Tomás Monzón May 17, 2009

Period 1 English

Exploring the Theme of Change

in The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye exemplifies the hardships of Holden, a troubled
adolescent dealing with his fear and dislike of change in his life. The extent to which his concern with
change goes is shown by his idea of being the catcher in the rye field, catching children that fall off the
cliff. The tranquility he finds, conversely, within things staying the same is epitomized by his
appreciation of the never-changing Eskimos in the museum. The negative effect of change upon him,
however, is best shown through his trauma regarding the death of his dear brother, Allie.

The Catcher in the Rye explores many themes; dealing with change, of course, is one of them.
This theme may be one of the most “publicized”, in a sense, considering the title itself refers to it. On
p. 1731, where Holden is talking to Phoebe, in his brother D.B.'s room, he tells her that the only thing
he'd really like to be is the catcher in the rye. He explains the entire ordeal – there would be a cliff, atop
which there is a rye field, where kids are playing. On the bottom of the edge, there would be only one
adult, this being Holden. Then, whenever a kid was falling off the cliff, Holden would catch them. It's a
little hard to comprehend the significance of Holden's fantasy at first, and there's perhaps more than one
interpretation of it, but there is at least one that applies to theme of dealing with change. The kids
represent what they are – innocent, young people that need not deal with the bad things of the world;
they don't need to worry about the world. They can be whom they are. Atop the cliff, they are safe, they
can have fun. The world below the cliff, around it, represents the world, a bad place, one which, once
you've fallen into it, you can't get back out. Holden represents the children's keeper, who protects them
from becoming adults and having to enter that world, from falling into that pit. In other words, Holden
admires childhood, and, seeing that he's already grown out of it, and he can't go back, the least he can
do is keep the other children from growing up as well. This shows 1) a love for, and wish to harken
back to, childhood, and 2) a wish to evade adulthood. This catcher in the rye fantasy exemplifies not
wanting to deal with one kind of change, and a big one at that – growing up.

One example in the novel that further solidifies the hardships of dealing with change as a theme
explored throughout The Catcher in the Rye is Holden's discussion (in his mind/with the reader) about
the Eskimos in the museum. This is found on p. 121-122, when Holden goes to the museum while
waiting to go on a date with Sally Hayes. Holden enters a part of the museum where there are Eskimos
fishing in a lake. He sees two Eskimos that have just finished catching a fish. He then says the
following :”The best thing, though, in that museum was the everything always stayed right where it
was. Nobody'd move.” He then comments on how the actions of the Eskimos and the animals in the
museum – the pair that just catched a fish, the deers drinking out the water hole – will always stay the
same, and the only thing that would change every time you saw them was you. Holden says that it
wouldn't exactly be because you're older, but just because you'd be different. His examples range from
one end of the spectrum to another – from having an overcoat on, to having had a terrible fight with
your parents. This shows that Holden finds tranquility in things not changing. He celebrates the
unchanging nature of the museum, and his discussion about how you would be the only one different
shows that the stationary existence of the Eskimos in the museum is something that Holden would like
to apply to his own life.

1 Page references in this document refer to the 1951 Little, Brown edition.
Tomás Monzón May 17, 2009
Period 1 English

As aforementioned, the unchanging nature of the Eskimos in the Museum is a quality of that
Holden would like to apply to his own life. Evidence for thinking this is found within a past event in
Holden's life that has troubled him since its occurrence; it is one that evokes feelings of affection and
emotion that perhaps wouldn't otherwise be expected from Holden's rough exterior. This event, related
on p. 38, is the death of his brother Allie, which happened on July 18, 1946 – Holden even remembers
the exact date. Allie died due to leukemia. Two years younger than Holden, he was “fifty times as
intelligent”. Holden also says he was, in many ways, one of the nicest in the family. Holden loved
Allie, and his death was very impacting, in turn, evidenced by the fact that Holden broke all the
windows in the garage the night of Allie's death, one that he spent in the garage. This serves as cold
hard truth that Holden has hardships with change, because the removal of Allie as an element of his life
hurt him, and because it happened through his tragic death, the theme of dealing with death also
becomes one, by association, that is explored in the novel. Throughout the novel, Holden always keeps
Allie at the back of his mind. When Holden visits Phoebe, back at his house, she asks him what he
likes, because she argues that he doesn't like anything in his life. Holden says that he likes Allie, and
when Phoebe says that Allie's been dead, and how he could like something that's dead, Holden
unnaturally shouts at Phoebe, telling her that he knows he's been dead, but even if he's dead, he can still
like him. This outbreak also strengthens Holden's hardship with Allie's death, one very poignant
throughout the novel.

The Catcher in The Rye is an unusual novel, no doubt, but not unique in the breadth of themes it
explores and the main character it typifies – a troubled youth, dealing with the hardships of change and,
in turn, growing up. Personal conflict as a result of changing conditions in one's life is not something
uncommon in human beings, and the examples that have been discussed in this essay are not the only
examples that exist in the novel that call up the difficulty of dealing with change – think about Holden
dropping out of yet another school, Holden leaving Pencey Prep and, for a while, living life in the cold
streets of New York City all by his lonesome. The book ends suddenly, and meeting criticism of it (the
end) is not rare. It's an unusual cliffhanger – not because of the way it's written, but because of a
personal wish to see what Holden ends up doing with his life. Perhaps, as he grows up, he'll learn to
fare better through change. Imagine the death of Phoebe – definitely an event that would be similar to
Allie's. Whether an older Holden would respond the same as did a younger one, is a question looking
for an answer.