Catcher In The Rye Title Essay

The Title in Relation to the Events and Theme of The Cather in the Rye

The title of J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, has many connections to the story. The title helps explain the main character Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old boy who cannot find his role in the world, and his feelings towards life and human nature. Throughout the novel, Holden does countless things that relate to the title of the book, one being Holden trying to preserve the innocence of children, which is also the theme of the book. At various times in the novel the title makes an appearance, especially when Holden says he wants to become “the catcher in the rye”. The reader also sees the title being used when Holden sees a kid singing a poem titled

Holden’s main goal in life at the moment is to preserve the innocence of children and keep them from becoming adults. For that reason, Holden replies to his sister with, “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye, and nobody’s around except me. What I have to do is catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff… I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (Salinger 173). This quote not only uses the title in a sentence but it also explains what the title means. The cliff represents the children trying to break free into adulthood, while Holden, “the catcher in the rye”, symbolizes trying to hold on to childhood, unlike what happened with Holden. Additionally, Holden also realizes that he cannot remove the crudity and immorality of the world, and preserve the innocence of children. The reader sees this when Holden keeps erasing the crude words on the wall, but they keep showing up wherever he goes. Instead of trying to erase them all, he knew that whatever he would try to do to remove them they would always end up showing up no matter what. After understanding this Holden understands that he must change his purpose in life. These events in the novel help relate to the title, The Catcher in the