Comparing Symbolism In Catcher In The Rye And Into The Wild

Symbolism (noun) the particular idea or quality that is expressed by a symbol. Many symbols existed in J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, and the film Into the Wild. Both Holden Caulfield (The Catcher in the Rye) and Chris “Supertramp” McCandless (Into the Wild) have many of the same perspectives on life and an analogous life story which may show that they have similar symbols. For instance, the two men run away from home and are timid and apprehensive about forming close relationships. On the other hand, Holden has the philosophy that children must stay innocent as he wants to catch them running through the rye. Holden also portrays innocence and youthfulness, hiding behind his red hunting hat while trying to stay a child for as

To begin, The Catcher in the Rye relates to Holden’s ideas about life how children should have innocence and that society is vulgar and corrupted. He believes that if you stay the same way (possibly innocent or untouched), the world would be better. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would still be on their way south… Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you” (Salinger 121). The quote above shows that the museum never changes, only the people who view the museum change. At one point, Holden has a dream about catching children who are falling off a cliff. “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in a big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and noby’s around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I;m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start t go over the cliff…” (Salinger 173). This quote shows Holden’s day dream about children running innocently around a rye field and he would be standing at the edge of the cliff to protect them and keep their innocence if they were about to fall. He is aware that the children of the world are corrupted and has the desire to salvage them from further damage. Moreover, the title Into the Wild has two interesting meanings. First, Chris is physically going into the unknown wild and woods of Alaska, enduring anything that mother nature throws at him from not having an ample amount of food to eating poisonous leaves. Secondly, it shows Chris leaving society to find his own way of happiness and discovers that “happiness is only real when shared”. “Comin thro' the rye, poor body, comin