Salinger's critically acclaimed novel, The Catcher in the Rye follows the journey of Holden Caulfield, a young boy who returns home to New York after being ousted from yet another prep school. Throughout the novel, Holden shares his animosity towards what he sees as a phony society, filled with phony people and phony things. Within the novel, Salinger has created numerous symbols, such as the natural history museum or the red hunting hat, as well as creating a vocabulary which fits in with Holden's maturity. In addition, both Salinger utilized motifs, such as deceit and loneliness, fueling the theme of living in a phony world.
Present throughout The Catcher in the Rye is the use of symbolism by Salinger. Many symbols were used within the novel, for instance, the natural history museum."The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where is was. Nobody'd move. The only thing that would be different would be you. I mean you'd be different in some way- I can't explain what I mean." (Salinger, 121-122). For Holden, the museum is a symbol of timelessness, something that is always the same. The only thing that changes upon each visit to the museum is himself and he despises the thought of changing. The idea of never changing and staying frozen in time appeals to Holden, because that would mean he would not have to grow up and potentially become just another phony adult. In the same manner, Holden's red hunting hat represents the uniqueness that he desires. Holden despises the thought of a society that conforms to a single, "phony idea". Holden desires the idea of being different, to set himself apart from the conforming ideals. Consequently, the effective use of symbolism by Salinger contributed to the unique writing style of The Catcher in the Rye.
In a similar capacity, the use of motifs by Salinger were frequent throughout The Catcher in the Rye.