After discussing the second part of The Catcher In The Rye in class, I felt very enlightened. I now understand many parts of the book very clearly. Holden commented on how he enjoyed going to the museum to see the figures inside the glass display cases. He loved seeing them so much because they never changed, but he felt depressed because every time he went to see them, he had always slightly changed since the last time. Holden seems to be afraid of change, and unwilling to accept it. This is because everything has always changed for the worse for him: first Allie died, then D. B. moved to Hollywood, and Holden continually was failing out of prep schools.
When Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to be when he grows up, he describes a vision to her, in which thousands of young children playing in a huge field of rye, located on the edge of a cliff. Holden's job would be to act as "the catcher in the rye", and catch any kids who might fall off the cliff. In addition to this scene, there are many times when Holden can relate better to young kids than he can to adults. ".....I act quite young for my age sometimes."(p. 9). "Same old Caulfield. When are you going to grow up?" (p. 144). Holden is to immature to be considered an adult, and to be able to relate to adults. Therefore Holden looks towards younger kids for friendship and company. He liked helping the girl in the park to lace up her skates, and helping the boys on the seesaw by evening out the weight. A significant point in the story is when Holden hears the young boy singing "If a body catch a body coming through the rye." (p. 115). This boy's singing inspires Holden to want to be "the catcher in the rye". More importantly, this is the first time in the entire book that Holden no longer feels depressed. The thought of being "the catcher in the rye" must be very important to Holden, because it makes him feel so much better. Spending his teenage years in boarding schools away from home has resulted in Holden never maturing, because his parents were never there to show him how. As a result of this, he is old enough to be considered an adult but behaves more like a young child. Holden does not have many good memories. But he carries mementos of his few pleasant memories with him wherever he goes. Allie's baseball glove with poetry written on it is one thing that brings back his good memories. When Holden's "Little Shirley Beans" record is shattered, he keeps the pieces. It is hard for him to let go and move on after something bad happens.
It sometimes seems that Holden is mean, because he hates phonies and often insults people for practically no reason. But in reality, he never wants people to feel inferior to him. He pretended that he thought Phoebe really could give herself a fever. "I didn't want her to get a goddamn inferiority complex." When he meets the two nuns at the restaurant, he feels bad because he is having a huge breakfast, while they are only having coffee and toast. At one of his former prep schools, he had much nicer suitcases than his roommate, and he felt guilty. Holden seems like a bad person, but he does have good morals. He cares and even worries about the feelings of the people around him.