The customized book cover that I have made for The Catcher in the Rye consists of a duck surrounded by an icy, winterized condition. Though it may seem like a very simple cover, looks can deceive for the meaning behind this cover design is much more complex and controversial than it seems.
It is known that birds, such as ducks, migrate to warmer areas of the world during the cold winter seasons in order to survive. The cold winter weather conditions create too harsh a habitat for them. This theme is relevant to Holden’s life in the novel because Holden is in need, but his surroundings are not providing him with what he needs to survive. At Pency Prep, Holden’s old school, nobody understood Holden, and if anybody got close to any kind of mutual understanding with him, it would have been Ackley, his neighbor who Holden considered to be a terrible human being. When Ackley showed signs of misunderstanding during Holden’s final conversation with him, Holden felt extremely lonely and decided to leave the school forever.
One may argue that Holden’s “flight” instinct of the “fight or flight” response, extreme feelings of loneliness and his state of being misunderstood could be the reason why Holden always comes up with plans to run away. Holden also wonders about the whereabouts of ducks during the winter multiple times in the novel, including the first chapter of the story and also during the conversation he has with the taxi driver, who gets annoyed and irritated halfway into the conversation.
Holden’s persistent thoughts about where ducks go in the winter directly relates to his situation in which he feels alone and essentially unable to healthily survive. Thus, the cover of my book represents Holden as the duck which is unable to survive due to the harsh winter conditions it is surrounded by.
Hey Eric, your weblog gave me a whole new perspective to Holden's current situation, as opposed to the common assumption that ducks are free to flee from their problems. Let's forget everything we've covered in class thus far on the subject of ducks, and approach it from a whole different perspective. Unlike the others who constantly avoid the difficulties life throws at him, lil' Holden the duck is confined to his pond of suffering until adulthood, when he will finally be able to spread his wings and fly with the rest of society, which also means that he will become a "phony" as well.
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