Arthur miller

developed this theory from his experience with Allie’s death. When Allie died his physical form was not around anymore, so to Holden he disappeared. “Allie, don’t let me disappear. Please, Allie”. In Holden’s own words he unconsciously admits that he associates death with disappearance. When he is crossing the street and feels he is going to die he asks Allie not to let him disappear, meaning not to let him die. This is why Holden is so determined to find out “where the ducks go” when they disappear, and return in the spring. He seems to think that the ducks die during the winter when they disappear, to cope with the extreme weather, and return when the conditions are better in the spring. An answer Holden is trying to find so when he is in troubled situations, he can die and disappear then come back when everything gets better. “I was sort of pretending I had a bullet in my guts”. After Holden gets beat up for not wanting to give a prostitute another five bucks that was demanded, he starts to pretend that “Old Maurice had plugged him”. A perfect example of a troubled situation that Holden was in where he pretends that he is dying in the hope that he would disappear. The issue of Holden trapped in his in between stage can be another symbol of the ducks at Central park. Holden’s misunderstanding of the ducks disappearance that “Somebody come around in a truck or something and take them away” can correspond to his misunderstanding of adulthood which prevents him from maturing. Holden does not want to become an adult because he assumes that all adults are “phonies” and that the worst a person could be is a “phony”. In Holden’s mind, he believes that if he becomes an adult he would have to do activities that are “phony” to him. Such as “Go downstairs in elevators with suitcases and stuff” or “be working in some office, making a lot of dough, and riding to work in cabs and Madison Avenue buses”. These are all things that conflict with Holden’s morals, so he feels he would have to change to become an adult. As a result, Holden acts immature most of the time like yelling down the corridor “Sleep tight, ya morons” and “Jumping off the washbowl and getting Old Stradlater in a half nelson”. He acts this way to try and avoid growing up, but what Holden does not understand is that he can still be the person he is as an adult. The ducks in this novel can be interpreted as Holden’s fear of losing his safety and security. Holden is very agitated by the fear that the ducks will not be able to stay in the lake during the winter. His constant worries about the duck’s safety and security, parallels his internal fear of getting kicked out of his home losing his safety and security. An image of this fear is first introduced while Holden “shot the bull” with Mr. Spencer about getting kicked out of Pencey. Holden secretly pondered the thought of the lagoon at central park, “If it would be frozen over” when he got home “and, if it was, where did the ducks go”. Thus, connecting the safety and security of the ducks to the safety and security of himself. Holden also visits the lagoon late at night when he is scared to go home. He feels a sense of homelessness and it is ironic that instead of searching for a place “to sleep” he wants to” See what the hell the ducks were doing, see if they were around or not”. Once he realizes that the ducks are gone he starts to feel “Blue as hell”, and eventually goes home, back to his safety and security. The overall message that Salinger contributes to this novel is the cycle of life. Salinger understands that everyone copes with childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and death in different ways. He tries to express that this cycle cannot be avoided, it will occur in every human being because it is a part of life.