Holden Caulfield Symbolism

Holden Caulfield which is the main character in J.D. Salinger’s “the Catcher in the Rye.” Holden is a sixteen year old who is expelled for academic failure as a junior from Pencey Prep. Holden is seen as an intelligent yet sensitive boy, who narrates the book. After a fight with Stradlater Holden’s roommate over an old friend named Jane that Holden had feelings for, he leaves school and explores New York for two days before returning home. Having interactions with many people before returning, during the trip Holden faces obstacles that he wants to stay young yet with death often on his mind. By death being on a person’s mind the person ends up not want to face Adulthood, which determines the start and end of life.
Throughout the book death …show more content…
Holden first notices this when a kid that’s walking on the street than on the sidewalk is singing “If a body catch a body coming through the rye” Holden discussed how it made him feel better not so depressed anymore (115). Later Phoebe his little sister asks him what he wants to do with his life and he replies “a catcher in the rye”. Holden imagines a field of rye high on a cliff, full of children running and playing through the rye. He wants to protect the children from falling off the cliff by catching them if they were tumbling over. Of course Phoebe tells Holden that he misheard the lyrics it really says “if a body meet a body, coming through the rye,” a poem by Robert Burns which has a romantic twist to it (173). Holden still views it as he first heard if “If a body catch a body coming through the rye.” This is where death, childhood and adulthood come along. Holden wants to save those children’s childhood from falling into adulthood which is over the cliff, if they fall over the cliff they die, die into adulthood and die as in no longer being on earth. This is why the title is important these song lyrics describe the whole book. The children would fall out of innocence and into adulthood, depression, phoniness, and loneliness. Holden wants to do what he wish someone else could have done for him, he doesn’t want to fall over the cliff and he doesn’t want anyone else to fall over the cliff either so that’s why he wants to be the Catcher in the

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