Catcher in the Rye - Essay Plan PDF

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Catcher in the Rye Essay Plan Question: Analyse how symbolism was used to reinforce an idea in the text Catcher in the Rye symbols: -

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Holden’s baseball mitt - Allie, Holden’s little brother, died of leukemia at a young age. It was a death that Holden took so hard and has been incapable of dealing with. It’s considered to be the primary cause of his emotional instability. He holds onto his baseball mitt as a symbol of his love for him and his jealousy of his brother never having to grow up and deal with adulthood. Holden believes death to be senseless. His brother was a poet, kind and sensitive. The baseball mitt as a symbol shows us the softer side of Holden, and the value he places on those he adores. The baseball mitt has a poem Allie wrote while waiting in the outside field. Holden doesn’t understand why death would snatch such a special and wonderful person from the world. Holden’s red hunting hat - Is a symbol of his alienation from society. It acts as a shield and protects him, and makes him feel unique, yet it makes him feel strange and different and therefore he only wears it when he is alone. The hat is also a symbol of Holden’s attachment to childhood - as it’s a goofy accessory that no adult would wear. The ducks in the lagoon - Holden’s concern for the ducks in the lagoon reveals a lot about his emotional state and the thoughts that he has towards change and growing up. Holden wonders what happens to the ducks during the winter and how they take care of themselves - this is a symbol of who will take care of him when he can no longer take care of himself due to his emotional state. - Holden’s fear of change and of growing up, the ducks have to leave and adapt to their harsh surroundings - A reassurance because the change in the lack and the ducks leaving is temporary, they always come back. A less permanent change compared to that of Allie dying or being kicked out of school. No matter how harsh, the ducks come back - A symbol of hope; in the post WW2 society people need a sense of hope. Some find it in religion (like the two nuns) or romanticized logic (like the cab driver who insists that mother nature would take care of the fish—and the ducks) or even in consumerism and pop culture (like Sally and all the phony kids at his school). None of this works for Holden, they seem phoney to him but somehow the ducks don’t - Holden's fixation on the ducks is also a symbol of his struggle with change and growing up. He wants things to stay the same, but the ducks prove that one must adapt to the environment, that one has to change in order to survive. At the same time, the ducks offer hope: though they disappear each winter, they always reappear. 

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The museum of natural history - Holden visits to the museum is a symbol of his want for nothing to change. At the museum, the exhibits can be considered frozen in time and unchanging. Something that Holden longs for. He wishes that the world could be like the museum where everything remained the same through time. He wants a black and white world, with no grey areas. That means life is simple and straightforward, no complication such as growing up or death....