While Holden is wandering around New York City, he asks many people about what happens to the ducks in the pond when it freezes. I think this really symbolizes Holden. He isn’t really wondering about the ducks, he is wondering about himself. He wants to know what will happen to him when the weather gets really cold. He wants to know if he will have to go home, because he is really afraid to.
Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses symbols to give meaning to Holden’s journey through New York City and explain the inner turmoil that drives his mental collapse. For example, Salinger uses the Holden’s preoccupation with the ducks to exemplify his resistance to adapting, especially to his imminent adulthood. Throughout the novel, he asks several people throughout the book where the ducks in Central Park go during the winter. None of them are sure, and this increases Holden’s feeling of panic.
Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden shows a fear of maturity therefore grasping onto his innocence and dreading entering the phony adult world. Holden is caught multiple times questioning the presence of the ducks and fish in Central Park, when in reality; he is questioning what he will do when he too faces hardship. The ducks appear to be a subject that Holden uses for small-talk with the cab drivers to dismiss his loneliness, but in actuality, he sees the ducks as a mirror image of himself. While Holden is sitting in the cab, he asks the driver, “You know those ducks in that lagoon near Central Park South? That little lake?
Rivers in this novel can also be a symbol for an escape. Weeks later, when Frederic hears from the barman about his expected arrest, he and Catherine escape for Switzerland by boat. They leave their old lives behind in search of a clean start in Swit... ... middle of paper ... ...o be correct. Hemingway uses rain as a sign of death, sadness or to give one of his characters the state of being afraid. The despair brought by rain, Frederic says „ good-bye to [Catherine], and then „[leaves] the hospital and walk[s] back to the hotel in the rain".
She smiled, “To goose heaven." I was stunned. I couldn’t believe that people in the environmentally conscious Puget Sound area would round up waterfowl and kill them. But at the same time, I found out from experience why the geese are a nuisance. Surely, I thought, there must be a better way to deal with problem geese.
I continually picked the wand out of the box, admired it, and immediately put it back in so that I wouldn 't fall in love. My brother had chosen to purchase Harry Potter 's look-alike wand from the movie, for that is what he had originally set his mind to. We honestly didn 't need two wands around our house, but the wand had chosen me! It was comparable to a situation where one finds a tiny puppy without an owner and so they bring it home so that
Next, there is the repeated use of symbolism throughout the novel. Three major symbols were the ducks, the Museum of Natural History, and Jane Gallagher. While Holden is wandering around New York City, he asks many people about what happens to the ducks in the pond when it freezes. In actuality, the ducks represent Holden wondering about himself. Jane Gallagher and the Museum of Natural History, both represent the theme of the past in two different aspects.
Similarly, Holden’s inability to adapt to hostile surroundings hinders him from ascending into adulthood. He escapes all situation he is not familiar with and makes an excuse to leave. It is clear to the reader when Holden begins to ask the second cab driver about the ducks, “‘...the fish is different. I’m talking about the ducks.’... ‘They live right in the goddam ice… the got their pores open the whole time’”
In the Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger uses symbolism to show Holdens contradictory personality and his crisis with adolescences. Holden wants answers to questions that cannot have a straight solution because there could be a variety of answers. In chapter 9, Holden is on his way to his hotel and ask the cab driver, “You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park? That little lake? Do you know where the ducks go when it’s all frozen over?” The cab driver thinks Holden is crazy for asking this question, but this is not just a question; the ducks in the lagoon represents two different symbols.
This quote illustrates how Holden thinks it’s necessary to wear the hat in order to feel safe. But at the same time, Holde... ... middle of paper ... ...ing stays frozen and everyone belongs in society. Therefore, during the winter time, the ducks are isolated as once, but they still belong together. Holden is isolated from the people around him and he is more protected within himself. Holden doesn’t know how he is going to make it through his own winter, just like he doesn’t where the ducks will end up during winter.