Was bedeutet The catcher in the rye, the title of Salinger's novel ?

Antworten

hoya2015

16 Nov 2021

Englisch (US)

You would need to read the novel. Even for native speakers, the meaning is not clear until they habe read the actual book.

War diese Antwort hilfreich?

nomadatlatl

16 Nov 2021

Japanisch

@hoya2015
Do I need to read it from the start to the end? Wow!
For your information, the Japanese title isライ麦畑でつかまえて.

hoya2015

16 Nov 2021

Englisch (US)

@nomadatlatl I think so. Im afraid. A lot of book titles you only understand when you are in the middle of a book, and then you go "oh, so that's why it's called like that". Im sure that you can understand the literal meaning of the title since the Japanese title is a word-for-word translation. Maybe if you read a summary of the book? From what i understood, the catcher is just the main character of the story. He is the catcher in the sense that he wants to save kids from becoming mediocre and hipocritical adults. The ライ麦畑 is a metaphor for youth I believe. So he tries to catch them before they leave the 畑of youth, as a way to protect them from the world. In the end he realizes, it's impossible to do so.

War diese Antwort hilfreich?

wkw2049

16 Nov 2021

Englisch (US)

Great explanation above.

Catcher - like a baseball catcher (or metaphorically in this case, people)

in the - in the

Rye - a rye field. "Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to both wheat and barley. Rye grain is used for flour, bread, beer, crispbread, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder"

It's rye instead of "rye field" because it's like saying "in the grass (rye is a kind of grass" and also "it is a reference to "Comin' Thro the Rye," a Robert Burns poem and a symbol for the main character's longing to preserve the innocence of childhood."

Antwortender mit hoher Bewertung

War diese Antwort hilfreich?

nomadatlatl

17 Nov 2021

Japanisch

@hoya2015
Thanks again for your reply. Too bad I haven't had a chance to read it. The Japanese title, ライ麦畑でつかまえて is so mysterious and suggestive, I've been curious about what it is meant for. I got it thanks to your explanation. Maturity is the ability to live with ambiguity, maybe.

nomadatlatl

17 Nov 2021

Japanisch

@wkw2049
Thanks for your feedback. The title of the catcher in the rye, ライ麦畑でつかまえて is so mysterious, I've been wondering what it meant for. I got it owing to you all.

"Comin' Thro the Rye," is famous as other variations in Japan, "故郷の空" and "誰かさんと誰かさん," with the same melody and different lyrics.