Little+Shirley+Beans

The record, "Little Shirley Beans", is symbolic of childhood and the sense of innocence of which Holden is afraid to let go. Fittingly, the song is "about a little kid that wouldn't go out of the house because two of her front teeth were out and she was ashamed to". Like Holden, the little girl in the song is afraid of the changes that accompany growing older, in her case, the loss of her baby teeth. Holden pays five dollars for the record, which is a lot of money. Symbolically, he would pay dearly to be able to avoid the reality of growing up (Chapter 16). When the record breaks "into about fifty pieces", it represents the dissolution of Holden's dream of being able to avoid entering the world of adulthood. Holden had tried to protect his dream of childhood and innocence, keeping it carefully "in a big envelope and all", but despite his best efforts, the record still shatters. This indicates that, try as he might, Holden is going to be forced to let go of the past and face the future, leaving the security of childhood behind (Chapter 20).[]

The Little Shirley Beans Record Holden's interest in the Little Shirley Beans record for his sister is intriguing. When he talks about the singer, Estelle Fletcher, he describes her singing it as "very Dixieland and whorehouse [… not] all mushy, […not] cute as hell," as he thinks a white girl would have done. At first, this sounds rather odd. Why is Holden into a record that sounds Dixieland and whorish, especially since he's buying it for his little sister and is troubled by the thought of sexuality invading the world of children? Good question.