On page 210 in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield takes his little sister, Phoebe, to a carrousel. He notes: “Anyway, we kept getting closer and closer to the carrousel and you could start to hear that nutty music it always plays. It was playing “Oh, Marie!” It played that song about fifty years ago when I was a little kid. That’s one nice thing about carrousels; they always play the same songs.”

For those of you who have not read The Catcher in the Rye, you should know that Holden Caulfield spends most of the book condemning and critiquing the world around him. He is cynical and pessimistic about the nature of mankind. There are only a handful of characters in the story that Holden does not despise, one of which being his little sister, Phoebe. She somehow makes him see the world in a more optimistic way. He treats her well compared to how he treats other people.

In the scene on page 210, Holden is walking through the park with Phoebe before he plans on leaving town. Holden sees the carrousel and notices how it never changes. I think J.D. Salinger presents a larger commentary here than just on how this merry-go-round has remained the same over the years. I believe the carrousel represents children and their uncorrupted worldview. As people grow up, they start to care about serious matters. Countries become entangled in conflicts that alter their people’s way of life. Generations experience earth-shattering disasters and ground-breaking developments. And yet, children seem to always care about the same things. Imagination, play, creativity, curiosity. Children’s ideas are infinite.  And they all start their lives innocent and joyful. When Holden Caulfield notes that the carrousel plays “the same songs,” this is J.D. Salinger commenting on the pleasant simplicity of a child’s life.

What are some examples of childhood simplicity you can come up with from your own life? Personally, I know that my mom and I shared a love of dolls when we were younger. We both loved Cabbage Patch dolls and Barbies. Even though we lived our childhoods years apart and in very different environments, we both cared about the same things.