Catcher in the Rye essay
Madhu Sriram
English 10 HN
Mr. Reinish
11/25/14
In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden lives in perpetual fear of change. When the ducks are no longer in the pond, he’s not able to comprehend that ducks migrate and change habitats. The biggest fear of change Holden is unable to face is the change from a child to an adult. Holden strongly believes that being an adult makes a person corrupt and makes them loose their innocence. Hence, Holden fantasizes about being the Catcher in the Rye, where he metaphorically tries to save the children’s innocence albeit he himself, has fallen into the evil trance that he associates with adulthood.
Holden is quite fond of the poem by Robert Burns, Coming thro the Rye. He tells Phoebe that he fantasizes being the catcher in the rye. He imagines himself on a steep cliff and that he would prevent the children that are prancing around, from falling off the cliff (173). He starts singing the lines of the poem “If a body catch a body coming through the rye…” but Phoebe tells him the actual lines are “if a body meets a body coming through the rye”. The original line indicates that the two people have a sexual encounter. This also implies that the act is recreational. But in Holden’s interpretation, he is figuratively “catching” the children to ensure their innocence is still there which suggests the opposite meaning. He believes that once you reach the adult stage, going back is inevitable and adulthood is a terrible thing to experience.
Every year, as winter approaches, the ducks abandon the pond to seek a warmer environment to temporarily live in. Holden can’t wrap his finger over the fact that the ducks change location. He asks the cab driver “"Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it get all frozen? (60) The reason he asks this silly question is because he can relate to the ducks. Whether the ducks want to or not, they have to migrate because of the weather. Similarly, Holden is changing from an
English 10 HN
Mr. Reinish
11/25/14
In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden lives in perpetual fear of change. When the ducks are no longer in the pond, he’s not able to comprehend that ducks migrate and change habitats. The biggest fear of change Holden is unable to face is the change from a child to an adult. Holden strongly believes that being an adult makes a person corrupt and makes them loose their innocence. Hence, Holden fantasizes about being the Catcher in the Rye, where he metaphorically tries to save the children’s innocence albeit he himself, has fallen into the evil trance that he associates with adulthood.
Holden is quite fond of the poem by Robert Burns, Coming thro the Rye. He tells Phoebe that he fantasizes being the catcher in the rye. He imagines himself on a steep cliff and that he would prevent the children that are prancing around, from falling off the cliff (173). He starts singing the lines of the poem “If a body catch a body coming through the rye…” but Phoebe tells him the actual lines are “if a body meets a body coming through the rye”. The original line indicates that the two people have a sexual encounter. This also implies that the act is recreational. But in Holden’s interpretation, he is figuratively “catching” the children to ensure their innocence is still there which suggests the opposite meaning. He believes that once you reach the adult stage, going back is inevitable and adulthood is a terrible thing to experience.
Every year, as winter approaches, the ducks abandon the pond to seek a warmer environment to temporarily live in. Holden can’t wrap his finger over the fact that the ducks change location. He asks the cab driver “"Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it get all frozen? (60) The reason he asks this silly question is because he can relate to the ducks. Whether the ducks want to or not, they have to migrate because of the weather. Similarly, Holden is changing from an