Catcher In The Rye Symbolism Essay

J. D. Salinger's critically acclaimed novel, The Catcher in the Rye follows the journey of Holden Caulfield, a young boy who returns home to New York after being ousted from yet another preparatory school. Throughout the novel, Holden shares his animosity towards what he sees as a phony society, filled with phony people and phony things. Within the novel, Salinger has created numerous symbols, such as the natural history museum or the red hunting hat, as well as creating a vocabulary which fits in with Holden's maturity. In addition, both Salinger utilized motifs, such as deceit and loneliness, fueling the theme of living in a phony world.

Abundantly present throughout The Catcher in the Rye is the use of symbolism by Salinger. Many symbols were used within the novel, for instance, the natural history museum.“The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where is was. Nobody'd move... The only
After being kicked out of Pencey Prep, Holden is forced to deal with the loneliness that accompanies his eviction. Holden seeks companionship in whatever way he an find it, whether it is talking about the ducks in the pond to taxi drivers or bringing a prostitute to your hotel room just to talk. Yet, in each encounter, Holden is unable to form a true connection. “May I ask your name, dear? “Rudolf Schmidt”, I told her. I didn't feel like giving her my whole life history...” (Salinger, 54-55) Ironically, as much hatred Holden shares towards the “phony society”, Holden himself shares characteristics of being “phony”. The most notable characteristics of being “phony” is through deceit, which Holden uses frequently. Holden is unable to take responsibility for his deception, contributing to the motif of loneliness, as well as deceit. All in all, Salinger's use of motifs created an ironic twist in the main conflict in The Catcher in the