J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye was written in 1951. In this novel, Salinger creates the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, who aims to express to his readers about his past and how innocence is something that should not be taken away by adulthood. Symbolism, allusions, similes, metaphors, and hyperboles are encompassed techniques that Salinger skillfully interweaves into the 214 page to create a stirring novel.
Symbolism was widely used throughout the book. One of the major symbols in this novel is the red hunting cap that Holden bought in New York. To him, the cap spawns a safe ambiance because on the preceding day he left all the fencing equipment on the subway. The team had to forfeit and they were enraged at him. He probably feels vulnerable. However, with that red hunting cap he feels protected, secured and safe. The ducks in Central Park can also be seen as symbolism. They serve as a sight of hope for Holden. This is due to the fact that whenever a pond freezes over and the ducks leave, they will always return. This is comforting to him. “Comin' Thro' the Rye”, a poem by Robert Burns, represents a symbol also. Holden misinterprets the phrase “if a body meet a body” to “if a body catch a body”. This vividly displays Holden’s desire to catch children who are about to fall off a cliff when they are playing in the field. This image can be further depicted as children who are falling into adulthood. Holden wants the children to maintain their innocence  even in crummy situations as long as possible before adulthood consumes them. Likewise, this can be characterized as an allusion.
Near the beginning, Holden mentioned that his mother bought him ice skates. The ice skates that his mother bought for him can somewhat relate to the hockey skates that he on the subway. This can represent a symbol for being alone. The carousel serves as the happy-go-lucky days of childhood. Holden seems emotionally attached to childhood, to innocence, that he is unable to develop into a young man. Holden buys Phoebe "Little Shirley Beans.", a record. Yet, during their walk towards Central Park, the record slips out of his hands and bursts into a million pieces. Perhaps the record represents Holden. After his latest failure, he returns home "in pieces," emotionally distraught. The record could also represent Holden's childhood and innocence. He doesn’t want to give it up , despite the fact that he is being pushed to do so. Even though he tries to keep the record safe it shatters, just like his innocence. He tries to preserve it but it slips away nevertheless. Holden has to grow into an adult because his childhood has been crushed just like the record. Holden tells the readers of the symbolic meaning of the displays in the museum. To him they are appealing because they are unchanging, frozen in time. Houlden is distraught by the fact that he is changing every time he returns to them but they are not changing. The displays and the museum represents the world Holden wishes he could live in, a simple, unchanging world. Holden fears change and how unpredictable the world can become.
Similes played a major role in expressing the characters feelings. For example,  “He put my goddam paper down then looked at me like he’d just beaten hell out of me in ping-pong or something.” (pg. 12). This quote describes his hatred towards his teacher and in assignment that he was required to finish. “That guy Morrow was about as sensitive as a goddam toilet seat.” (pg. 55), and  "She was about as kindhearted as a goddam wolf. You take somebody that cries their goddam eyes out over phony stuff in the movies, and nine times out of ten they're mean bastards at heart. I'm not kidding." (pg. 140). This describes Holden’s strong feelings to phonies. He strongly despises phonies. Metaphors were also present : "I certainly began to feel like a prize horse's ass, though, sitting there all by myself." (pg. 86), "He bored me to death. Living with him was like living in a museum. It was drafty, full of vast open spaces and slippery floors." (pg. 10), "At times I felt like his prostitute and I'm sure on occasion he probably felt that way too." (pg. 10), "The cab I had was a real old one that smelled like someone'd just tossed his cookies in it." (pg. 81), "It was like this secret longing I felt to replace the void he left with something or someone else." (pg. 26), and "Mr. Antolini lit another cigarette. He smoked like a fiend." (pg. 186)
Hyperboles had their own share in enriching the text : -"It's really ironical, because I'm six foot two and a half and I have gray hair. I really do. The one side of my head–the right side–is full of millions of gray hairs. I've had them ever since I was a kid. And yet I still act sometimes like I was only about twelve." (pg. 9), "It's really ironical, because I'm six foot two and a half and I have gray hair." (Ch. 2), "It's no fun to be yellow. Maybe I'm not all yellow. I don't know. I think maybe I'm just partly yellow and partly the type that doesn't give much of a damn if they lose their gloves" (Ch. 13), "It was playing "Oh, Marie!" It played that same song about fifty years ago when I was a little kid." (pg. 210), "She [Phoebe] has bout five thousand notebooks. You never saw a kid with so many notebooks." (pg. 160)
“The Catcher in the Rye” is rich with rhetorical devices, it encompasses symbolism, allusions, similes, metaphors and hyperboles. All which contributes to the understanding of the protagonist, Holden Caulfield and the central theme of this novel : don’t grow up, keep your innocence.