Then I thought of something, all of a sudden. "Hey, listen," I said. "You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?"
Holden Caulfield (J.D. Salinger: Catcher in the Rye)
Well, today I wasn’t at the Central Park (unfortunatley) but I did visit my friend in Zagorje and we took a walk by Bedekovcanska Jezera... As you can see, there is a lot of snow and the lakes (there are 5 of them) were partly frozen. That reminded me of Holden’s eternal question - where do ducks go when lake gets frozen - which really is a metaphor of his refuse to grow up. Lake, that is semi-frozen and semi-liquid alludes to phase in life Holden is caught in. What really bothers him is his feeling of not belonging- he is definitely not an adult as he is (only) 16 and he’s surely not a child anymore. He sees world of adulthood as phony and fake and he wanders streets of NY all alone and misunderstood... He is, however, one of the most influential and important fictional characters of 20th century American literature and has become symbol of rebellion as a boy who just refuses to grow up. And if you believe what people say - Don’t grow up, it’s a trap - then maybe Holden was not so crazy after all.
Today I thought of him... I just wanted to tell him that ducks are still around. :)
I hope you’ll enjoy this photos of winter wonderland in Zagorje...
How did you spent your Saturday?
With love,
Matejka