Catcher in the Rye ESSAY
The Catcher in the Rye
2.
In The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger uses symbolism to support the thematic idea that maturation and the loss of innocence are an inevitable rite of passage for all of humanity. Prove this thematic statement using three different symbols. Discuss each symbol’s meaning and how it connects and aides the development of Salinger’s message.
In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger, the author uses different examples of symbolism throughout the novel to give the reader a better sense of the major themes he is trying to portray, the loss of innocence, especially in children, and loneliness/ isolation. Three major examples of Salingers symbolism are Holdens misinterpretation of the song “Comin’ Thro’ the
Rye”, Holden's red hunting cap, and the Museum of Natural History.
The song “Comin Thro the Rye” is first presented to Holden by a kid whom he admires for walking on the street rather than the sidewalk. Then, later in the book, when Phoebe asks
Holden what he plans to do with his life, he recalls the image of the song in his head, the way he interpreted it, where he imagines a group of kids playing in the rye near a cliff. He tells Phoebe that he would like to be catching the children and save them if they were on the verge of falling over. Phoebe then points out that the actual lyric for the song was “if body meet body, coming through the rye” and not “if a body catch a body coming through the rye” which is the way
Holden believed it was. The two lyrics have completely different meanings, one asking the listener if it is wrong for two people to have a sexual encounter in the rye even though commitment isn’t in the picture, while the other lyric suggests the exact opposite, in Holden's interpretation, he wants to be there to save the little kids from falling out of innocence into the burden of adulthood, which includes the knowledge of sex, therefore taking the child's innocence
away and ending their life
2.
In The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger uses symbolism to support the thematic idea that maturation and the loss of innocence are an inevitable rite of passage for all of humanity. Prove this thematic statement using three different symbols. Discuss each symbol’s meaning and how it connects and aides the development of Salinger’s message.
In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger, the author uses different examples of symbolism throughout the novel to give the reader a better sense of the major themes he is trying to portray, the loss of innocence, especially in children, and loneliness/ isolation. Three major examples of Salingers symbolism are Holdens misinterpretation of the song “Comin’ Thro’ the
Rye”, Holden's red hunting cap, and the Museum of Natural History.
The song “Comin Thro the Rye” is first presented to Holden by a kid whom he admires for walking on the street rather than the sidewalk. Then, later in the book, when Phoebe asks
Holden what he plans to do with his life, he recalls the image of the song in his head, the way he interpreted it, where he imagines a group of kids playing in the rye near a cliff. He tells Phoebe that he would like to be catching the children and save them if they were on the verge of falling over. Phoebe then points out that the actual lyric for the song was “if body meet body, coming through the rye” and not “if a body catch a body coming through the rye” which is the way
Holden believed it was. The two lyrics have completely different meanings, one asking the listener if it is wrong for two people to have a sexual encounter in the rye even though commitment isn’t in the picture, while the other lyric suggests the exact opposite, in Holden's interpretation, he wants to be there to save the little kids from falling out of innocence into the burden of adulthood, which includes the knowledge of sex, therefore taking the child's innocence
away and ending their life