Catcher in the Rye: literary analysis
... got out of an old James Bond movie like “do you care for a cocktail (57)?”, But when Holden’s in the cab and starts to ask the driver questions, he refuses and refuses to except the fact that the ducks in the lake go away for the winter, which in a way symbolizes Holden as a character always running from things he can’t, or doesn’t think he can handle. He repeatedly asks that same question as he goes along through the novel, and even though the answer never changes he wont stop, hopping that maybe he’ll get a different response. That isn’t the only instance that shows how immature holed really is. He gets a hold of an old friend from his old high school and the only thing that he can talk about is sex. Even the guy tells hem to stop and tries to change the subject but even then he would keep bringing it up: “Wadd a ya mean ‘Philosophy’? Ya mean sex and all. You mean its better in China. (146)”. The immaturity Holden shows seems to come out more with his old friends, like he cant quite let go of his youth, which could be because of his love for kids. The reason Holden is so fond of kids is because of there “innocence” , he feels that “all Adults are Phonies” which is the second reoccurring theme in the book. Holden’s little sister Pheoby symbolizes innocence and his older brother; D.B. is the symbol for the phoniness’ of man because he sold out to Hollywood. Even Holden roommate Stradlater is a “phony” because he seems like a very clean person but when Holden sees him shaving in the bathroom he notices that his razor hasn’t been changed for about two years its all rusted up and full of lather and hairs, Holden calls it being “a secret slob (27)”. Another thing that makes adults phonies is people who lie, when Holden comes across one of D.B.’s old friends in a bar, Lillian Simmons, she starts off by sucking up telling him that he keeps on getting more handsome by the minute but it turns out that alls she wanted was to find out how D.B. was. She even asked him to come and sit over at her and her friends table, but he made the excuse that he was about to leave, obviously a lie. It’s funny how Holden cant stand phonies cause all phonies are liars but in the ve...