Catcher in the Rye

Catcher in the Rye Essay

In J.D. Salinger’s famous novel, The Catcher in the Rye, a young intuitive boy by the name of Holden Caulfield slowly grows up into a maturing young man. Set in the late 1950’s in New York, Holden is fragmented and constantly thinking about his brother, Allie, who died many years ago. Holden also is dearly in love with his ten year old sister, Phoebe; she is the one person that portrays happiness to Holden. In the novel, J.D. Salinger has created a symbolic environment, which brings out the complexity of the novel. Holden’s name, the Museum of Natural History, and ducks in the pond all help exhibit the symbolic environment throughout the novel.

Holden Caulfield’s name isn’t not just a name, but is a quietly hidden metaphor. Looking at Holden’s first name, one can see that it shows that he is “holdin” back, and not allowing himself to be sucked up in the phony adult world. Holden believes that the adult world is something that should be hidden away from young children. For example, when Holden was walking through the schoolyard, he noticed an obscure word written on the school wall representing the adult world of sex. Acting upon this, Holden immediately rubbed the word off of the school wall, because he worried that kids would accidentally learn the meaning of it. He himself, doesn’t want to sucked into the adult world and nor does he want young children to as well. Holden’s last name, Caulfield, also has a lot to do with the theme of childhood and innocence. The name Caulfield can be broken up into two words, caul and field. “Caul” is a part of the membrane around a child’s head when it is born. This symbolizes comfort and protection for young children. “Field,” represents the rye field where Holden wants to become the catcher, and save children from falling in the adult world.

The Museum of Natural History is another symbol that is used by Salinger in the Catcher in the Rye. Holden loves the museum displays because that is what...