If you do, you start missing everybody

WHAT IS RAIN IN HOLDEN’S STORY? The rain in Catcher In The Rye symbolizes the outside or real world in Holden’s crazy hormone imbalanced life. At this point in Holden’s story, he has learned to face the real adult world, while keeping a glimpse of innocence on him.

So when Holden puts on the hat in this scene in Chapter 25, the rain soaks through, which represents the fact that Holden now realizes that sometimes life comes with obstacles that he get through on his own without having to put up barriers of resistance.

How does Holden feel as he stands in the rain watching Phoebe ride the carousel? Holden says that he feels so happy that he is almost crying.

Holden Caulfield hates the movies. Holden’s strong distaste for the movies symbolizes his dislike of people and the world itself. He believes that the world is full of phonies, and the movies seem to be a threshold for the phonies to display themselves to everyone.

What is the significance of the ducks in Central Park? They represent the vulnerable, innocent characters (Phoebe, Jane, Holden) who at risk of being harmed by events/people in the cold, cruel world.

The fish symbolize everyone else but Holden is not a fish. All the other boys at Pencey Prep are taken care of by Mother Nature but Holden is different. He does not care about the fish because he is a duck. The ducks do not stay in the pond all winter; they have to leave, just like Holden had to leave Pencey.

Here, the red hunting hat symbolizes Holden’s alienation from society and his intentional isolation from people. Holden describes that he wore the peak of the hat around the back and “liked it that way,” seeming to get comfort from the sense of individuality the hat brought him.

Allie’s left-handed baseball glove is a physically smaller but significant symbol in the novel. It represents Holden’s love for his deceased brother as well as Allie’s authentic uniqueness.

He represents education not as a path of conformity but as a means for Holden to develop his unique voice and to find the ideas that are most appropriate to him. When Mr. Antolini touches Holden’s forehead as he sleeps, he may overstep a boundary in his display of concern and affection.

What advice did Mr. Antolini give Holden? “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.”

Standing his ground, Holden refuses to pay Maurice more money, so Maurice pins him while Sunny takes his wallet. At this point, Holden begins to cry and accuses Sunny and Maurice of stealing from him, so Maurice pushes him. Furious, Holden calls him a “dirty moron,” prompting Maurice to punch him in the stomach.

Chapter 14