Themes Typical teenage immaturity-lying and trying to flatter adults Relationships-he tries to act mature but really inside he is being deceitful ( because he is lying to Mrs. Morrow outright. Even offers to buy her a drink.) Loneliness-keeps talking to her, keeps lying because he is getting attention and any attention he gets he feels is good.

Character Points He reinforces his claim earlier in the book that he is a great liar. Because he lies about everything he says except when he says that he does go to Pencey. He spares her feelings – “that guy is about as sensitive as a toilet seat” keeps his feelings to himself, might be seen as kind, except that he lies outright to her maybe to keep her in her naïve world. Also could be seen as mocking her and her naivety about her own son – eddie. He seems infatuated by her “she had a lot of sex appeal too, if you really want to know”-about her smoking. “she was too charming and all to be snotty”- “I’d enjoyed having her”-about the drink. Wants attention-he tells her the sob story that he is getting a tumor removed… mentally something not right…

Summary In this particular bit we see that Holden is in some need of attention and he keeps lying to Mrs. Morrow because she is giving him attention. Holden does boast in the story earlier that he is a great liar, it shows how much of a good liar he is. However it could be seen as being nice and keeping Mrs. Morrow ‘innocent’ in the way she thinks about her son. It could also be seen as mocking her, he maybe thought she was smarter not to see right through her son. (some parents are like that, they see now wrong in their kids some parents seem to see all the wrongs) He seems to want attention especially from woman this is possibly because he doesn’t get that from his own mother, because she is still wrapped up in Allies death.

The ducks

symbolism The ducks are definitely symbolic of him having to deal with harsh situations and complications in his environment. His questioning where they go is symbolic of his own search for a safe haven in a nasty world.

The ice What's probably more symbolic in the ducks scenario is Salinger's use of ice. Think about how a pond freezes--from the outer, more shallow edges, toward the center, until there is less and less room to move. Finally, the ducks are forced to flee. Ice in the novel represents these pressures in Holden's life closing in on him, forcing him to move on and figure out where to go. Other examples of ice in the novel include Holden slipping on a patch of ice on the way to say goodbye to Mr. Spencer. (Falling is also an important motif throughout the novel.) Holden wets his hair in the bathroom, and after going outside to search for the ducks, it freezes. He describes the ice in his hair as something that makes him feel like he's going to get sick and die. He goes ice skating with Sally Hayes but has trouble. The two of them were falling all over the place. Another examle of falling, here. He also explains how his mother bought him the wrong kind of ice skates, meaning, she wasn't able to equip him with what it takes to survive in the harsh world. Holden's parents are conspicuously absent in the novel and obviously haven't given him much emotional support.