a. Holden asks himself about the ducks
Holden thinks about the ducks while being lectured by Mr. Spencer: The funny thing is though, I was sort of thinking of something else while I
shot the bull. I live in New York, and I was thinking about the lagoon in Central Park, down near Central Park South. I was wondering if it would be
frozen over when I got home, and if it was, where did the ducks go. I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over.
I wondered if some guy came in a truck and took them away to a zoo or something. Or if they just flew away. Salinger, 2010: 13-14
This is the first time Holden thinks about the ducks. At first the question seems insignificant to the novel because it is just Holden‘s daydream and distraction while
he is being lectured by Mr. Spencer. Later, Holden asks the same question to other people, wishing that he finds satisfying answers.
b. Holden asks the first taxi driver about the ducks
When Holden arrives in New York City, he takes a taxi to Edmont Hotel. Suddenly Holden remembers about the ducks again and he asks the taxi driver if he
knows where the ducks go in the winter: Then I thought of something, all of 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?‘ Salinger, 2010: 65 The taxi driver does not interested to answer Holden‘s question. The taxi driver
thinks that Holden says something unimportant: He
turned around and looked at me like I was a madman. ‗What‘re tryna to do, bud?‘ he said. ‗Kid me?‘ Salinger, 2010: 65
c. Holden asks the second taxi driver about the ducks
After Holden leaves the Lavender Room, he decides to check out Ernie‘s Bar in Greenwich Village. He takes a taxi, and for the second time asks the taxi driver
about the ducks in the Central Park. Previously, Holden doesn‘t find satisfying respond from the first driver. The second taxi driver, according to Holden, is ―much
better guy th an the other driver I‘d had‖ Salinger, 2010: 88. They have a
conversation and Holden asks about the ducks in Central Park: ‗Well, you know the ducks that swim around in it? In the springtime and all?
Do you happen to know where they go in the wintertime, by any chance?‘
‗Where who goes?‘ Salinger, 2010: 88 Unlike the first taxi driver, Horwitz the second taxi driver shows interest
about Holden‘s curiosity. Although Horwitz misinterprets the ducks as the fish, Horwitz maintains his interest to continue the conversation:
I stopped having a conversation with him, if he was going to get so damn touchy about it. But he started it up again himself. He turned all the way
around again, and said, ‗The fish don‘t go no place. They stay right where they are, the fish. Right in the goddam lake. Salinger, 2010: 89
In the end, Horwitz doesn‘t know where the ducks go in the winter, but Holden thinks that ―he got so damn excited and all‖ Salinger 2010: 89-90.
The table below shows the resemblances between the story plot in which Holden asks where do the ducks go in the winter. Although each person asked by
Holden including himself about the ducks give different attention, the similarity of
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