What is the thematic and symbolic significance of The Catcher in the Rye?

The thematic significance of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is the struggle to let go of childhood and grow up. This struggle can be seen in the protagonist Holden Caulfield. Holden is afraid of adulthood and wants to remain a child. This can be seen in the ways that Holden acts out. These acts include ordering alcohol and getting drunk (Salinger 194). Holden also has trouble applying himself to anything and failed out of school (Salinger 6). His fear of changing and growing up can also be seen when Holden goes to the Museum of Natural History (Salinger 155). Holden admires the museum because it never changes in a world that is always evolving (Salinger 157). He also expresses his wish to put life behind one of the glass cases in the museum, so it too never changes (Salinger 158). Through Holden's mission to avoid change and growing up, he experiences many consequences that teach the reader what happens when you try to stop the progress of life. All of the people around Holden are still growing up and evolving leaving him behind in maturity development. This means that Holden begins to have trouble relating to people his own age, and gets along better with children like Phoebe. This extremely limits the people that Holden can interact successfully with, and he begins to feel ostracized by people his own age. This extreme loneliness that comes from Holden's stubbornness in remaining a child, is detrimental to his emotional health because humans need positive social interaction. This lack of positive social interaction even leads to Holden's breakdown at the end of the book (Salinger 276).

Besides having thematic significance, The Catcher in the Rye also has considerable symbolic significance. I feel that the main symbol in this book is Holden himself. Holden is a symbol for the time in everyone's life where they feel fear of getting older and encountering the unknown future. By making Holden a symbol for this feeling, the author made the book more relatable. The reader can relate because they too may have felt a little of what Holden does. By Holden being a symbol, the reader can also see the result in trying to stop change. It is nearly impossible and from Holden's example it has terrible effects. When Holden tried he ended up being sick and having to go to a place to be psychoanalyzed (Salinger 276). Holden also ended up separating himself from everyone else.

Bibliography:Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.