The Catcher in the Rye #4

The title, The Catcher in the Rye is a unique title. At the beginning of the book, I had no idea what the significaince of the title was. I did not even know what the word "rye" meant. I looked it up in a dictionary. The meaning I think is correct for the novel is it is a wheat plant and "the seeds or grian of this plant, used for making flour and wiskey, and as livestock feed." I think That J. D. Salinger, the author, meant for the meaning of the word rye to be aquantied with wiskey. I think this because Holden Caufield, the main character liked to drink. He was only a journor in highschool and sixteen years old. He was not old enough to drink. That is a big thing to do and that is why I think that Salinger stressed the wiskey so much. As I read the book, I learned that the Catcher in the Rye is what Holden wanted to do with his life. I know this because when his little sister, Phoebe, asked him what he wanted to be in life, he answered he wanted to be the catcher in the rye. What he meant by this was that he imagined a bunch of little kids playing in a field and there was this big ledge. The kids did not know the ledge was there and they would fall off. Holden wanted to be standing in a field of rye and he wanted to catch the children as they fell. He just wanted to stand in the same spot and to catch the children and to be sure they are safe. This is a big change in Holden because so far as the book goes, it does not seem like Holden care for much. He thinks everyone is a phoney and he does not like stuff. His sister brings out his soft, sensitive side. I think this means that Holden tries to act tough, but he just wants to help people. This was a good title for the book and it had a lot of symbolic meaning in it.