holden decided that, after all, he's not going to run away, (2)
Phoebe put his hunting hat back on his head, and (3) just maybe, Holden has realized that growing
up isn't the worst thing in the world. This is the problem which Holden has been trying to outrun
from the beginning.
Phoebe's grabbing for the gold ring, and Holden's thought that "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" . Old carousels would release various-colored rings down a
wooden chute on the outside of the carousel. If you timed it right, you could reach up and grab the
ring—at great risk to falling off the horse. If you got the ring,you could redeem the ring for prizes
like a free ride.
When Holden concludes that you have to just let a kid reach, even though they might get hurt doing
so, he might be saying admitting (although he probably doesn't realize it himself, but for the benefit
of the reader) that growing up is in fact necessary and that in protecting a child from it, would mean
potentially losing out on the rewards in life.
Holden does not get on the carousel because he realizes he is too old. He can't recapture the thrill of
going around and around with the music playing. It is for younger children to enjoy. This is a sign
that Holden right there is giving up his childhood and "coming of age." He had fantasized about
being a catcher in the rye, saving little children from falling; but as he watches his little sister risking
falling off her wooden steed by reaching for the gold ring, he thinks:
“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.”
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Holden has stopped wanting to be a catcher in the rye. He is giving up the fantasies of youth and
accepting the cold reality of adulthood. The carousel is a symbol of what he is realizing and feeling,
because it goes on and on but there are always different people riding on it, getting thrilled by the
whirling motion, and reaching for that gold ring which is really only made of brass. This develops
the theme of phoniness and conformity in that Holden is acknowledging growing up requires giving
up the childish things of childhood, taking risks, and trying to become all that they might be in the
future; “to reach for the brass ring”. To warn the ‘reacher’ of the potential losses inherent in
growing up, robs the child of the thrill as the fear of falling prevents the child from taking a risk at
all.
Chapter 23
“'I have a feeling that you're riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall... (186) this fall I think
you're riding for – it's a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn't permitted to feel
or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling...'” (187)
This piece of ominous advice to Holden by Mr. Antolini is an allusion to the title of the book and to
the passage where Holden talks about wishing he could be the “catcher in the rye” saving all the
children from falling over the cliff. It is rather ironic that the child who will be falling, according to
Mr. Antolini, is Holden. As well, the fall may be a lot worse than just the loss of his innocence. It
may be a total mental breakdown or even his own demise. Even more ironic, as Mr. Antolini gives
Holden advice on how he can possibly straighten out his life, he is acting, in a way, like Holden's
“catcher in the rye”. Holden's pushing him away in the belief that Mr. Antolini is a pervert may
symbolize Holden's inability to take the advice or the help that could, possibly, save him. Mr.
Spencer, his history teacher, also tried to help or save Holden earlier in the novel but Holden's view
of the entire adult world and all adults as phony makes him unable to take the help he needs when
he is offered it.
“'The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the
mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.'” (188)
This piece of advice by Mr. Antolini bolsters the argument that he is, indeed, just a kind-hearted,
good Samaritan of a person who is just looking out for the welfare of Holden; he is not the perverted
pedophile Holden thinks he is. He seems to understand Holden quite well, but even he probably
doesn't understand just how much this statement applies to Holden. Holden, in his overly
romanticized, fake-movie view of the world, sees death as something that can be romantic. His
repeated imagining of himself being shot in the stomach sees him portraying himself as a noble
victim of a cruel and mean-spirited world. Mr. Antolini suggests, with this saying, that the truly
mature person is the person who can fulfill his purpose or “cause” in life without any fanfare or
glory, or foolishly romantic pretensions. He or she does it because it is who they are and it is the
right thing to do. It just feels right and feels natural as it fulfills them and makes them happy. The
reader can't help but recall Holden's conversation with Phoebe over becoming a lawyer. He feared
that if he became a lawyer, it would just be for having people “slapping you on the back and
congratulating you.” Holden, himself, would rather be a lawyer just to help people and because it
would bring him personal pleasure as it offers him a sense of purpose and fulfillment. What Holden
fears is that he would have to be a fake or phony if he was to be a successful lawyer. He would have
to “make a lot of dough and play golf and play bridge and buy cars and drink Martinis and look like
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a hot shot” or he would not amount to much as a lawyer and, by extension, person. Mr Antolini is,
basically, saying that if you are not a phony you'll probably be a little less noticed but you certainly
will be happy. It would be like Holden always wearing his red hunting hat. He would be true to
himself and that is the person you must believe in the most, and be true to, if you are to be happy. If
the rest of the world is phony – and it probably is – stop trying so hard to be like the rest of the
world.
Symbolism of Hunting Hat & theme of Conformity
Chapter 3
Holden “put on [his] new hat and sat down and started reading Out of Africa.” (19) This is very
ironic that Holden puts on this rather unusual red hunting hat indoors but, despite how cold it is
outside, does not wear it when he goes near the football field or when he goes out to visit Spencer.
This irony highlights the internal conflict in Holden’s head. The hat, with its unusual appearance, is
a symbol of Holden’s desire to be an individual in a world that is all about conformity. When he
wears it, he is asserting his individuality and his separateness from a world into which he feels he
does not fit. However, when he goes out in public, he does not wear it. This is ironic because one
would think it would be in public where Holden would most want to assert his individuality.
However, the fact that he only wears it when he is alone suggests he is torn between asserting the
uniqueness of his identity and his desire for interaction and connection. When he goes out in
public, as cynical as he is, what he really wants is to connect to a world and the people in it. He only
pushes that world away because he fears the world will push him aside anyway.
Chapter 4
When Stradlater notices his hat and comments upon it he “[takes] off [his] hat” (29) even though
he “still had [his] red hunting hat on” (27) indoors. He again wears it as a symbol of his
individuality and separateness, but in the company of others he sacrifices that individuality to try
and fit into a world he hates with people he loathes but needs. The fact that Stradlater immediately
asks Holden to write his English composition immediately after noting how “sharp” the cap was,
tells not only how superficial and phony Stradlater is but how desperate Holden is to fit in.
Chapter 5
“After [Ackley] left, I put on…my old hunting hat.” (37)
Once again, Holden refuses to wear the symbol of his individuality – the red hunting hat – in public.
Like his cynicism, the hat helps him separate himself from society by its uniqueness but, at the same
time, his failure to put it on in public demonstrates his desire to in some way, connect to a world he
finds very, very cold indeed.
4/ Holden’s description of Allie’s baseball mitt is a way for Holden to stay connected to his dead
younger brother who died of leukemia. When he talks of Allie, it is not with the same cynicism and
disgust he views the rest of humankind. He sees Allie as “fifty times as intelligent” as him and “the
nicest, in lots of ways.” (38) Now we get a sense, as a reader, for Holden’s desire to disconnect
form society as a way of protecting himself. When the people you love most disappear, it is hard to
count on other relationships to be ones you can trust in and count on for some form of permanency.
This anger over the loss Holden has suffered manifested itself in the form of anger when he “broke
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all the windows in the garage…the night [Allie] died” (39) but now it comes through in the form of
Holden’s cynicism and contempt for the world and the relationships he longs for but which
ultimately end up being unfulfilling and disappointing.
Chapter 7
Holden again “put [his] red hunting hat on and turned the peak around to the back, the way [he]
liked it” (52) when he leaves Pencey and is away from all the other students at the school. He
asserts his individuality when he has isolated himself from anyone in the school and steps out into
the night all alone. Alone, he can’t be rejected for his individuality.
Chapter 8
“That hat I bought had earlaps in it, and I put them on – I didn't give a damn how I looked.
Nobody was around anyway. Everybody was in the sack.” (53)
b) All I did was take off my hunting hat and put it in my pocket.” (53)
Again, Holden's hat symbolizes the individuality he is afraid to assert when others are around. He is
only willing to wear it now because “nobody was around”. He fears being rejected for who he is so
he hides who he is. When he boards a train and faces the possibility of being exposed to a lot of
people, he takes it off and puts it in his pocket.
Chapter 9
“We got to the Edmont Hotel, and I checked in. I'd put on my red hunting cap when I was in the
cab, just for the hell of it, but I took it off before I checked in. I didn't want to look like a screwball
or something.” (61)
Yet again, Holden refuses too wear his cap in public as he continues to hide his true self from an ever
judgemental world. The cap is what makes him feel special or unique and different. Sadly, he fears
his uniqueness will make him “look like a screwball or something” to the cruel, cold world that takes
no mercy on anyone who happens to be not like everyone else or not cut from the same mold as
everyone else.
Chapter 13
1“...I took my red hunting hat out of my pocket and put it on – I didn't give a damn how I looked.”
(88)
Holden acknowledges here that his hat is not only part of who he is but, more importantly, he is
afraid to assert his true individuality and identity when he is out in public. For once, he musters up
the courage to not “give a damn” what others think and let society see at least a part of the real
Holden Caulfield. Unfortunately, for the most part, it is more bravado than real conviction as Holden
continues to retreat further and further within himself as the novel progresses.
“I took my old hunting hat out of my pocket while I walked, and put it on. I knew I wouldn't meet
anybody that knew me.” (122)
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The hunting hat continues to be a symbol of Holden's true self and his individuality. His continued
fear of someone seeing him in this hat symbolizes his fear of letting anyone see the real him. He is
afraid of being rejected for his individuality so he hides the hat and himself from the world by
isolating himself from that world.
Chapter 23
“...I took my hunting hat out of my pocket and gave it to [Phoebe]...She didn't want to take it, but
I made her. I'll bet she slept with it on.” (180)
Holden's giving of the hat to Phoebe shows the love and intimacy between them. His giving it is a
symbol of a relationship that works two ways. This is what Holden needs but has been lacking and,
sadly, what he fears because of the emotional commitment and risk that is involved. Furthermore,
the hat has always acted as a symbol of Holden's true self and identity. His giving it to Phoebe
symbolizes his letting her see who he really is. This, as stated, involves a lot of risk because being
rejected and left alone is what terrifies Holden. The exchange shows a still alive potential in Holden
to forge healthy and nurturing relationships with people who love him and whom he loves. Just as
there is an impending fall over the cliff lurking on Holden's horizon, there is also a hope that the fall
can be prevented before it is too late.
Phoniness
He wrote this terrific book of short stories…now he’s out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute.”
(1-2)
Holden introduces the theme of phoniness through his comment upon his bother, D.B.. He respected
his brother when he was a “regular writer” (1) and called him “my favourite writer.”(18) However,
now that he writes for the movies, he thinks his brother is a sellout and that is why he uses the term,
“prostitute”. He sells something that Holden views as sacred and personal – his unique and
individual talent to write – for a Jaguar that “damn near cost him four thousand bucks.”
“In the first place, I hate actors. They never act like people. They just think they do...If an actor
acts [a play] out, I hardly listen. I keep worrying about whether he's going to do something phony
every minute.” (117)
Acting/movies is again a symbol of phoniness and the over-simplified and romanticized view of the
world that, in the long run, only serves to hurt us as we grow up and have our innocence so brutally
and cruelly stripped away.
Chapter 12
“It was very phony...I don't even think he knows anymore when he's playing right or not. It isn't
all his fault. I partly blame all those dopes that clap their heads off – they'd foul up anybody if
you gave them a chance. Anyway, it made me feel depressed and lousy again...”
(84)
Holden is referring to the saxophone player, Ernie, who he sees performing at a club one night.
Ernie is yet one more example for Holden of all the phoniness and fakery in society. He has to fake
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what he plays to please the audience. He puts in “all these dumb, show-offy ripples in the high
notes” (84) because he knows this is what the audience, in their musical ignorance, applauds.
Holden feels Ernie hasn't played what he feels for so long that he's forgotten how to do it. Ernie
symbolizes how, even though we may hate the phoniness of the world, we, ourselves, have to be
fakes or phonies to survive in this artificial world of our own making. If we do it for long enough, we
start to forget that we, ourselves, have become phonies. It just becomes the way we survive and
keep ourselves protected.
Chapter 18
1/ “I've watched that guy [who plays the kettle drum] since I was about eight years old...He only
gets a chance to bang them a couple of times during the whole piece, but he never looks bored
when he's doing it. Then when he does bang them, he does it so nice and sweet, with this nervous
expression on his face.” (138)
The kettle drum player has a small and, seemingly, insignificant part to play in the Rockette's
Christmas show but when he bangs the kettle drum, he puts every thing into it and obviously enjoys
his role. Holden can relate to him because he is not a phony or a fake like Ernie who tries to please
the crowd by playing “show-offy” stuff that they might like. Neither is he a phony or a fake like
some of the main attractions in the Rockette's show who look like “they could hardly wait to get a
cigarette or something.” (137) Holden can also probably relate to the kettle drum player because
he reassures Holden that, despite his seeming insignificance in this big, wide universe, he can still
matter and have a life and purpose of some consequence and meaning...and most importantly, be
happy within that life. This gives Holden a sense of hope, no matter how small, when he is feeling
most hopeless.
2/ “You take somebody that cries their eyes out over phony stuff in the movies, and nine times out
of ten they're mean bastards at heart.” (140)
Holden watches a movie immediately after the Rockette's show and its phoniness and it's fake
happy ending makes him “...want to puke all over himself.” (139) because he is beginning to see
that movies which have “everybody at this long dinner table laughing their asses off” (139) are not
a reflection of adult reality. Not every life, as in the movies, ends with a happy ending where the
“homey babe [gets] married...the drunkard gets his nerves back” or the blind “can see again (139)
as they all live happily ever after. The movies and actors, throughout the entire book, serve as a
symbol of the phoniness of, not only the adult world, but of our idealistic and overly romanticized
childhood view of that adult world. The above quote goes even further to suggest that people who
buy into this fake view of the world end up being nothing but phonies themselves who as a result,
are”mean bastards at heart. Holden could quite easily be talking about himself here as he watches
what he, himself, is becoming with his shield of contempt and cynicism.
Chapter 22
1/ “[Pencey] was full of phonies. And mean guys. You never saw so many mean guys in your life.
For instance, if you were having a bull session in somebody's room, and somebody wanted to
come in, nobody'd let them come in if they were some dopey, pimply guy. Everybody was always
locking their door when somebody wanted to come in. And they had this...secret fraternity that I
was too yellow not to join. There was this one pimply, boring guy, Robert Ackley, that wanted to
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get in. He kept trying to join, and they wouldn't let him. Just because he was boring and pimply.”
(167)
The theme of isolation and alienation, and phoniness is directly referenced in this passage as Holden
talks about how people like Ackley are made outcasts for purely superficial reasons. Acceptance and
inclusion depend on these superficial standards set by a phony and judgmental society. This is why
Holden is so afraid to let people see the real him. He is afraid of being rejected the same way Ackley
is. He knows he is a phony, too, and that he, in his own way, judges Ackley and others the same way
the rest of society does. However, even though he finds Ackley disgusting and bothersome, he still
makes a point of including him in things like going to the movies. He knows what being isolated feels
like. Sadly though, when he says “I was too yellow not to join...this secret fraternity” that the other
boys would not let Ackley join, it reveals how even though Holden hates the superficiality and
phoniness of the world, and of himself, it also reveals how he lacks the courage not to be a phony,
himself. It is what he has to do to fit in and not be totally rejected by the world in which he must live
and survive. He hates the isolation and loneliness of his own separateness and he will do anything
to combat it, whether it is paying a prostitute like Sunny to spend time with him or inviting a total
stranger of a taxi cab driver out for a drink or even joining some phony fraternity that at least gives
him some reprieve from his own loneliness, no matter how temporary or personally disgusting.
"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."
There is one point in the novel where Holden declares himself to be really happy. So happy, in fact,
that he's "damn near bawling." In Chapter Twenty-Five, as he's out in the rain watching Phoebe go
around on the carousel. She just looks so nice, he says, in her blue coat, going around and around.
A few things have just happened: (1) Holden decided that, after all, he's not going to run away, (2)
Phoebe put his hunting hat back on his head, and (3) just maybe, Holden has realized that growing
up isn't the worst thing in the world. This is the problem which Holden has been trying to outrun
from the beginning.
Phoebe's grabbing for the gold ring, and Holden's thought that "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" . Old carousels would release various-colored rings down a
wooden chute on the outside of the carousel. If you timed it right, you could reach up and grab the
ring—at great risk to falling off the horse. If you got the ring,you could redeem the ring for prizes
like a free ride.
When Holden concludes that you have to just let a kid reach, even though they might get hurt doing
so, he might be saying admitting (although he probably doesn't realize it himself, but for the benefit
of the reader) that growing up is in fact necessary and that in protecting a child from it, would mean
potentially losing out on the rewards in life.
Holden does not get on the carousel because he realizes he is too old. He can't recapture the thrill of
going around and around with the music playing. It is for younger children to enjoy. This is a sign
that Holden right there is giving up his childhood and "coming of age." He had fantasized about
being a catcher in the rye, saving little children from falling; but as he watches his little sister risking
falling off her wooden steed by reaching for the gold ring, he thinks:
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“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.”
Holden has stopped wanting to be a catcher in the rye. He is giving up the fantasies of youth and
accepting the cold reality of adulthood. The carousel is a symbol of what he is realizing and feeling,
because it goes on and on but there are always different people riding on it, getting thrilled by the
whirling motion, and reaching for that gold ring which is really only made of brass. This develops
the theme of phoniness and conformity in that Holden is acknowledging growing up requires giving
up the childish things of childhood, taking risks, and trying to become all that they might be in the
future; “to reach for the brass ring”. To warn the ‘reacher’ of the potential losses inherent in
growing up, robs the child of the thrill as the fear of falling prevents the child from taking a risk at
all.
Chapter 23
“'I have a feeling that you're riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall... (186) this fall I think
you're riding for – it's a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn't permitted to feel
or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling...'” (187)
This piece of ominous advice to Holden by Mr. Antolini is an allusion to the title of the book and to
the passage where Holden talks about wishing he could be the “catcher in the rye” saving all the
children from falling over the cliff. It is rather ironic that the child who will be falling, according to
Mr. Antolini, is Holden. As well, the fall may be a lot worse than just the loss of his innocence. It
may be a total mental breakdown or even his own demise. Even more ironic, as Mr. Antolini gives
Holden advice on how he can possibly straighten out his life, he is acting, in a way, like Holden's
“catcher in the rye”. Holden's pushing him away in the belief that Mr. Antolini is a pervert may
symbolize Holden's inability to take the advice or the help that could, possibly, save him. Mr.
Spencer, his history teacher, also tried to help or save Holden earlier in the novel but Holden's view
of the entire adult world and all adults as phony makes him unable to take the help he needs when
he is offered it.
“'The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the
mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.'” (188)
This piece of advice by Mr. Antolini bolsters the argument that he is, indeed, just a kind-hearted,
good Samaritan of a person who is just looking out for the welfare of Holden; he is not the perverted
pedophile Holden thinks he is. He seems to understand Holden quite well, but even he probably
doesn't understand just how much this statement applies to Holden. Holden, in his overly
romanticized, fake-movie view of the world, sees death as something that can be romantic. His
repeated imagining of himself being shot in the stomach sees him portraying himself as a noble
victim of a cruel and mean-spirited world. Mr. Antolini suggests, with this saying, that the truly
mature person is the person who can fulfill his purpose or “cause” in life without any fanfare or
glory, or foolishly romantic pretensions. He or she does it because it is who they are and it is the
right thing to do. It just feels right and feels natural as it fulfills them and makes them happy. The
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reader can't help but recall Holden's conversation with Phoebe over becoming a lawyer. He feared
that if he became a lawyer, it would just be for having people “slapping you on the back and
congratulating you.” Holden, himself, would rather be a lawyer just to help people and because it
would bring him personal pleasure as it offers him a sense of purpose and fulfillment. What Holden
fears is that he would have to be a fake or phony if he was to be a successful lawyer. He would have
to “make a lot of dough and play golf and play bridge and buy cars and drink Martinis and look like
a hot shot” or he would not amount to much as a lawyer and, by extension, person. Mr Antolini is,
basically, saying that if you are not a phony you'll probably be a little less noticed but you certainly
will be happy. It would be like Holden always wearing his red hunting hat. He would be true to
himself and that is the person you must believe in the most, and be true to, if you are to be happy. If
the rest of the world is phony – and it probably is – stop trying so hard to be like the rest of the
world.
Confusion about Love & Relationships
Chapter 17
2/ a) “Finally, old Sally started coming up the stairs, and I started down to meet her. She looked
terrific...I felt like marrying her the minute I saw her. I'm crazy. I didn't even like her much, and
yet all of a sudden I felt like I was in love with her and wanted to marry her.” (124)
b) “She had one of those very loud, embarrassing voices when you met her somewhere. She got
away with it because she was so damn good-looking but it always gave me a pain in the ass.”
(124)
c) “...when we were coming out of this big clinch, I told her I loved her and all. It was a big lie, of
course, but the thing is, I meant it when I said it. I'm crazy. I swear to God I am.” (125)
d) “'Oh, darling, I love you too,' [Sally] said. Then, right in the same damn breath, she said,
'Promise me you'll let your hair grow. Crew cuts are getting corny. And your hair's so lovely.'”
(125)
e) “If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if she's late?” (125)
f) “I sort of hated old Sally by the time we got in the cab...(128) She really did look damn
good...though.” (129)
Holden again shows his confusion over love and sexual attraction. Sally gave him “a pain in the ass”
and he “hated” her and found her “embarrassing” but she “looks swell”. Feelings as intense as
these adolescent sexual urges make him mistake them for love and as a result of his burgeoning
sexual desires, he feels like he is”in love with her and [wants] to marry her.” However, even when he
tells her he “loved her and all” and even “meant it when he said it”, he still knows “it was a big lie”
because it does not fit with his romantic and idealized view of what he thought love would be like.
He feels like he is “crazy” because he can't understand why he is so attracted to someone he can't
stand. In his childhood innocence, it is not how he imagined love would be and this confusion leads
to his sense of disillusionment and his belief that he is crazy. Sally is no better as she tells Holden “'I
love you, too'” and then makes him promise to “let [his] hair grow”. Her feelings are based on the
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same superficial feelings of sexual attraction as Holden's are and this does nothing to help Holden
differentiate between love and lust.
“'Look,' I said. 'Here's my idea...What we could do is, tomorrow morning we could drive up to
Massachusetts and Vermont...It's beautiful as hell up there...I have about a hundred and eighty
bucks in the bank...We'll stay in these cabin camps and stuff like that till the dough runs out.
Then, when the dough runs out, I could get a job somewhere and we could live somewhere with a
brook and all and, later on, we could get married or something. I could chop all our own wood in
the wintertime and all. Honest to God, we could have a terrific time'” (132)
Holden's naïve romantic notions are in full bloom here as he suggests to Sally that they run away
together to a cabin in the woods and get married. It is no coincidence that he suggests an isolated
cabin away from society because, once again, it is Holden running away from the real world to
which he cannot connect or deal. However, his idealistic and overly simplistic view of what he
thinks love and marriage and happiness is shows the reader someone who is not in touch with
reality or who is not yet emotionally mature. He has repeatedly stated his dislike for Sally and his
sudden desire to marry her shows a young boy who is desperately lonely and will take human
connection in any from, whatsoever. When Sally says to Holden, “'Stop screaming at me please'”
(132) and Holden, in his mind, believes it “was crap, because [he] wasn't even screaming at her.”
(132), it shows both his pleading desperation and how mentally troubled he is to not realize he is
screaming. His impending breakdown is becoming more and more obvious to the reader as the
novel progresses.
Symbolism of the Ducks Chapter 18: Fear of Death & Mutability
Chapter 1
“I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over.” (13)
The ducks and the frozen pond are two of the more important symbols or motifs in the novel, The
Catcher in the Rye. Holden’s curiosity about the ducks symbolizes his child-like and innocent
curiosity about the world in which he lives. It is an innocence that is being rapidly striped away by a
cold and “frozen” world that drives the ducks south and Holden into emotional seclusion. The frozen
pond symbolizes this cold, cruel, unfeeling and unforgiving world. However, the fact that the ducks
come back every Spring suggests that this alienation does not have to be permanent. It is not
impossible for Holden to once again feel a part of the world that has cast him aside and that he, in
turn, is pushing aside for his own emotional well-being.
“'By any chance do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it's frozen over.'” (60)
The ducks are once more mentioned and again serve to highlight two things. First, Holden's
curiosity about the ducks shows a childlike innocence of the world that contrasts greatly with the
adolescent cynicism he shows towards the adult world. As well, the ducks again symbolize the
alienated and isolated people like Holden who “fly south” to escape a “frozen” world that is cold and
unfeeling.
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Chapter 12
“The fish don't go no place. They stay right where they are, the fish” (82)
The fish, unlike the ducks that flee the frozen lake - and winter - for the warmth of the south, stay
right where they are and adapt to their environment. The fish symbolize the individuals who can
accept the coldness and phoniness of society and still find their own happiness within it by adapting
to the world they are forced to inhabit. They are a contrast to the ducks who represent the people
who escape from society because they find it too inhospitable and alienating. When Holden asks the
cab driver, Horwitz, “Do you happen to know where [the ducks] go in the wintertime” (82), what
he is really asking is “where do the people who can't cope with the loneliness and cruelty of this
world go to find some sense of peace or even escape?”
“Then, finally, I found [the duck pond]. What it was, it was partly frozen and partly not frozen.
Bit I didn't see any ducks around. I walked around the whole damn lake...but I didn't see a single
duck.” (154)
“I started picturing millions of jerks coming to my funeral.” (154)
“They all came when Allie died...I went with [my parents] a couple of times, but I cut it out. In
the first place, I certainly don't enjoy seeing him in that crazy cemetery... (156) what nearly drove
me crazy [was] all the visitors could get in their cars and turn on their radios and all and then go
some place nice for dinner – everybody except Allie. I couldn't stand it.” (156)
d) “I started thinking how old Phoebe would feel if I got pneumonia and died...She'd feel pretty
bad if something like that happened. She likes me a lot.” (156)
What ties all these passages together is the idea of unexplained disappearances. It is no coincidence
that Holden immediately thinks of death and funerals immediately after being unable to locate the
ducks. The disappearing ducks symbolize people who seem to disappear from our lives in an instant
either through death or just plain leaving. Holden doesn't know where the ducks are or why they
left. The same is true of Allie. He knows Allie is in a hole in the ground but, being an atheist, does
not take comfort in him being some place better in the afterlife. Just as the ducks disappeared, so
did Allie from Holden's life, and with just as little explanation or reason. Holden's fear of connecting
or loving something or someone who may be gone in an instant makes the reader understand why
Holden is so alienated and disconnected, and the role Allie's death played in him feeling this way.
The idea of Holden picturing people coming to his funeral is rather ominous as it hints at a dark
destiny for the novel's troubled young protagonist. On a more positive note, his realization that
Phoebe “likes [him] a lot” and would “feel pretty bad” if he died, suggests to the reader there may
be hope for Holden. He can still recognize he is worthy of love and is, in fact, loved by someone he,
himself, cares deeply for. This, alone, is reason enough to stick around and choose life over death.
The reference to a pond “partly frozen and partly not frozen” symbolizes both the world and
the transitional state in which Holden finds himself. Holden is “partly frozen” because he has chosen
to shut down certain feelings in order to protect himself. He is “partly not frozen” because it is
obvious through many of his comments about Jane and Phoebe and his mother and even his dead
brother, Allie, that he still cares deeply for them all and he is unable to completely shut himself off
14
from having these feelings. If he does not get help, he will, eventually, become fully “frozen” and
encounter the “fall” Mr. Antolini fears for him.
The comment about the pond also symbolizes the world in which Holden lives. Yes, it is a
cold and “frozen” world that often seems to be uncaring and unnecessarily cruel. And, indeed, there
are many relationships that will be painful and hurtful as people come and go throughout your life.
Despite all this, however, if you open yourself up to other people and believe in your own
worthiness, you will find individuals who will care for you and love you for who you are and you will
also find a sense of purpose that will fulfill and sustain you as you travel through life from birth to
death. Whether the world is “partly frozen” or “partly not frozen” has as much to do with you, and
your perspective on it, as it does the world, itself.
The Catcher in the Rye – Notes (adapted from: www.sparknotes.com/lit/catcher)
I. Plot Summary
Holden Caulfield, the seventeen-year-old narrator and protagonist, addresses the reader
directly from a sanitarium in southern California. He tells us about events that took place
over a few days over the previous December. He first digresses to mention his older
brother, D.B., was once a "terrific" short-story writer, but now has sold out and writes
scripts in nearby Hollywood. The story follows via long flashback constructed through
Holden's memory.
Holden begins at Pencey Prep, an exclusive private school in Pennsylvania, on the Saturday
afternoon of the traditional football game with a school rival. Holden misses the game.
Manager of the fencing team, he managed to lose the team's equipment on the subway that
morning, resulting in the cancellation of a match in New York. He is on his way to the home
of his history teacher, Mr. Spencer, to say good-bye as Holden has also been expelled.
Spencer is a well-meaning but long-winded, sickly old man, and Holden gladly escapes to
the quiet of his dorm.
Wearing his new red hunting cap, he begins to read. His reverie is temporary. First, an
awkward dorm neighbor, Ackley, disturbs him. Later, Holden argues with his roommate,
Stradlater, who fails to appreciate an English paper that Holden has written for him about a
baseball glove that belonged to Holden's deceased younger brother, Allie. A womanizer,
Stradlater has just returned from a date with Holden's old friend and potential girlfriend,
Jane Gallagher. The two roommates fight, Stradlater winning easily. Holden has had
enough of Pencey Prep and catches a train to New York City where he plans to stay in a hotel
until Wednesday, when his parents expect him to return home for Christmas vacation.
En route to New York, Holden meets the mother of a Pencey classmate and severely distorts
the truth by telling her what a popular boy her "rat" son is. Holden's Manhattan hotel room
faces windows of another wing of the hotel, and he observes assorted behavior by "perverts."
Holden struggles with his own sexuality. He meets three women in their thirties, tourists
from Seattle, in the hotel lounge (Lavender Room) and enjoys dancing with one, but ends up
with only the check. Following a disappointing visit to Ernie's Nightclub in Greenwich
Village, Holden agrees to have a prostitute, Sunny, visit his room. Holden has second
thoughts, makes up an excuse, and pays the girl to leave. To his surprise, Maurice, her pimp,
soon returns with her and assaults Holden for more money. He has lost two fights in one
night. It is near dawn on Sunday morning.
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After a short sleep, Holden telephones Sally Hayes, and agrees to meet her that afternoon to
go to a play. Holden leaves the hotel, checks his luggage at Grand Central Station, and has a
late breakfast. He meets two nuns, one is an English teacher with whom he discusses Romeo
and Juliet. He also forces the nuns to take money. Holden looks for a special record for his
10-year-old sister, Phoebe. He spots a small boy singing "If a body catch a body coming
through the rye," which somehow makes Holden feel less depressed.
Sally is snobbish and "phony," but the two watch a play. Sally and Holden skate at Radio
City but fight when Holden tries to discuss bothersome issues and then suddenly suggests
that they run off together. Holden insults Sally, leaves, endures a movie, and gets very
drunk. Throughout the novel, Holden has been worried about the ducks in the lagoon at
Central Park. He tries to locate the ducks, but only manages to break Phoebe's record in the
process. Exhausted physically and mentally, he heads home to see his sister.
Holden slips into his family’s apartment and watches his sweet, younger sister sleep.
Holden and Phoebe are close friends as well as siblings. He tells her that the one thing he'd
like to be is "the catcher in the rye." He will stand near the edge of a cliff, by a field of rye,
and catch any of the playing children who come close to falling off. Phoebe corrects Holden,
telling him that he has misinterpreted the line in the Robert Burns’ poem. When his parents
return from a late night out, Holden, undetected, leaves the apartment and visits the home
of Mr. Antolini, a favorite teacher. Mr. Antolini expresses genuine parental concern for
Holden’s well-being and offers sage advice. Later startled, Holden awakes in the predawn
hours to find Mr. Antolini patting Holden's head. He quickly leaves.
Monday morning, Holden arranges to meet Phoebe for lunch. He plans to say good-bye and
head west. Phoebe insists on leaving with him, and he finally agrees to stay. Holden's story
ends with Phoebe riding a carousel in the rain as Holden happily watches. In the final
chapter, Holden is at the sanitarium in California. He doesn't want to tell us anymore. In
fact, the whole story has only made him miss people, even the jerks.
II. Character Analysis
Holden Caufield
-
-
17-year-old 1st person narrator and protagonist of the novel, writes from a sanitarium
in southern California.
using flashback, he details what happened over a two-day period the previous
December
tall, partially gray, and thin
poor health - heavy smoker and drinker
independent, dependent, depressed, confused, angry, fragile, anxious, perceptive,
clever, intelligent, bigoted, homophobic, resentful, thoughtful, nostalgic, cynical,
hypocritical, apathetic, kind, mean, mature, immature, socially inept, and aroused.
Like many young people, Holden is struggling
prep schools represent all that is artificial or "phony"
resents the adult world, but society and his body are telling him that it is time for
change
attracted to trappings of adulthood: booze, cigarettes, the idea of sex, and a kind of
independence, but he despises the compromises, loss of innocence, absence of
integrity, and loss of authenticity in the grown-up world
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-
-
-
-
is unraveling. Near beginning and end of novel, he feels that he will disappear or fall
into an abyss when he steps off a curb to cross a street. Sometimes when this
happens, he calls on his dead brother, Allie. Part of Holden's collapse is due to his
inability to come to terms with death.
wants time itself to stop and wants beautiful moments to last forever (Museum of
Natural History)
struggles with family/class expectations. His upper class family expects him to be
successful, but he seeks spontaneous escape. When asked by Phoebe what he would
like to be, Holden rejects standard choices (lawyer or a scientist). Rather be "the
catcher in the rye," standing by the edge of a cliff and keeping children from falling
off
Holden's alienation is disenchantment mingled with hope. He sees ugliness and
beauty all around. He begins in turmoil, struggles in turmoil, has a moment of
epiphany (clarity) watching Phoebe at the carousel, eventually suffers physical and
emotional collapse.
At end of novel, he is exhausted and is ready to go home and collapse. He submits to
growing up.
Phoebe Caulfield
-
Holden's 10-year-old sister
bright, clever, grounded, pretty, mature, sane, and his most trusted link to family
has red hair and is "roller-skate skinny"
is successful in school and creative (a writer who corrects Holden concerning the
words to the Robert Burns poem that is the source of the novel's title)
seems to be his best friend
Allie Caulfield
-
Allie died of leukemia at the Caulfields' summer home in Maine; He was 11 years old;
Holden was 13.
Holden, distraught over the loss of his brother, broke his hand punching the
windows out of the garage of their summer home. He missed Allie's funeral – was in
hospital
Allie is a mysterious presence in the novel. Holden thinks of him often and speaks to
him when things are darkest in his life.
Allie is associated with the theme of death, but also represents hope and the
innocence of childhood.
Holden adores his brother. Only two years apart in age, they were close friends.
Allie was the most intelligent as well as the "nicest" member of the family. His
connection to Holden was intense. The older brother could sense when Allie was in
the vicinity, although he credits Allie's red hair for that.
Allie's left-handed baseball glove is a symbol of his unique personality as well as
Holden's love for his brother. Allie wrote poems all over it, in green ink. He did that
so he would have something to read when he was bored on the baseball field. Holden
keeps the glove with him and has it at Pencey. Telling someone like Stradlater about
the glove is a sacrilege. Allie is more than a brother to Holden. In Holden's chaotic
world, he is an angelic presence, a connection to death but also to hope.
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D.B. Caulfield
- Holden feels that his older brother has prostituted himself by becoming a
screenwriter.
- D.B. served extensively in World War II, landed in France on D-Day, and was in
Europe for the duration. He was disillusioned by the war and especially the military.
- D.B. represents the theme of adult phoniness - the genuine artist who sells out.
Stradlater
-
Holden’s roommate at Pencey Prep
Handsome, popular, well-groomed, secretly slobbish, sexually active, lazy, aggressive
Ackley
-
Dorm neighbour at Pencey prep
Socially awkward, unattractive, insecure
Jane Gallagher
-
Holden’s childhood girlfriend; experienced puppy love (handholding)
Holden respects her and desires the companionship that she offered
Sally Hayes
-
Attractive girl Holden dates
Holden is attracted to her, but insults and scares her with talk of running away
together
Sunny
-
Prostitute
Holden unable to connect with her on many levels
Maurice
-
Elevator operator/pimp
Arranges for Holden’s prostitute and assaults Holden, demanding more money
Mr. Spencer
-
History teacher at Pencey Prep who tries unsuccessfully to motivate Holden
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Carl Luce
-
Columbia University student (19 years old) who knew Holden from a previous school
Talked sex to Holden and classmates when he was younger
Uninterested in Holden’s homophobic and insulting sexual remarks
Advises Holden to seek professional help
Mr. Antolini
-
Holden's favorite teacher at Elkton Hills.
Holden admires and respects him because Antolini is not only intellectual and
perceptive, but also genuine and empathetic (James Castle)
Now an English instructor at N.Y.U., Antolini initially is a mentor and a big brother
However, his kindness and concern is misperceived as a homophobic advance.
III.
Theme (universal message in a piece of literature)
(GAP)
1. Growing up is painful.
(Motifs/recurrent ideas which help to develop this theme include: innocence v.
maturity; reality; death)
-
-
a coming of age novel (bildungsroman) when a young man, struggling to maintain
his innocence, is betrayed by his body and society
Holden resists the process of maturity/change. (Ex. Museum – thrilled that
everything there is static/stays the same; he wants time to stop)
Although he criticizes everything around him, he refuses to turn the lens inward and
critique himself, which is another natural part of the growing/maturing process.
Growing older into an adult so terrifies Holden that he creates a moral and mental
dichotomy/divide: He sees the adult world as superficial, hypocritical, and “phony”,
and the childhood world as genuine, innocent, and honest. The poem, Comin’ Thro’
The Rye, represents Holden’s naivety. He perceives innocent children playing in
fields of rye at risk from falling off the edge of a cliff to their untimely deaths (like
Allie’s untimely death.) He believes he can save them.
To avoid dealing with reality, Holden creates fantasies (shooting enemies, catching
falling children)
Holden learns that one can engage in sex without being intimate.
He learns that intimacy is based in trust.
He believes that most everyone he loves, leaves him.
2. Alienation is a form of self-protection.
(Motifs which help to develop this theme are loneliness, relationships, intimacy,
sexuality)
19
-
-
-
Holden does not feel a physical sense of belonging, not even at his home. More
importantly, internally he does not feel as though he belongs anywhere.
He carries his torture/grief with him, and consequently cannot find relief or
sanctuary anywhere.
Holden reaches out to Ackley, Stradlater, Spencer, Sally, Sunny, three women at a
bar, lady on train, Luce, Antolini, nuns, but sabotages potential relationships with
them via his awkward and odd comments or actions. He deliberately recoils from
human connection so as to protect himself. He has learned that the people he loves
often abandon him: Allie, D.B., his parents. Phoebe is the only family member who
still remains loving toward him. Perhaps he has concluded that everyone he loves,
leaves him. Phoebe cannot leave because she is a mere dependent child. Perhaps
that is why he adores her childhood status. Perhaps too, he has unknowingly
concluded that he cannot get hurt if he does not make a connection with a person.
Self-preservation thus dictates that he remain alone and alienated.
He is desperate for love, yet his cynicism prevents him from close, meaningful,
intimate contact. (Ex. Dates Sally, but scares and insults her; He refuses to speak
with Jane who is in the lobby, but he nostalgically reminisces about their sweet
summer together).
Holden’s loneliness is the emotional manifestation of his alienation problem.
Isolation is Holden’s armour. He desperately requires it for protection, but his
protection prevents others from seeing and getting to know the real Holden. He
cannot get out; others cannot get in.
Holden also fears unpredictability, conflict, and change, yet his odd actions
precipitate such occurrences. He detests conflict, is confused by Allie’s senseless
death, and fears real interaction with others.
3. The adult world is phony. (Motifs which help develop this theme are lies and
deception.)
-
-
Holden describes as phony everything he views as superficial, hypocritical, or
pretentious. To Holden, the adult world is phony. Because he prefers honesty, he
yearns to hold onto his childhood. To do this, he withdraws into his tortured world
of cynical isolation.
Examples of phoniness: prep schools, colleges, Spencer, Antolini, Luce, Sunny,
Maurice, three women, D.B., his parents, the army, Sally.
Holden constantly uses lies and deception, but does not consider himself phony. He
fails to look within, but he can be just as phony and hypocritical as those around
him.
Starting on page 54, Holden concocts an elaborate lie--running four and-a-half pages--on the train
with the mother of Earnest Morrow, one of his classmates. Holden seems to enjoy pulling her leg and
it obviously made her feel good about her son to know his classmates had wanted him to run for class
president. Indirectly, Holden had pulled a joke on Earnest, knowing that his mother would surely
confront him later with the news about his "popularity."
It's a throwaway scene, having nothing to do with Holden's predicament; so all it does is provide
insight into Holden's character and social morays.
20
Holden, p. 59: "Then I started to read the timetable I had in my pocket. Just to stop lying. Once I get
started, I can go for hours if I feel like it. No kidding. Hours."
Symbols:
1. Museum of Natural History
-
The Museum appeals to Holden because its displays remain fixed, static, unchanged.
So too do his memories of Allie.
It also nostalgically reminded him of his youth.
The museum represents a world that Holden wants to live in: it is a world like his
“catcher in the rye” fantasy where nothing changes and everything is simple and
pure.
2. The Ducks
-
Holden questions where the ducks go in winter, a reflection of his youthful curiosity.
Holden connects with their perseverance in a harsh climate.
He begins to understand that vanishings can be temporary. Allie vanished for good,
but the ducks will come back.
The frozen pond is in transition as it is partly frozen and partly not. Holden is also in
transition (between childhood and adulthood).
Perhaps this symbol represents Holden’s growth and maturity.
3. James Castle
-
James Castle, a former classmate of Holden’s, committed suicide at a prep school.
Prior to his death, he had called another boy, “conceited”. He refused to withdraw
his remark or apologize for it. Holden admired James for his integrity. He was not
phony, despite living in a phony world. He was completely genuine.
4. The Carousel
-
A carousel goes around in circles, going nowhere. It represents stagnation in
childhood as Holden wants everything to stay the same.
It may also represent the dizzying journey that Holden endures.
Finally, only Phoebe gets on at the end. Maybe, Holden realizes that he has to leave
childhood and childhood innocence behind him for children like Phoebe to enjoy.
Perhaps going to the sanitarium represents growth and a movement into adulthood.
5. California
-
Holden receives psychological help in California. California thus represents hope.