The major THEMES of this novel are:

 

Innocence- Arguably the most important theme in the book, is the concept of innocence. Holden's role as "the Catcher in the rye" means that he is protecting children from falling over into the painstaking, complicated, and mature world of adulthood.

 

Death- Holden experiences many deaths throughout the novel, both literal and metaphorical. This theme is key to understanding the main, underlying message that the novel portrays, "The death of childhood and innocence". The death of childhood is literally and figuratively is portrayed by the death of Holden's younger brother, Allie. The death of innocence for children is shown when Holden is at Phoebe's school, and sees a curse word that a child has written on the wall.

 

Authentic V.S. Artificial- The term "phony" comes out of Holden's mouth many times throughout the novel, which means that it has a greater significance than other words that he says. Holden goes... well when to... a private school, which is the perfect setting for him to use his favorite word, "phony". Was it no coincidence that he was sent to a PRIVATE school, you know, the ones filled with rich kids that don't know the real world. Throughout the novel, Holden wants to prevent people to be phonies, especially children, who have yet to make the transition to being phonies.

 

Sexual Confusion- Relating to the idea of innocence and immaturity, on Holden's part, the theme of sexual confusion comes into play. Holden is probably the only person in the history of the Earth to pay someone, NOT to have sex with him (one may note that it is probably because he actually wants to grow up, but he is restricted to do so, because he only wants to do the fun things like drink alcohol). 

 

The Coming-of-Age Genre- As the book progresses, we, as readers, start to understand that Holden is much like Peter Pan, in that he also doesn't want to grow up. As "The Catcher In The Rye", Holden's job is to not allow the innocent, little children grow up, just like Holden has managed to do throuhgout the years. However, with this being said, we notice that Holden has become a little more mature with his decisions. The book highlights the difficult process that becomming a mature adult takes place for young Holden Caulfield.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The major SYMBOLS of this novel are:

 

Allie's baseball glove- Allie's baseball mitt is one of the only things that Holden has to remember his brother by. (It is also important to note that his brother's mitt was a fielder's glove, not a catcher's mitt. Although this detail seems to be minor, it strikes a significant chords with the baseball community. The title of this novel, "The Catcher In The Rye", implies that Holden is the catcher, who, in baseball, has a differently shaped mitt. The catcher's mitt is also much bigger, which indicates that is was "worn" by Holden, not Allie. On a theoretical baseball field, the catcher has a distinctive relationship with the other players on the field- communicating his feelings and thoughts to the other players from a distance- from behind home plate.

 

Holden's red hunting hat- Also called his "People hunting hat", this hat resembles a form of protection to protect Holden from the alienation that he is presented by society. Whenever Holden is feeling insecure and afraid of what life has to offer, he puts on his hat to make things feel normal.

 

Cigarette Addiction- This symbol relates directly with Holden's red hunting hat. This symbol symbolizes that addiction "crutch" that Holden uses to alleviate his pain throughout the novel. In an interesting scene at Mr. Antolini's house, Holden is offered a cigarette from his teacher, which also symbolizes the differences in the time periods, since this book was written in a time before we understood the harmful effects that cigarettes have on our bodies.

 

The Carrousel's Gold Ring- The gold ring outside of the carousel symbolizes hope, due to that fact that every child wants to reach out of their comfort zone, which is the carousel animal that they are on, and grab it. This object might also symbolize that human instinctive need to obtain more than they already have, which could cause harm to the children as they reach out to grab the golden ring. (This might be the reason that Holden doesn't tell the kids to be safe, because they aren't going to be protected for their whole life, and through the process of natural selection, they will learn).