If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck … then it must symbolize Holden Caulfield’s fear of growing up, right? The Catcher in the Rye imbues just about everything in Holden’s experience with meaning. Here’s how author J. D. Salinger uses a flock of ducks and a partially frozen lagoon to illustrate the central conflict in Holden’s conflict-ridden life.
