In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, author JD Salinger uses many symbols to show many hidden themes throughout the story. The Catcher in the Rye, published in 1951, is narrated by the main character Holden Caulfield. In the novel, Caulfield tells us about his 3 days after being expelled from Pencey Prep. One of the main topics that Salinger shows us in this novel is the pain of growing up. He tries to make us understand that children should not have to lose their childhood innocence, honesty and simplicity to grow up and become an adult whose life is filled with sin, vulgarity, confusion and complexity by using many symbolic objects in the novel. Some symbols that reveal that growing up is painful are the duck pond, the museum, and Caulfield wanting to become the rye catcher. The first symbol is the duck pond in Central Park which symbolizes that growing up can trap children between childhood and adulthood. The Duck Pond helps us understand that growing up is very painful and many children find themselves stuck without knowing where to go, just like the fish in the pond. Some children h...