The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger: The Symbolism Behind the book The Catcher in the Rye is written by JD Salinger. This book in particular is closely based on Salinger's life. The symbols in this book are very developed and have a lot to do with Holden's character development and also explain how he feels about certain things in his life. The three most important symbols in this book are the ducks in the Central Park pond, the speech and discussion about the digression at Mr. Antolini's house, and of course, the symbolism behind the title, the catcher in the rye. What follows will be an in-depth analysis of the symbolism behind the book, Catcher in the Rye. The first symbolic event I would like to talk about is the conversation Holden has with his old English teacher, Mr. Antolini. This certain event happens in chapter 24. They started talking about the lessons in which Holden failed. One in particular was the course called Oral Expression. Holden told Antolini how much he hated that class. He said he hated it so much because of something called 'digression'. He told Antolini that oral expression was a lesson in which you stood up in front of the class and gave a speech on a chosen topic. The point was not to go off topic. Every time someone went off topic, the entire class would have to shout "digression!" against them. Holden was one of the kids who often got yelled at for a digression. He was so frustrated that he would just give up. Holden explains to Mr. Antolini about a classmate named Richard Kinsella. It often went off topic, but Holden said it was better when it went off topic because it was always more interesting. He says, "I mean, it's dirty to keep yelling 'Digression!' with him when he's all nice and excited...'” This quote is very significant to Holden's understanding. When he says it's dirty to yell an aside at someone when he's excited about something, he's really relating it to his personal life. He probably thinks it's rude for people to judge him and tell him what to do when his life gets a little off track. This digression conversation demonstrates how messed up Holden's life really is..