what is a catcher in the rye? Litterally not metaphorically.?

Question

It's been puzzling me.

Answer 1

As the other responder said, the books narrator, Holden, mis-remembers the Scottish song, "Comin' Through the Rye." Instead of "If a body meet a body," he remembers it as "If a body catch a body."

And that little misunderstanding gets him thinking. He visualizes a person whose job is to catch kids in a field of rye, lest they fall into some terrible place. And he decides that he would like to be that person. He would like to catch children in the rye.

I know you didn't want the metaphor, but without it, this image sounds like a meaningless daydream. So I'll tell you. It's thought by some readers that Holden wants to protect children's innocence. He wants them to play and have fun forever, never having to deal with the lies and other harsh realities that he, as an adolescent, is beginning to encounter.

Answer 2

Literally? Nothing. It's a misquotation of a Robert Burns poem, which actually runs

Gin a body meet a body
Comin' thro' the rye
Gin a body kiss a body
Need a body cry?
Ilka lassie has her laddie
Nane, they say, hae I
Yet a' the lads they smile at me
When comin' thro' the rye.
Gin a body meet a body
Comin' frae the town
Gin a body kiss a body
Need a body frown?
Ilka lassie has her laddie
Nane, they say, hae I
Yet a' the lads they smile at me
When comin' thro' the rye.
'Mang the train there is a swain
I dearly lo'e myself
But what his name or whaur his hame
I dinna care to tell
Ilka lassie has her laddie
Nane, they say, hae I
Yet a' the lads they smile at me
When comin' thro' the rye.
(please note, this is one version of this poem. Burns wrote two different versions)

Holden thinks that the line goes "catcher in the rye" rather than "comin' through the rye"

Assumedly, a catcher in the rye is one who stands in the rye and catches things.

Answer 3

This site will explain.