In the last few chapters of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden sneaks back home and wakes up Phoebe, his younger sister, to talk with her. During this conversation, we see that Phoebe gets very emotional after finding out her brother was kicked out of school again and says that he doesn't enjoy anything in life. Holden struggles to name a single thing he likes besides Allie and talking with Phoebe. Eventually, Holden claims that he would want to be some kind of "catcher in the rye" after misquoting a line from a Robert Hurts poem. Holden imagines that there are a bunch of kids playing in a rye field near a cliff, and his job is to make sure that he catches all these kids before they fall off. Although Holden lies a lot, I don't think he is just making stuff up here as not only do we know that Holden cares deeply about his sister, this is also pretty close to the "climax" of the novel and him lying here would make no sense. Either way, I think most people would agree with me here that Holden is being genuine about his dream job.
Something that our class did not quite get into in our class discussions was the symbolism/meaning behind Holden's "dream job," and that feels like one of the most important parts of the book to me because its like an "aha" moment in the book when you finally see the title of the book inside a chapter. Seeing that this book is a coming-of-age novel, we can use this as a perspective to analyze Holden's dream job. Holden catching these kids running around in the rye field before they fall off seems to be symbolizing how Holden wants to protect kids from losing their childhood innocence and purity the way he lost it. Holden doesn't want to grow up, and this is evident in how Holden is not applying himself in school and how Holden really doesn't like adults. In his own words, the adult world is "full of phonies." In addition, Holden is seen admiring both Allie and Phoebe for their innocence and purity. Finally, Holden says in the museum scene to Phoebe that “Certain things, they should stay the way they are.” If he could, I'm sure Holden would be very happy to have everything stay the way it currently is forever. To him, he would rather freeze a perfect moment then live life to experience new things.
At some point in our lives, I'm sure that each of us have looked back in our life and think to ourselves, "I wish things could stay like that forever" or "I wish I could relive this moment again." In this way, we can all empathize with Holden not wanting to grow up. However, it is also true that all of us have made great memories past that time in our life that we really enjoyed, and I think what's special about life is that we get so many opportunities to make great memories. The real question to ask perhaps, is, are the uncertainties in life greater than the opportunities presented? Perhaps for Holden, the uncertainties outweighed the potential opportunities and that's why he doesn't want to grow up. There will definitely be times in our life when we don't feel like continuing and, like Holden, we just want to freeze our life at a perfect moment. However, when you look back at each great memory you made, don't forget that they were only possible because life didn't freeze at a single moment.
- Henry Guan
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DeleteHey Henry the Goon, all the symbolism that you made behind this with Holden trying to prevent the children from losing their innocence with him wiping off the "Screw You(HG) for calling my blog trash" on the wall was amazing and DEFINITELY not an obvious symbolism, what really made this amazing was the amount of innovation you put into this blog and it could definitely be a stepping stone for your letter to Holden if you plan on pushing towards the idea and it definitely will (not) give you a 40/60 on that assignment, but good job on this blog, keep up the good work!
DeleteHi Henry. I liked how you went into a deeper analysis of the catcher in the rye metaphor, since we didn't talk about it much in class. Holden saying that certain things should stay the way they are is truly an interesting quote. However, at the end he does come to accept that somethings do have to change and stops trying to protect the innocence of his sister. What do you think made his catcher in the rye dream job fall through in the end?
ReplyDeleteHi Kabir, I think that a very important event that made Holden's dream job fall through is watching Phoebe on the merry go round where Holden realizes that childhood innocence is not preservable and that people must grow up. If we put this in the context of his dream job, these kids have to jump off the cliff for the next stage in their life.
DeleteYou're right that we could have easily spent an hour unpacking this "dream job" that is all Holden can come up with when Phoebe unexpectedly grills him about his future plans. There's a lot of symbolism in the "job" itself (protecting children from "the fall," etc.), but it's also noteworthy that THIS ISN'T ACTUALLY A JOB THAT EXISTS OR CAN EXIST, just as it's impossible to actually "protect" children from growing up. So it's still rather distressing that, under pressure, the only thing Holden can name as a possible role that would be meaningful for him as an adult is something that doesn't exist and is impossible.
ReplyDeleteThe wish for certain things to just stay the same--especially in the context of death, which is the "change" that is truly irrevocable--is maybe universal on some level. I know I feel this lump in the throat all the time, and it INCREASES as I get older (not to bum you out). Raising children is a great example of a situation where you both very strongly WANT these little babies to grow up and become good people who contribute to the world, but at the same time, it's a series of losses and heartbreaks as they grow and develop into independent people: you're thrilled by the growth and proud, but you're also mourning the loss of this little kid who is so distinctive and dynamic and has so much personality. This double-bind that Holden is grappling with is fundamental to the Human Condition, as we are time-bound, transient beings who develop strong attachments to the world we occupy. Holden's "dream job" may be impossible, but maybe we relate to the impulse behind this dream.
Nice post Henry! I really like your interpretation of "the catcher in the rye" metaphor. Holden wants to stay with the innocence of childhood but as he grows older he gets nearer to adulthood, he uses the word "phony" to distinguish innocence. Along with him admiring Allie and Phoebe for "staying the way they are", one understands that Holden copes by making time stop in a way.
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