The Catcher in the Rye - Symbolism In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses several examples of symbolism throughout the novel to bring the reader into Holden Caulfield's thoughts . Three major examples of its symbolism are the ducks on the frozen pond, Jane Gallagher, and the Natural History Museum. Salinger uses all three of these symbols to represent the thoughts of the central character, Holden Caulfield. As Holden Caulfield walks around New York City, he asks many people what happens to the ducks when the pond freezes. The repetition of this question symbolizes what Holden is truly asking of himself. He's not trying to find out what will happen to the ducks, he's really discovering himself by using the ducks symbolically. He wants to know what will happen to him when the weather gets brutally cold. He is debating whether to go home, which he is very afraid to do, or stay outside and freeze. The other two symbols in the novel, Jane Gallagher and the Natural History Museum, both represent Holden's past. Jane Gallagher was an old friend of Holden's who he mentions quite often throughout the novel. Many times he says he will call her, but never finds the courage to do so. As SN Behrman said in his review for the New Yorker, "Jane Gallagher stands as her own eternal symbol of goodness." She is an important part of his past that he misses a lot and would like to have back. The Natural History Museum represents a different aspect of Holden's past. While Jane Gallagher makes Holden want to return to his past, the museum changes his mind. He remembers how he always went there, and how the wax figures were always the same, but from day to day, he was the only thing that changed. This is exemplified in a critique by Frank Kermode, of the Speculator. Frank says, "Then he goes to the Natural History Museum, which he loved as a child; it seemed 'the only nice, dry, friendly place in the world.' Nothing has changed there among the stuffed Indians and Eskimos; except you, you have changed every time you entered.