Holden Treading in the Rye
We are given a window into Holden’s character when he tells Phoebe his interpretation of the Robert Burns poem, “Comin thro’ the Rye.” He had heard a little boy singing it as “body catch a body, coming through the rye” instead of the original “body meet a body, comin thro’ the rye.” He says how he imagines children running through fields of rye, and his dream job would be to catch them from falling off the cliff. Although it is only a small passage, its meaning resonates with Holden’s character throughout the novel. Catcher in the Rye shares just a phrase of the poem “Comin thro’ the Rye,” and we can only rely on Holden’s interpretation to understand the poem’s significance; however, when I read it in its entirety, I found that the poem itself--not just Holden’s mishearing of the line--is a reflection of his character as well. In the first verse, the narrator of “Comin thro’ the Rye” describes a scene that he’s watching of a girl, Jenny, who is in a harrowing state: