The Theme Of Innocence In The Catcher In The Rye

Holden then realizes that he wants to help preserve children’s innocence before they go out in to a corrupt world. He wants to become a catcher in the rye, and catch children before they go off the “cliff”, as he did. “ What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them.”(P173) Holden can be compared to peter pan in the

Holden compare his imagination to a poem by Robert Burns called “If a body meet a body coming though the rye”. Holden Picturing all these kids playing on a field of rye and Holden is standing near the edge of the cliff to catch them from falling. In fact, Holden said, “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game on the field of rye and all. I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff.” In reality, he wants to stop kids from entering into the adult world losing his innocence, which Holden is afraid of because according to him kids are “real” meaning that they will always speak their mind.

When Holden goes to visit Phoebe’s school, he finds profanity that had been written on the stalls of the bathroom, and says that it “drove me damn near crazy. I thought of how Phoebe and all of the other kids would see it” and that if he found the person who had written it, he would “smash his head on the stone steps till he was good and godd**m dead and bloody” (Salinger 201). Holden is disgusted with the behavior of the mystery vandal, and he is afraid that this act will cause the children to lose their innocence and fall off the cliff and become phonies when they grow up unless he can ‘catch them from falling’ by attempting to smudge the writing off the wall so they won’t have to be exposed to things before they are old enough. He then goes to visit the museum that he went to frequently as a child, he remarks that “the best thing though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was… The only thing that would be different would be you” (Salinger 121).

By looking at the book “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, we can see that the primary message was the preservation of innocence. There are many ways this is represented in the story. The thing that most readers do not realize is that the story is that you have to go in depth in-order to get a better understanding of why Holden wants to preserve innocence. This is important because you get a better understanding of how he does not want other kids to turn out like himself.

At this point, I was struggling to understand the ending and why Holden wouldn’t tell us what happened after him. I was curious of what will happen in the last chapter and I expected so much, but the ending was honestly really disappointing. Not only for me, but everyone else who has read this book. It can be inferred, but I wish I had clarification from Holden himself what had happened. Again, I still focused on finding major themes. One of the examples of the theme of immaturity is the curse words on the wall. I focused more on that because it supported the idea that Holden doesn’t want to grow up. However, I think there is something more to it where Holden finally realized that he can’t not grow up, but he is still upset that there are these curse words around Phoebe’s school, knowing that little kids wonder what those words mean. Again, I did not sympathize with Holden because he doesn’t seem interested at all about changing his unhealthy lifestyle. Wherever he is, whether in a psych ward or hospital, it is evident that he still doesn’t apply himself to the real world to try to get better.

In The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, there are several themes that stand out. Among these thematic ideas is the topic of innocence. Within the novel, there are numerous areas and characters that represent the various aspects of innocence, whether it be the very image of innocence or a view of it from someone who has lost their innocence. These display a common message, which is that innocence is a value that should be held onto for as long a time as possible, but will sooner or later be lost.

Holden is first reminded of Jane when his roommate, Stradlater, takes her on a date; and this initial moment starts the entire “saga” of Jane Gallagher. Stradlater comes up to the dorm room and told Holden that his date knew him and after Holden asks who, Stradlater utters out the name Jane Gallagher. “‘Jane Gallagher’ I said. I even got up from the wash bowl when he said that. I damn near dropped dead.” (35). From this initial reaction Holden has from just hearing Jane’s name, it shows the impact that Jane had on Holden and how important she was soon to become in the novel. The idea of innocence being represented through Jane is first displayed after Stradlater comes back from his date with her. Stradlater tells Holden that the two of them

When innocence is lost, there is no going back. Losing innocence and growing up is difficult. In the book, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden gets kicked out of boarding school and decides to go to New York for a few days to avoid his parents and gets himself into multiple ill-fated circumstances. Throughout the book Holden is desperately trying to figure out how to be an adult by asking random adults that he comes across. Holden also attempts to preserve the innocence of the people around him, but isn’t able to. In The Catcher in the Rye, innocence is important to Holden because he associates innocence with Allie being alive, and the loss of innocence with the death of Allie. Through the static state of the museum and the preserved memory of Jane and Allie, Salinger displays that Holden can’t accept that losing innocence is an inherent part of growing up.

Innocence is something that people lose as they grow older from childhood into adolescence and then into adulthood and get more exposed to new things as they grow up. Innocence is important in the novel because it was the one thing that Holden was trying to hold on to by trying to save another person’s innocence but is also trying to lose his own. There are situations where there would be a loss of innocence and would influence Holden because he is transitioning from different stages of his life. In a coming of age story, losing innocence is a sign of growing up and change. This is seen through characters that have effected Holden in a way, just like how Allie’s death showed him the harsh reality of life, and symbols like the record he

When Phoebe asks Holden what he likes, he replies by saying, "I thought it was 'If a body catch a body,'" I said. "Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around—nobody big, I mean—except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy." (Salinger 173). The top of the cliff symbolizes the innocent child life, but below the cliff symbolizes the adult world of phoniness. Holden wants to catch the children before the run off into the phony adult world. In conclusion, Holden wants to be the “catcher in the rye” as he wants to catch children’s innocence before they fall into the phony adult

Holden Caulfield's foreshadowed mental breakdown was directly caused by his loss of innocence. Holden realizes that he can't save all children from growing up. Holden goes to Phoebe school, where he sees “fuck you” written on the walls, which infuriates him. He thinks about his sister and all the little kids that have to see that. “But while I was sitting down, I saw something that drove me crazy. Somebody’d written “fuck you” on the wall...I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it”(page 201) “I went down a different staircase, and I saw another “fuck you” ...I tried to rub it off with my hand again…’’(202) “all the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she’d fall off the goddam horse, but I didn't say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.”(page 211) It drives holden crazy to see profanity witting on the walls where kids are able to see it. Holden realizes that he cant stop children from growing up and experiencing life challenges. Eventually, they will grow up and there's nothing that can stop that. “Holden has the following thought in reference to the children on the carousel: "If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them" (274). Holden's

In many novels the title of the story is more important than most people initially think. It often reveals important information about the story. In The Catcher In the Rye, Holden says that his dream job would to be the catcher in rye. This is significant to the story because of how Holden feels that adults are trying to ruin the innocence of children, and how he can be the one that saves them. Holden then realizes he cannot always be the one to save the children. This is show throughout the book but especially in the scene where Holden takes Phoebe to the carousel.This shows that Holden wants to be the catcher in the rye so that he can help keep the children their innocence from adults.

Holden says, “I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing i’d really like to be” (Salinger, 173). Holden says that he would catch the kids that are about to fall of the edge of the cliff. This symbolizes Holden trying to protect the kids innocence. He wants to be a hero and save all the kids. For Holden when someone loses their innocence it means that they have just fallen and now they have to be an adult. This isn't true because you could lose your innocence at any time and it doesn’t mean that now you have to be an

can become one’s only form of comfort and protection. The novel, The Catcher in the Rye

Humankind has the gift of memories, not a reply button. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, fights his imminent transition to adulthood. After expulsion from a prestigious all-boys preparatory school, Holden embarks on a journey through wintery New York before retiring home to his family. Throughout the novel, he offers commentary on those around him, often by critiquing them. As Holden progresses through his self-exploratory excursion, he forms a critical insight: that he wants to preserve innocence. Salinger’s use of symbols, irony, motif; conveys that experience trumps innocence.