The Catcher In The Rye Quote Analysis

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During the second cab ride, Holden wonders about the ducks for the second time. All alone in the Big Apple, he is as lost and confused as before. Not knowing how to conserve money and how to pass time he spends money and drinks gallon upon gallons. During the time this quote took place Holden is heading to a club called Ernie’s to drink. It was a club where his older brother D. B. used to go to frequent, causing Holden to have a family connection to the location. Once again, Holden recalls his curiosity with the ducks in the Central Park, and poses a question to the cab driver, Horwitz. This time around, the cab driver, Horwitz, listens to Holden and attempts to answer his question. When Holden asks Horwitz, where the ducks go, Horwitz …show more content…
“The fish are different. I’m talking about the ducks” (Salinger 82). The fish in this instance symbolize everyone in the world, everyone, but Holden. Everyone, including all the students that attend Pencey Prep, is taken care of by “Mother Nature” but Holden is different he is alone. He has no interest to learn about the fish for he is a duck. The ducks do not stay in the pond all winter; they have to leave. Similarly, Holden had to leave Pencey, while everyone else is allowed to stay. Not knowing the next step he should take, Holden wants to learn about the ducks-not the fish- to get a better understanding of what he should do. So, in the end, he could not find the answer to upstanding question. His determination to find where the ducks go correlates with his drive to mature and better fit in. Even with all the interactions with failure Holden continues to hope that he will get an answer to his question, in other words finding a solution to his own situation. Despite the fact that nobody knows about the ducks, Holden continues to search for his answer, showing that he has started to change and grow since being kicked out of Pencey. However, feeling depressed and still not have a way out of this mess, Holden continues to drink and be an