The first and most prevalent symbol is Holden Caulfield's use of the word "phony". At first glance the word "phony" seems to be fairly self-explanatory, but as one progresses through the novel it becomes evident that "phony" has a deeper meaning. Essentially "phony" is a term used to describe someone or something that appears to be one thing but is entirely another. The significance of phony seems to wane as Holden Caulfield seems to, at times, throw it around in a manner akin to a child throwing around candy. The number of people that Holden calls phony is seemingly endless. Careful observation of the age of the people Holden calls phony yields an interes

Holden's catcher in the rye scene is a critical scene in the novel. This particular scene is brimming with symbolism. In the scene, the field of rye represents "the world". The children who are playing in this field of rye tend to inadvertently jump off a cliff. Falling off the cliff is Salinger's rather colourful way of illustrating the maturation of these children. Holden describes himself as the "catcher in the rye" and as a result his job is to catch these children before they fall of the cliff. In other words Holden believes that he needs to shield children from the problems of maturing into the "phony" adult world. Note how the children are falling off the cliff, which guarantees no hope of recovery should a fall occur.

The next pivotal point in the novel comes in the Carousel scene. This scene is yet another colorful representation of Salinger's, and subsequently Holden's, view on the maturation of children. There are several key elements in this scene - namely the carousel, the gold ring and Holden's commentary on the scene. The carousel is what symbolizes the world or more accurately the status quo. Every now and then a child will venture beyond the status quo. Phoebe reaching for the gold ring is Salinger's representation of the disturbance in the status quo. Central to the scene, however, are Holden's comments, which follow -

This raises another issue. Is being an adult the only required criteria for labelling as a phony? Not necessarily, in this excerpt Holden refers to Sally Hayes' conversation with George as being phony -

Finally, though, the jerk noticed her and came over and said hello. You should have seen t

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hayes George, Catcher Rye, Holden Caulfield, Sally George, Holden Caulfield's, Sally Hayes', catcher rye, JD Salinger's, gold ring, adult world, Rye Symbolism, status quo, labelling phony, rye scene, falling cliff, catcher rye scene, theme catcher rye, people holden calls, shield children, criteria labelling, fall cliff, grab gold ring, criteria labelling phony,
Approximate Word count = 1106
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)