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Symbolisim in The Catcher in the Rye


Such actions such as getting kicked out of school, partying at night, and encountering a prostitute all contribute to Holden's confusion with the real world. Holden taking on a somewhat role model position shows readers that although there may be a struggle with innocence, a greater understanding of oneself and others can be a positive outcome from it.
             Another way that Holden finds a sense of actuality from the Little Shirley Beans record is when he drops and breaks it in Central Park. After his disastrous date with Sally, Holden spends the rest of his night partying at the Wicker Bar and leaves in a drunken and detrimental state. He decides on a whim to go to Central Park, and recalls, "Then something terrible happened just as I got in the park. I dropped old Phoebe's record. It broke-into about fifty pieces" (Salinger 82). For Holden, this record makes him feel as though he were a child again, as it evokes the many emotions he experienced then. This meaning in the Little Shirley Beans record comes from the lyrics and actual song, not the physical record. Now broken, the record can no longer be played or heard, and is basically useless to Holden. Despite this, Holden proceeds to salvage the broken pieces, and rationalizes, "I damn near cried, it made me feel so terrible, but all I did was, I took the pieces out of the envelope and put them in my coat pocket. They weren't any good for anything, but I didn't feel like just throwing them away" (Salinger 83). Holden's mature actions give him a taste of adulthood, but due to his lack of responsibility, do not fully establish him as a grown up. Constantly stuck between being a child or an adult, Holden keeps these pieces as an attempt to hold onto his naivety. It shows that he fears becoming an adult permanently, but is also finally realizing he has to make a choice whether he likes it or not. This realization is demonstrated in Holden's recount of what he does next, "Then I went in the park.


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