The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #146527 Message #3392551
Posted By: MGM·Lion
20-Aug-12 - 03:50 AM
Thread Name: BS: Meaning of 'Catcher in the Rye'?
Subject: BS: Meaning of 'Catcher in the Rye'?
Can anyone explain the odd title of Salinger's famous novel of 1951? Did Salinger invent the phrase, in reference to a particular passage or incident in the book ~ in which case, where?; or does it have a wider meaning in US idiom? An American friend once told me that it meant a baseball fielder on the outskirts of the field, in the 'rye', or long grass: equivalent to what in cricket would be called a 'deep fielder': in which case it could well refer to Holden's position as, in the main, an observer on the fringes of society, though occasionally more personally involved. But I have not found this meaning confirmed on google or elsewhere: though a 'baseball mitt', iirc, plays quite a big symbolic role in the book.
Any help in understanding the phrase, and its relevance to the novel, would be much appreciated by
~Michael~