Quote: (Chapter 12 page 81) “Well, you know the ducks that swim around in it? In the springtime and all? Do you happen to know where they go in the wintertime, by any chance?”
Analysis: I believe that Holden Caulfield is questioning the taxi driver on where the ducks go for the winter because he feels that he can relate to them. The ducks have no choice, but to leave the lake they are on and search for a new place to go. Holden had to leave his school, and much like the ducks, look for a new place to go. Holden feels lonely and is looking for something to guide him. He wants direction and is having a mental struggle with the thought of having nowhere to look to. Holden is trying to better his mental state by understanding the world around him, like the patterns the ducks follow. Even if this comparison is somewhat imaginary I do think that the ducks directly relate to Holden and the reality of his situation.

Quote: (Chapter 14 page 98) “Boy, I felt miserable. I felt so depressed, you can’t imagine. What I did, I started talking, sort of out loud, to Allie. I do that sometimes when I get very depressed.”
Analysis: This shows how mentally unstable and confused Holden Caulfield truly is. He is in a dark and depressive state. He feels that no one understands what he is going through and in general is just lost. So lost that he pretends to speak to his deceased little brother, Allie. Among feeling out of place and lost I believe he feels very lonely as well. He is miserable because he is seeking this human connection that he can’t find. Holden even went to extremes when hiring a prostitute named Sunny, merely to talk to her because he needed someone, anyone, to listen to him.

Quote: (Chapter 13 page 89) “Nobody is calling anybody a thief. All I know is my gloves were in your goddamn galoshes. It could go on like that for hours. Finally, though, I’d leave his room without even taking a sock at him.”
Analysis: This mere st...