Surviving the Winter: Catcher in the Rye

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Surviving the Winter In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden narrates the events that occurred to him near last Christmas while making subtle comments about his own path to adulthood. During his shift from child to adult, Holden continuously asks random cabdrivers about where the ducks in central park travel to in the winter, as well as engaging in conversations about the fish in the pond. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger uses Holden’s questioning about the ducks in Central Park Lake as a metaphor for his inner opinions about embarking upon the path to adulthood. Ultimately, Holden’s willingness to allow his sister Phoebe to reach for the gold ring on the Merry-Go-Round symbolizes his transition from a “duck” that escapes the winter because of reluctance to face responsibilities to a “fish” that embraces the process of coming of age because it is inevitable. In the beginning of the novel, Salinger employs Holden’s obsession with how the ducks cope with the winter to symbolize Holden’s unwillingness to become an adult. After arriving in New York, Holden sat in the backseat of a cab debating where to go. Holden had asked the cabdriver to turn around, but then [Holden] thought of something, all of a sudden. ‘Hey, listen,’ [Holden] said. ‘You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?’ [Holden] realized it was only one chance in a million (78). Salinger uses the winter causing the lake to freeze over as a metaphor for growing up. In the winter, New York lakes develop a brittle layer of ice, which is treacherous because it is easy to fall through into the freezing water. Holden feels the same about adulthood: he is reluctant to enter adulthood, or “walk on thin

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