theme

In The Catcher in the Rye, there are various themes in the novel such as Holden alienating himself from the world, the deceitfulness of the adult world, and pain of growing older each and every day. In the beginning of the novel, we quickly learn that Holden distances himself from people when he states, "... Practically the whole school except me was there..." (2). Holden also informs us that he is on top Thomsen Hill alone while the entire school is at the football game, which throughout the novel we learn that Holden alienating himself is a frequent occurrence. During chapter two, Holden exposes his separation from society when he noted that, “People never notice anything” (9). Holden sets himself apart from people, who fail to recognize Holden’s level of maturity. Next, another theme in The Catcher in the Rye is the phoniness Holden encounters with adults. For instance, Holden called Mr. Haas “The phoniest bastard I ever met in my life” (13) because he only acted “charming as hell...” (14) to the better looking parents and give a “phony smile” (14) to the “fat or corny-looking” (14) parents. This encounter with Mr. Haas, depicts an emblem for how the world around him has erroneous ways and also allows him to isolate himself from others. In addition, Holden has a conversation with his sister Phoebe in chapter twenty-two, where he portrays the phoniness of lawyers where he questions if lawyers actually wanted “ to save guys’ lives” (171) or if they did it because they wanted to “be a terrific layer, with everyone slapping you on the back and congratulating you in court when the goddam trial was over...” (172). Holden describes the superficial behavior of the adult lawyers and how they wouldnt really know if they were being phony...

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...y than the people he criticizes. As a result of Holden’s alienation, we are equipped with elements like loneliness, sexuality and lying serving as motifs.

The significance of the title is an important concept throughout of the novel. Comin’ Thro’ the Rye is a song heard for the first time by Holden in chapter twenty-two and also has a symbolic meaning. The song’s lyrics are, “If a body meet a body coming through the rye, if a body kiss a body need a body cry? ”, which represents a couple who is about to have a sexual encounter out in the fields who do not have plans to commit to each other afterwards. Later on in chapter, we learn that this is a poem, as well as a song, written by Robert Burns. In Holden’s case, he wants to be the “catcher” so he can save the children before they lose their purity. Overall, the title Catcher in the Rye serves as a literary symbolism.