Symbolisms in The Catcher in the Rye, a Novel by J. D. Salinger

The symbolism used throughout ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, is arguably one of the most indispensable techniques used by Salinger in order to seize and retain the reader’s infallible attention. The ample selection of symbols that are incorporated and ‘characterized by a shimmering surface of suggested meanings without a denotative core‘ throughout this novel- about a troubled, adolescent male who is at the crucial stage between childhood and adulthood- serve to highlight the struggle in this arduous transition that the protagonist is undergoing, Underlying the symbols that Salinger uses is the principal theme of unwillingness, from the protagonist’s perspective, to grow up and accept the adult responsibilities and demands that are inevitably going to be placed upon him, This is predominantly suggested through the use of the ‘Natural History Museum’ as one of the most utilised symbols that has no ‘denotative core’, yet suggests a multitude of ‘meanings’ about Holden’s transformation into becoming an adult with responsibilities.

The way in which Holden feels ‘happy when I think about it‘ and how he ‘loved that damned museum’, evokes the childhood memories and sensations that he is attempting to preserve until they are lost forever in adulthood.

The whole ‘Natural History Museum‘ is essentially a symbolic representation of the ideal world that Holden wishes to preserve as ‘in that museum,,,everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move‘. This, in a poignant way, is a world that has a stagnant and unchanging cycle that Holden desires. It is in this fixed world, that he will always become different through Holden possibly wearing ‘an overcoat on this time’, but the intangible qualities of the museum displays remain; ‘you could go through there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish’.

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However, not only does this reveal that the museum is symbolic of Holden wanting to preserve the impalpable aspects of his youth that still remain, but it could simultaneously have ‘a shimmering surface of meanings’ that symbolises the mentality of the central protagonist. The way in which he desires to be in a state of eternal youth and vitality is something that suggests Holden cannot grasp the reality or society, he is living in. The way in which he philosophises how everything from his earliest memory of school, to his deceased brother Allie, underpins how ‘you should be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone’. The repeated use of the pronoun ‘them’ effectively illuminates the endless chain of problems in one suggestive hypernym. The use of ‘them’ reinforces the fact that ‘them’ is everything Holden wants to preserve in his life, but there is so many of ‘them’ for him to even conceive of he cannot prioritise one so categorises the whole spectrum of issues as ‘them.

This therefore, directly links Holden to the displays within the museum; he likens himself to the ‘glass cases’ which embody dead, lifeless and frozen scenes of ‘animals’ and ‘Indians. This could highlight that Holden’s mentality is embedded within the symbolic ‘Natural History Museum’ through him wanting to be a lifeless form in the ‘glass cases’r Therefore it could be suggested that the museum, and ‘the same stuff‘ it displays, may symbolise Holden wanting to take his own life. This in turn, portrays the depressed and alienated mentality of the protagonist, who, from a past tense narration, is writing this bildungsroman novel in a mental hospital with a sense of nostalgia It could be argued that most essential symbol used within ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is the polysemic ‘lagoon in Central Park’ which is ‘where the ducks are’. This symbol is the most frequently used throughout the novel and arguably has no ‘denotative core‘ in the multitude of ways in which it is utilised by Salinger.

During the breakdown of the central protagonist where he finds himself alone and feeling suicidal, the polysemic symbol of the serene ducks in the lagoon is revealed for the first time to the reader in the narrative, notjust through description and conversations from Holden. The idea that Holden wants to ‘see what the hell the ducks were doing’ symbolises how there is still a youthful side to his character. This enhances the curious and naive nature of what is portrayed as a predominantly cynical character, as he is constantly questioning about ‘where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy’. The fact that Holden still embodies his childlike attributes which make him question with fascination and awe about the world he lives in, highlights to the reader that he is still only a teenager. The consideration of Holden’s forgotten youth is something that Salinger is explicitly linking to the post WW2 society of the USA.

This could symbolise to the reader that society in the 1950’s forgot about these young men: they are only teenagers, not the depressed and critical men they were forced to become through war, so it is important to look past the impenetrable skin of cynicism of Holden. However, without purely accepting the ‘denotative core’, this symbol can be classed as having a ‘shimmering surface of meaning‘ that gives a sense of ambiguity as to what this symbol actually means. The inclinations that Holden possesses to habitually revisit the ‘little lake and see what the hell the ducks were doing’ reinforces that there is a parallel between Holden and the ‘ducks’. No matter what will happen to Holden, or the ‘ducks’, they will be back year on year in the same spot, over and over again. In this way the ‘lagoon’, regardless of how bad the winter will get or what will happen to Holden, could symbolise how he will always make it back year upon year even if it is only ‘one chance in a million. This symbol of Holden’s perseverance in inhospitable situations when things may get ‘frozen over’, directly resonates with that of the ducks, revealing that this struggle and change is not permanent, only temporary.

The strength of Holden, which is revealed through the tranquillity of the ducks, portrays that Holden, is in a transition between two states, like the ducks; childhood and adulthood or like the migration of the ‘ducks‘ in ‘wintertime’, As Harrison Smith wrote in the Saturday Review of Literature (1951), ‘he is failing to pass successfully the barrier between childhood and young manhood‘i This is supported by the symbolic ‘ducks’ as they are in a transition between two states of being ‘partly frozen and partly not’i This gives a minor metaphor for the world that Holden is being forced to conform to Throughout the whole novel, arguably the most influential symbol is the eponymous ‘catcher in the rye’ that is revealed, which undoubtedly contains a ‘shimmering surface of suggested meanings’.

This symbol originates from the Burns song ‘Comin’ Thro’ the Rye’ which is about two people asking whether it is wrong to have a romantic encounter out in the fields away from the public eye, It is this symbol that echoes throughout the whole profane, digressive narrative of Holden Caulfield. The symbol of the ‘catcher in the rye‘ is first revealed to us through a child singing, ‘if a body meet a body comin’ through the rye’ while jumping off pavements. The way in which Holden changes the verb in this poem from ‘meet’ to ‘catch’ when he is describing how he wants to become the ‘Catcher in the Rye’ to Phoebe suggests that there is a more intense nature to Holdeni His verb change to the more aggressive ‘catch‘ suggests a sense of capture and seizing instead of ‘rneet’ which is more relaxed and connotes the presence of another.

Does this further suggest that Holden may be using more aggressive means of preventing himself from becoming a man? As the way in which the song is originally about recreational sex, which to Holden is a mature, adult activity, reinforces that he fears anything beyond childhood, Therefore, it can be suggested that the reason behind him changing the lyrics to ‘catch’ is due to him being willing to physically prevent himself from gaining a masculine identityi Yet, the possible ‘denotative core’ and most supported explanation for this ambiguous symbol is how it represents the way in which Holden wants to protect others with his maternal sense that he embodies towards children The way in which he wants to ‘catch’ them if they ‘start to go over the cliff…if they‘re running and don’t look where they‘re going’.

This reveals how Holden wants to protect all the other children- especially his younger sister— from becoming a conformist to the expectations adulthood places upon each individual. Henceforth, the symbol of the ‘catcher in the rye and all’ is an explicit portrayal of the ways that Holden wants to be a guardian, and a form of resistance for all the children at risk of growing up Overall, the symbols within ‘The Catcher in the Rye‘ are undoubtedly ‘characterised by a shimmering surface of meaning’ which involve high polysemy throughout the novel and its symbolic interpretations In this way, the idea that they will have no ‘denotative core‘ from Salinger’s effective use of ambiguity surrounding the symbols, is represented through the pessimistic and melancholic central protagonist, Holden Caulfield.