Transcript Symbols & theme

Phoebe’s correction of Holden’s
misinterpretation serves to
highlight Holden’s naivete.
 Holden returns to Phoebe’s room and eventually gets her to listen. He tries to explain why
he fails his classes and tells her all the things he hates about school. She responds by
accusing him of hating everything. He tries to refute her claim, and she challenges him to
name one thing he likes. He becomes preoccupied, thinking about the nuns he met at
breakfast. He also thinks about James Castle, a boy he knew at Elkton Hills School who
jumped out of a window to his death while being tormented by other boys.
 He finally tells her that he likes Allie, and she reminds him angrily that Allie is dead. She
asks what he wants to do with his life, and his only answer is to mention the lyric, “If a
body catch a body comin’ through the rye.” Holden says that he imagines a gigantic field
of rye on a cliff full of children playing. He wants to stand at the edge of the cliff and
catch the children when they come too close to falling off—to be “the catcher in the rye.”
Phoebe points out that Holden has misheard the words—the actual lyric, from the
Robert Burns poem, “Coming Thro’ the Rye,” is “If a body meet a body coming through
the rye.”
 Holden is not aware of the sexual connotations in the poem, and attached an erroneous
meaning to the song which Phoebe is aware is incorrect- even if she is not fully aware of
the adult subject addressed in the poem (about casual sexual relationships).
 Furthermore, she points out the juvenile nature of his desire be something which cannot
be.
The Museum of Natural History
Theme of Fear of death
Holden tells us the symbolic meaning of the
museum’s displays: they appeal to him because
they are frozen and unchanging. He also
mentions that he is troubled by the fact that he
has changed every time he returns to them. The
museum represents the world Holden wishes he
could live in: it’s the world of his “catcher in the
rye” fantasy, a world where nothing ever
changes, where everything is simple,
understandable, and infinite. Holden is terrified
by the unpredictable challenges of the world—
he hates conflict, he is confused by Allie’s
senseless death, and he fears interaction with
other people.
The Ducks in the Central Park
Lagoon --Fear of Change
(linked to fear of death)
.
 his search for the ducks represents the curiosity of
youth and a joyful willingness to encounter the
mysteries of the world
 The ducks prove that some vanishings are only
temporary. Traumatized and made acutely aware of
the fragility of life by his brother Allie’s death, Holden
is terrified by the idea of change and disappearance.
The ducks vanish every winter, but they return every
spring, thus symbolizing change that isn’t permanent,
but cyclical.
Holden’s Red Hunting Hat: a symbol of his
uniqueness and individuality.
 The hat is outlandish, and it shows that Holden desires
to be different from everyone around him. At the same
time, he is very self-conscious about the hat—he
always mentions when he is wearing it, and he often
doesn’t wear it if he is going to be around people he
knows. The presence of the hat, therefore, mirrors the
central conflict in the book: Holden’s need for
isolation versus his need for companionship.
As the novel progresses, we begin to perceive that
Holden’s alienation is his way of protecting himself.
Just as he wears his hunting hat (see “Symbols,” below)
to advertise his uniqueness, he uses his isolation as
proof that he is better than everyone else around him
and therefore above interacting with them. The truth
is that interactions with other people usually confuse
and overwhelm him, and his cynical sense of
superiority serves as a type of self-protection. Thus,
Holden’s alienation is the source of what little stability
he has in his life.
Unit Test:
 Test Review:
 Section A: 20 Marks Multiple Choice
 Section B: 2 short answer. You will be given a quote
from the novel. You must explain the significance of
the quote in developing a theme.
 1 Essay (choose from 3 options): Write a welldeveloped 5 paragraph Expository essay. Include a
thesis statement.
Essay Topics:
 1. Salinger weaves a variety of symbols into The
Catcher in the Rye, including (but not limited to) the
red hunting hat, the ducks in Central Park, and Allie.s
mitt. Select and analyze one symbol that Salinger
uses in the book. Explain how Salinger develops this
object as a symbol throughout the story (see Journal
88). Discuss the symbol.s meaning and significance,
and explore its contributions to the overall message of
the novel.
Essay Outline
 Write a working thesis statement which mentions the
focus of the three body paragraphs.
Critic David D. Galloway said, .Wherever Holden
turns, his craving for truth seems
to be frustrated by the phoniness of the world..
Analyze Holden.s use of the word
.phony.. What does the word mean in the context
of the book, and does Holden
offer any alternative to phoniness? Is Holden
himself guilty of being a phony? How
does Salinger want readers to judge ideas about
phoniness?
Discuss the meaning or impact of the title of the
book as a central, controlling
symbol of the story. How does Holden.s wish to
be the .catcher in the rye. help
readers understand both his character and the
nature of his deep troubles and
concerns about life? Be sure to address the
significance of Holden.s misreading of
the Robert Burns poem.
Critic Maxwell Geismar writes, .The Catcher in the
Rye protests, to be sure, against
both the academic and social conformity of its
period. But what does it argue for?.
Write an essay to explain what the book .argues
for." What might Salinger have
been trying to communicate to his readers
through this novel, and how does he do
so?
Explain how Mr. Antolini’s words of advice help develop
a theme : “Life is a game , boy. Life is a game that one
plays according to the rules.”
Explain how Mr. Antolini’s words of advice help
develop a theme : “Life is a game , boy. Life is a game
that one plays according to the rules.”
In all areas of life Holden wants to rebel: he is
expelled from several schools, he rebels against his
parents and teacher’s expectations. Mr. Antolini puts
things in perspective from him:
“This fall I think you’re riding for..it’s a horrible kind. The man
falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom... The
whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some point in
their lives, were looking for something their own environment
couldn’t supply them with. So they gave up looking. They gave it
up before really got started.” (Salinger 187)
Explain how Mr. Antolini’s words of advice help develop a
theme : “Life is a game , boy. Life is a game that one plays
according to the rules.”
He is saying that Holden cannot keep
running from his fears of becoming a
conformist. If he doesn’t face reality, he will
hit rock bottom and never get back on his
feet.
Critic’s Theme: “In order to survive in society
there must be conformity to a certain degree,
but never to the point where the individual
forgets who he or she is, losing all unique
qualities of that individual.”
In all areas of Holden wants to rebel
Phoniness in the Adult world:
Holden equates phoniness to “selling out” . He uses the
example of his older brother to prove his point as he
describes his brother writing for Hollywood productions
“prostituting” himself or not being true to his art as a writer
in creating superficial work to please the general public,
Holden believes that if his brother were not selling out or
less phony, his writing would be more meaningful. What
Holden doesn’t see if that in order to be successful or
survive in the adult world, one must adapt to what society
wants. He does not see that his brother could be “less
phony” but by doing that (ie: writing to please himself
rather than others), he would not be able to make a living at
writing. Holden sees things in black and white through a
very immature lense that doesn’t factor in the harsh
realities of surviving in this world.
Phoniness in the Adult world:
Phoniness is the phrase which Holden uses to describe all that he
perceives in the world that is superficial, hypocritical, or shallow.
In Chap[ter 22, Holden states that he believes all adults are
phonies and that they are blind to it. This view gives him an
excuse to withdraw into isolation. Throughout the novel he
encounters many characters who in their own way all display
superficiality or shallowness. Holden never however, sees the
“phoniess” in himself. He plays a prank on Mrs. Morrow on the
train which is mean and self-serving– all the flaws which is quick
to identify in others. The world is not as black and white as
Holden would like to pretend it is. The world cannot be evenly
divided between phonies (all adults) and the virtuous (which he
believes himself to be).