Rain Symbolism In Catcher In The Rye

In Thomas C. Foster’s novel, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, an abundance of claims are made revolving around the hidden meanings and reasons behind symbols and words that authors use in their text. With each chapter and new subject Foster introduces, lists of examples are provided, but none of the examples are from the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. The Catcher in the Rye is a universally known novel that offers textual evidence that readers can relate to and first hand see the literary examples described by Foster. In this novel, irony and symbolism through the use of seasons and rain prove Foster’s points in literature. As Thomas C. Foster states multiple times in his novel, “irony trumps everything” (Foster 252). …show more content…
In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, a chapter was titled “It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow”, and the rain in Salinger’s novel proved to be more than just rain. One of the scenes in which it rained was when Holden described visiting his brother’s grave. He explained that it was not bad when the weather was nice, but when it rained it was awful. With a melancholic and bitter tone, Holden stated that, “It rained on his lousy tombstone, and it rained on the grass on his stomach. It rained all over the place” (Salinger 172). This type of rain is the kind that adds the misery factor that Foster described. Without the rain, it was just a typical visit, but with the rain a whole new level of heartache is added. However, this is not the only type of rain that Salinger uses in his novel. Rain is also used to represent a type of cleansing symbolically. At the end of the novel, Holden was with his little sister Phoebe, and was watching her ride the carousel when it started to downpour. Everyone surrounding him left to seek shelter, but he stayed where he was, sitting on the bench with his hunting hat on, and he stated that he, “felt so damn happy all of a sudden” (Salinger 233). Throughout the book, he was filled with depression and resentment, but sitting there, soaking wet, watching his little sister ride in circles on horse brought him so much joy. Without the rain, the reason for him being so happy would just be because of a silly carousel. The rain ends the novel. Holden transforms - he stops resisting change, he goes home and finds a new school to go to, and he realizes he has people to miss besides his brother. His outlook on the world was no longer the idea that everyone was a

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