“I like to be somewhere at least where you can see a few girls around once in a while, even if they’re only scratching their arms or blowing their noses or even just giggling or something” (3). The narrator, Holden Caulfield, describes an aspect of his character through this confession. Obviously, he is interested in girls and desires them at all times. During the 1950s when this novel was published, having such desires would not have been approved of by the parents of the time due to the increasing social pressures of society. A majority of these adults would have considered Caulfield a terrible role model and would not have wanted the youth to read about him wanting to look at girls. The fact that only seniors are allowed to bring girls to Pencey Prep’s football games made the school even more hated by Caulfield. The reader can conclude from this information that the narrator did not fit the standard conformations of the time period. The imagery of the girls foreshadows other imperfect thoughts of Caulfield and his …show more content…
This question foreshadows Holden Caulfield needing a place to go, since he randomly decided to run away from home without previous plans. Although he is no longer in Pencey, he does not seem to be satisfied wherever he goes and does not find a place desirable to stay in long term. The ducks that he brings up in his conversation are a symbol of himself in a way because no one seems to know where the ducks are going next, but the ducks don’t stay where they are. This is like Caulfield’s situation because he can’t seem to answer the question of where he is going to next, but is sure he is not going to remain in New York for very much longer. For the ducks, it becomes too cold for them to stay there, but for Holden the city isn’t what he was looking for. In the future, he decides he wants to live in a cottage in the middle of nowhere, which is almost the opposite of New