Catcher In The Rye Quote Analysis

Trials of Life: The Analytical Understanding of Loss of Innocence in Catcher in the Rye “When you lose someone you love, you die too, and you wait around for your body to catch up.” John Scalzi. This quote relates back to Catcher in the Rye because after Holden loses his brother Allie, he dies a little bit inside and like the quote says, he is waiting for his body to catch up to death of his brother Allie. The story takes place in Manhattan and is about a young boy named Holden Caulfield, it is about the learning experience that takes place and how an immature child tried to come to terms with multiple problems. In J.D. Salinger’s bildungsroman, Catcher in the Rye, Salinger utilizes the symbols, the red hunting hat; Allie’s catching mitt,
He first thinks of the ducks while still at Pencey Prep, “I was thinking about the Lagoon in Central Park…I was wondering if it would be frozen over when I got home, and if it was, where did the ducks go.” (13) Holden’s insecurity over the future is symbolized through the ducks in Central Park and his plight of preserving innocence. Holden’s curiosity over these ducks is odd, he doesn’t seem to care much over the people in his life yet he is very headstrong when it comes to the ducks and their future. Secondly, when he is drunk walking through the park, “So what I did, I started walking over to the park. I figured I’d go by that little lake and see what the hell the ducks were doing, see if they were around or not.” (153) In his drunken stupor, Holden decides to go and see what happens to the ducks in Central Park. It exemplifies that Holden is uncertain of his future and in this drunken state may subconsciously realizes that him and the ducks are more closely related than what he actually thought. Holden is worried about his future and may be subconsciously worried about his own loss of innocence and the journey he has been on shows that he is trying to lose the last of his innocence while at the same time keep it preserved in the others around him. Finally when he arrives at the lake, “What it was, it was partly frozen and partly not frozen. But I didn’t see any ducks around. I walked all around the whole damn lake-I damn near fell in once, in fact-but I didn’t see a single duck…but I couldn’t find any.” (154) Holden finally sees his future; whether he realizes or not, his symbolic future is laid right in front of him if he continues on the same path that he is on. Salinger uses the ducks to portray Holden’s journey toward his loss of innocence by showing Holden’s search for the ducks during the winter time.