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Comparing Symbolism In Catcher In The Rye And Into The Wild

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Symbolism (noun) the particular idea or quality that is expressed by a symbol. Many symbols existed in J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, and the film Into the Wild. Both Holden Caulfield (The Catcher in the Rye) and Chris “Supertramp” McCandless (Into the Wild) have many of the same perspectives on life and an analogous life story which may show that they have similar symbols. For instance, the two men run away from home and are timid and apprehensive about forming close relationships. On the other hand, Holden has the philosophy that children must stay innocent as he wants to catch them running through the rye. Holden also portrays innocence and youthfulness, hiding behind his red hunting hat while trying to stay a child for as …show more content…

To begin, The Catcher in the Rye relates to Holden’s ideas about life how children should have innocence and that society is vulgar and corrupted. He believes that if you stay the same way (possibly innocent or untouched), the world would be better. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would still be on their way south… Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you” (Salinger 121). The quote above shows that the museum never changes, only the people who view the museum change. At one point, Holden has a dream about catching children who are falling off a cliff. “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in a big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and noby’s around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I;m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start t go over the cliff…” (Salinger 173). This quote shows Holden’s day dream about children running innocently around a rye field and he would be standing at the edge of the cliff to protect them and keep their innocence if they were about to fall. He is aware that the children of the world are corrupted and has the desire to salvage them from further damage. Moreover, the title Into the Wild has two interesting meanings. First, Chris is physically going into the unknown wild and woods of Alaska, enduring anything that mother nature throws at him from not having an ample amount of food to eating poisonous leaves. Secondly, it shows Chris leaving society to find his own way of happiness and discovers that “happiness is only real when shared”. “Comin thro' the rye, poor body, comin

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To Holden, children are the greatest symbol of purity, a purity that he wants to preserve before they “fall off the cliff” of adulthood. Holden is fixated on the idea of being a savior. This tendency has most likely developed after the death of his younger brother Allie who will be forever fixed in a state of childhood. It is no wonder Holden sees himself as a savior of children, or simply the catcher in the rye, “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around-nobody big, I mean-except me.

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Holden doesn't want to be forced to transition into another stage of his live because he enjoys being a child which is why he likes the museum. The museum will forever remain unchanged because "nobody moves" (Holden), and that is how Holden views his life should

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There is one experience in life that everyone can relate to. Whether it was pleasurable or not, no one can deny the fact that they have not been through it. This experience is that of growing up and change, a time in all of our lives where it is such a complicated yet natural process that kids just ‘go with it’. In the novel, Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield suffers from the same complexity in his life. Holden is struck with events throughout the book questioning his maturity and emotions.

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He is no longer a child and can no longer return to the state of innocence that childhood houses. He is thrown into an adult world full of “phonies.” Although Holden

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One of the most important facts of Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, is clearly his view of the world and his feelings towards the innocence of a child. Holden believes that the world is a corrupted place with corrupted people, and that a child should never grow up. He thinks that every adult or young adult is a phony. To Holden, everywhere he goes there is corruption.

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Salinger shows his desire to keep innocence through Holden, who is the protector of innocence. Throughout the story, Holden is reminiscent of simpler times and finds joy in seeing people, like his sister and those boys in the museum, still having innocence. Holden explains that he wants to persevere innocence when describing his hypothetical dream job. He says, “[He would] just be the catcher in the rye and all” (Salinger 191) when answering Phoebe’s question about what he would like to be later in life. Holden is referencing the poem “If a Body Meet a Body Coming Through the Rye,” which Holden imagines is about tons of children running through a giant field of rye with no parental supervision.

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Nobody’d move. You could go there a hundred thousand times and… the only thing that would be different would be you” (Salinger 135). Holden wishes the world was a museum because he thinks that the world was pure back then. Before society had been corrupt. He wants to hold onto the past me he likes that in the museum everything is just as it was before, as everyone continues to change this is the one thing that will always stay back with him.

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From the outset, I have to say that “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger has been one of the most important and influential pieces of literature I have ever read. At its core, the book is a superb coming of age novel which discusses several extremely powerful themes such as the difficulties of growing up, teenage angst and alienation and the superficiality, hypocrisy and pretension of the adult world. These themes resonated deeply with me and were portrayed excellently through the use of powerful symbolism and the creation of highly relatable and likable characters. One such character is Holden Caulfield whom the story both revolves around and is narrated by.

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