Who is the catcher in the rye anyways?

The Catcher in The Rye has major themes in the book including the main character(Holden Caulfield) struggling with the transition from childhood to adulthood. He wants to preserve the innocence you build as a child and protect things from turning into corrupted, depressed human beings. Holden explains later in the book that he wants to be 'the catcher in the rye', meaning he would "catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff" in a rye field, basically a metaphor for the transition of childhood and adulthood. :)

He also miss heard a little boy singing it whenever it is really a poem whose real meaning is how the author has nothing against two people having sexual relations before marriage and does'nt think it makes sense for them to have to go into the rye field.