This novel has some serious symbolism going on in it. One of the symbols is the ducks in the pond at the park. Holden presents a very serious and strong interest in these ducks. He is constantly asking and wondering what exactly happens to them during the winter when the lake is frozen. He actually asks quite a few people throughout the story and they just seemed to be annoyed by the questions. The first way this is symbolic is simply the fact that Holden does have this curiosity. With this being a novel about coming of age, the questioning of what happens to the ducks shows a different side of Holden; this being the child in him. Curiosity is something quite often associated with youth. Most of the time in the novel, Holden shows himself as knowledgeable compared to the other and it is the questions about the ducks that show a more juvenile side of him.
Anther major symbol in the story is Holden's infamous red hunting hat. I believe that this hat really is just a symbol of Holden's character and personality. He is constantly wearing it and it basically becomes a part of him. He seems to comment a lot about how it looks and he only really wears it when he is walking around by himself. The hat is quite unique in nature and this really is the main way that it symbolizes Holden. It is not something that most people wear in a metropolitan area and Holden is not really an average kid compared to the others that are around him.
Well that's basically the major symbolism in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye. The hat symbolizes Holden's uniqueness and the questioning of the ducks at the lake emphasizes the child that is still left in him.
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