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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.

Video Transcription:

I would read this book just for the ducks. No joke. More on why this symbol is so cool—and memorable—right after this.

There’s so much going on in the symbol of the ducks in the Central Park Lagoon that it’s hard to know where to start.

OK, how about with the theme I can’t stop talking about: the theme about growing up.

The ducks reinforce this theme in two ways:

First, the fact that Holden is obsessed with finding out where the ducks go in the winter shows his childlike side.

Second, the passage of time is often conveyed by the seasons changing, right? So the fact that Holden wants to know where the ducks go in the winter also reminds us that the seasons of Holden’s life are changing, too. Just like the ducks can’t avoid the impending winter, Holden can’t avoid having to face adulthood.

But wait! There’s more!

And here’s where it gets really cool.

Because even the lagoon itself is part of this symbol. Did you notice that it’s part frozen and part unfrozen?

It’s like the pond is exactly where Holden is—in between two states.

And it’s only a matter of time until both Holden and the lagoon transition to something inhospitable to the innocence of ducks.