The Catcher In The Rye: Where Do The Ducks Go? Essay

The Catcher In The Rye: Where Do The Ducks Go?

After reading The Catcher in the Rye for like the sixtieth time in my life, I immediately want to start off this paper with the phrase, The thing is. . . or if you want to know the truth. . . . The question of where do the ducks go when the lagoon freezes is something I was not able to get out of my head the whole time I was rereading the book. I kept thinking that this wasnt some random thought that entered Holdens head when he was talking to Mr. Spencer. He really is curious about these ducks. I feel as though in a way that Holden is just like these ducks. Sitting there in the pond, until they cant anymore and finally its time for them to leave and move on to the next pond, or lake.

It seems as though because these ducks are in Central Park, and not in some lake in the middle of nowhere, Holden wonders if someone comes by to take care of them as if they wont know what to do instinctively. When he does actually arrive in New York it suddenly occurs to him that someone whos there would know about the ducks. He seems desperate to find out because he brings it up two different times.

He is never able to get a satisfying answer from either of the cab drivers he does ask though. It makes me feel sort of sad because I feel like he is at a point in his life where he doesnt know what direction to go in or what his purpose in life is. If someone could just tell him where the ducks go, that might help a little bit. It seems so important to him to find out something that seems insignificant to the people he asks.

Even after Holden tries to find the ducks himself, he is letdown once again because they are not there. Maybe, if only they were still sitting in the lake doing their thing, he would feel a sense of security and familiarity that he seems to be searching for the entire book. I think he needs to know whether someone comes to take the ducks and tell them what they should do next or do they just instinctively know where to go and what to do.

Hes going from school to school because someone is telling him to leave; someone is telling him what school he has to go to next. Holden is not doing what he wants, he knows that he doesnt belong with all the phonies but he doesnt know where he should be. He knows that hes not just an ordinary duck, doing what all the other ducks are doing in the lake. He is different and needs to find his own non-phony lake to be happy in. But if he finds out that the ducks do just instinctively go where they need to go, then somehow he will know that hes going to find his way eventually and he is going to be ok.

Holden is like lots of people or kids his age. We often struggle with our identities as we get older. We get lost and at times it feels like it would be easier to have someone just tell us where we should be going and what we should be doing instead trying to figure it out ourselves. Sometimes the world is just too big and crazy to handle and we all want to feel comforted, safe and secure. I feel as though Holden is searching for a little of this, whether he realizes it or not, while he is wandering around New York.

After arriving in New York, Holden is painfully aware of how alone is. He wants to talk to his sister Phoebe and knows he cant risk calling her at home. But the ducks, the ducks could be there and may help ebb the feeling of loneliness that is creeping up on him. He sets out determined to locate the ducks in Central Park in the dark, cold night becoming even more depressed and lost when he realizes they are not in the pond sleeping. He finally decides its time to see Phoebe and goes home, the one place hes been trying to avoid.

In the beginning Holden is wondering where the ducks of Central Park go and tries to get this question answered. In the end, he doesnt find the ducks or the answer he is looking for in the ducks. What he gets is Phoebe who ends up providing the comfort and security and even happiness, if only for a few moments, he desperately seeks. She provides a way for him to end his chapter at Pencey and move on to the next lake.