Recently, I re-read "The Catcher in the Rye" by myself because I enjoyed it a lot when I first read it. However, I decided to try to read it in depth rather than know the story line. While reading, I found some significant quotes that convey the theme of the novel:
1. "The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was... The only thing that would be different would be you.
- Holden expresses his fear of change. In the novel, Holden refuses to become an adult and lose the innocence of a child. The Museum of National History, therefore, symbolizes Holden's want to stay as a child.
2. Catcher in the Rye
- Obviously, the title "Catcher in the Rye" is the most important symbol in this book. When talking to Phoebe, Holden says that he wants to be the person who catches children that are going to fall off the cliff. Cliff symbolizes the barrier of an adult and a child. Holden wants to keep his innocence as a child and to avoid becoming an adult. He wants other young children to be innocent as well. Therefore, whenever he observes a kid becoming an adult, he wants to go to him or her and stop from becoming one.
3. "F*** you" scribbles on the wall
- Holden finds several swearing scribbles on walls of Phoebe's school and the Museum of Natural History. He becomes depressed and worried when he sees one because he can imagine a young child reading this scribble and asking someone about the meaning of it, and another child answering what it means and all students coming to know what it means and using the word. Again, he hates the idea because children will lose part of their innocence after knowing such a bad word.
