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• How does the symbol/motif come up in the novel, and how does it impact what is going on? What happens immediately preceding or immediately following a mention or discussion of this idea or thing?

- The motif was the ducks in Central Park, and this impacts what is going on whether Holden is in a cab or at a bar. Before he finally goes to Central Park he asks the question "Where do the ducks go when the ponds freeze over?" because he is truly curious about this.

• What is the mood when this idea or thing is brought up? Would you associate this with times when Holden is content? frightened? frantic? confused? Is this mood consistent with every incidence of this motif?

-Holden is extremely curious about the ducks because Allie and Holden would go look at the ducks. Holden is very nostalgic about the ducks. Holden is a little confused about the ducks because he isn't sure where they go during the winter. Holden becomes lonely whenever he thinks about the ducks and tries to find someone to talk to about them. Yes this mood is consistent with the motif until he finally finds out that the ducks are not there in the winter.

• Is Holden alone when this motif/symbol occurs? If not, with whom is he interacting? How would you characterize that interaction? Does this motif occur both when he is alone and when he is with other people? Is there a connection to be made? -No Holden is not alone when this occurs, he is usually with cab drivers. I would characterize the action as an act for conversation. This action occurs when he is with cab drivers.

• What does this motif/symbol tell you about Holden, in a “big picture” way - Does this suggest anything about his personality? His weaknesses or strengths? His sense of himself? -This is suggests that he is extremely lonely because every time he is with anyone he brings up the ducks. The ducks are a major weakness for him because they remind him of Allie. They also are a cure for his loneliness in a way.

• Tie it all together: Did any pattern emerge? Pick out other words or ideas used in conjunction with this motif. Look back on your investigation and come up with a single sentence that sums up what you’ve discovered. -These all express the idea of loneliness and curiosity. Which is really what Holden experiences throughout the book.

I. Introduction a. People sometimes wonder where the ducks go during the winter when the pond freezes over. b.In __//Catcher in the Rye//__ by J.D. Salinger, Holden uses the ducks as a conversation starter with anyone that is either in the same vicinity or is talking to Holden about various topics. i. Holden is an extremely lonely and depressed individual but when he is with the ducks he is not. ii. Holden is curious about where the ducks go during the winter when the ponds freeze over. iii. Holden uses the ducks as a "cure" for loneliness.

II. Holden is an extremely lonely and depressed individual but when he is with the ducks he is not. a. "Anyway, it made me feel depressed and lousy again, and I damn near got my coat and went back to the hotel, but it was too early and i didn't feel much like being all alone." (Salinger 84) i. The whole time Holden was in New York he was lonely no matter what, he could have been in a room full of people but he still felt alone. b. "Don't you feel like talking for a while?" (Salinger 95) i. Holden would do anything to have someone to talk to, he even chose to talk to a prostitute instead of other things. c. "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 depressed." (Salinger 98) i. Whenever Holden feels terribly lonely he talks aloud to Allie, as if he was right there next to him.

III. Holden is curious about where the ducks go during the winter when the pond freezes over. a."By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?" (Salinger 60). i. When he went into the cab he just left Pency and felt lonely and really needed to be with someone and have a conversation. b. "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?"(Salinger 81). i. When he went into the cab he just finished dancing with the 3 girls and also he was thinking about Jane again, which made him feel lonely and wanting someone to talk to. c. "I figured I'd go by that little lake and see what the hell the ducks were doing, see if they were around or not." (Salinger 153). i. At this point of the story, he is drunk, desperate for a conversation, and lonely. So he goes to Central Parkto visit the ducks.

IV. Holden uses the ducks as a "cure" for loneliness. a. The first time Holden brings up the question was in a taxi leaving Pency, “Do you know the ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South?” (Salinger, 60). i. I bring this time up not just because it is the first time he asks the question but this is where it really starts to demonstrate his loneliness. b. In another cab in the city on the way Ernie's club Holden asks the question once again, “You ever pass by the lagoon in Central Park?”(Salinger, 81). i. Now Holden is just really trying to avoid home but at the same time is having trouble communicating with people so he gets even more lonely. c. Finally even though Holden was not so sober, he decides to solve his question by going to Central Park, “I figured I'd go by the little lake and see what the hell the ducks were doing” (Salinger, 153). i. This is a little ironic because he is drunk, but still finally seeing for himself where the ducks go when the pond freezes over, when he was traveling all over the city with cabs before.

V. Conclusion a. Holden uses the ducks as a conversation starter with anyone that is either in the same vicinity or is helping Holden out. i. Holden is an extremely lonely and depressed individual but when he is with the ducks he is not. 1. Holden is so lonely he will to anything to start a conversation with anyone. ii. Holden is curious about where the ducks go during the winter when the pond freezes over. 1. In a way the ducks were the perfect way to get a conversation started with anyone and Holden really wants to know where the ducks. iii. Holden uses the ducks as a "cure" for loneliness. 1. Whenever Holden is in a situation where he is lonely and wants someone to talk to, he brings up the ducks. iv. Holden uses the ducks as to get through any tough time during his trip to New York City.