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Innocence in american literature
Symbolism thesis statement the catcher in the rye
Symbolism analysis of the catcher in the rye
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Salinger uses the carousel to communicate innocence. The carousel is used to demonstrate Holden’s ideal image of innocence. For instance, when Holden buys a ticket with Phoebe’s money to the carousel for her and he “felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around” on the carousel kept inside the circle of innocence that protects her from maturity. Holden’s feels that children are the perfect picture of innocence and he wants the world to keep as much innocence as possible and he especially feels this way towards Phoebe because she is the last innocent person that Holden has left after Allie died. Another example would be when Holden is in DB’s room talking to Phoebe he zones out and begins think “What I have to do, T have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff -- I mean if their running and they they don’t look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them” (Salinger 191). Holden is still obsessed with the incorrect lyric of catch, which he heard a little kid singing, because it keeps that ideal that all little kids are innocent and …show more content…
For example while Holden is watching Phoebe on the carousel he realizes that “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (Salinger 232). Phoebe reaching for the ring and Holden’s fear of her falling is representative of Phoebe falling out of innocence, and Holden has to come to terms with the the fact that he can’t keep the Phoebe from falling forever. Holden then comes to terms with the fact that that she is going to be okay if she falls and begins to grows up because no matter what he does to try and keep her from falling she is going to eventually reach maturity and she is going to strive for that loss of innocence that he if fruitlessly try to
... the other children on the carrousel reaching for their gold rings he realizes, “If they fall off, they fall off” (211). This is so significant because Holden becomes conscious of the fact that whatever happens, happens. He cannot control or protect anyone, or himself, from the future. Holden’s last two sentences of the novel really capture the entire journey he has gone through: “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” (214). This is Holden getting over everything that has happened to him. He understands that he can overcome what has happened from him in order to learn from his past and move forward to the future.
If there were one word to tell what the theme of the book was it would be innocence. How we are all innocent at some point, how to try to keep our innocence, and how no one can keep their innocence forever. We all fall from our innocence. Adam and Eve fell from grace and innocence and set the tone for all of our lives. Throughout the whole book Holden is trying to make people keep their innocence and he wants to hold onto it himself. What he needs to learn and does learn through the course of the book is that no one can keep his or her innocence. We all fall at some point, but what we have control over is how hard we fall.
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s outlook in life is either the innocence of childhood or the cruelty of adulthood. He believes that the innocence of childhood is very valuable and it should be protected from the cruelty and phoniness of the adult world. Therefore Holden has a desire and is compelled to protect a child’s innocence at all costs. This is revealed when Holden tells Phoebe that he wants to be the catcher in the rye. Holden says to Phoebe, “What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they’re ru...
When Holden is away from Phoebe, Holden can not stop thinking about his sister and he feels depressed. Holden told the readers how Phoebe was a ”little kid (that was) so pretty and smart…” (Salinger 75). Holden loved hanging around with little kids especially Phoebe. He told Phoebe he wanted to be a Catcher in the Rye and to “catch everyone if they start to go over the cliff” (Salinger 191). That meant that Holden wanted to stop the children from becoming phonies. In conclusion, Holden misses Phoebe and wants to stop children from becoming phonies.
... childhood. Additionally, his concern with the way that things are constantly changing also communicates his wish to simply freeze everything and keep it the way it is. That way, neither he nor any other child would have to go through the pain of growing up. Despite all of Holden’s thoughts about preventing “loss of innocence” and change, he is helpless in the end because change is inevitable and everyone has to grow up and play their part in life, whether they want to or not. Becoming an adult, no matter how hard it may be for an individual, is an important part of their life cycle. All in all, the preservation of innocence is a noteworthy cause, but is not a completely realistic one because it is not within the grasp of humans to change the way in which their minds develop.
Holden has a very hard time throughout the book trying to keep people’s innocence, only to come to notice that it really can’t be tamed pure. “All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she was going to 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 have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall of, the fall of, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” (273) In the quote, Salinger changes Holden into learning that innocence is something that is learned about and can’t be kept fully pure forever. The carousel is usually thought of a place where kids are set free and have fun all around, and in the book the carousel going around is seen as how life and innocence goes. Kids trying to grab the golden ring, is a very common thing, but Holden is seeing it as failure always teaches a lesson. The whole book he is trying to fight the loss of innocence and is looking for an unrealistic society where ”phonies” don’t exist. The loss of Allie, had really affected and confused Holden causing him to not relate to others decisions. At the end though he finally realizes that innocence is the cycle of life and something everyone will have to deal with and to try and make the
We see during the novel that Holden wants to be able to protect innocence in the world, however by the end of the story he lets go of that desire. This is a point of growth for Holden. He finds that it is impossible and unnecessary to keep all the innocence in the world. While with Phoebe Holden says, “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye...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...That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (173). In this moment Holden wants to be able to preserve all the youth and innocence in the world. He doesn’t accept that kids have to grow and change and that they can’t stay innocent forever. Later on in the story when Holden is with Phoebe at a carousel again he thinks, “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the golden ring, you have to 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.” At the end of the novel Holden realizes and comes to terms with the fact that kids grow and lose their innocence. He moves from his want to be the “catcher in the rye” to...
Holden watches Phoebe as she rides the carousel, he watches carefully and cautiously to reassure himself that she is having fun while staying safe. Holden starts reminiscing about his childhood when he looks at her, and explains, “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around” (240). As Holden watches Phoebe ride the carousel he thinks about when he was a kid. Phoebe is Holden’s purpose for living because she brings him happiness. Phoebe riding on the carousel resembles innocence, which he values. Phoebe’s happiness brings Holden joy and he feels that he has found his purpose when he is around her. On the whole, Phoebe is Holden’s distraction from his negative thoughts and
Nearing the end of The Catcher in the Rye, we as the audience read of Holden’s dream to be The Catcher in the Rye. With these dreams, J. D. Salinger is able to clearly depict Holden’s disillusionments of his longing for innocence to be protected forever. Describing his dreams, Holden states that he keeps picturing a bunch of little kids in a field of rye, and when they come too close to the edge where he would be standing, he would have to catch them. One can say that the kids playing in the field represent childhood, and the field itself represents innocence; therefore, one can conclude that Holden’s wanting to catch the kids when they fall symbolizes him wanting to keep children innocent and shelter them from growing up (Beidler). In reality,
Salinger’s demonstration of use of physical falls leads to a metaphorical fall for Holden, his nervous breakdown that has him checked into a mental institution. Salinger’s demonstrations of these physical falls revolve around Holden’s role of the catcher in the rye, protecting children from losing their innocence and becoming phonies. This metaphorical fall for Holden was caused by the fact that he realized that growing up is necessary and we all end up falling. Holden realizes this through his role of the catcher in the rye, Mr. Antolini, Sally, and Phoebe. When transitioning into adulthood we all lose our innocence, therefore we become phonies.
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye the dominating theme is the protection of innocence. For most of the book Holden sees this as his main virtue. Holden’s only enemy is the adult world because of all the cruelty and artificiality it entails. The people that Holden loves all represent or protect innocence. Holden constantly makes up schemes to escape growing up, such as fleeing to a cabin in New England, or working on a ranch out West.
Although Holden has tried to build the house of perfection and landscape the land of innocence, he couldn’t do it because everything is perfect the way it is where he lives right now. When Phoebe rode the carousel, Holden couldn’t help be crying because she was the house and landscape Holden has been trying to create. She may be getting older, as well as him, but she is the last drop of hope for Holden’s dreams. Holden found out that he shouldn’t try to forget about the horrible things in life, but accept it for what it creates as a guideline of growing up.
It is the one thing that reflects Holden’s values and motivations. His fixation on innocence is illustrated through his dreams, actions, and the people he cherishes: Phoebe, gone-too-soon Allie, schoolkids, and sweet Jane. The title itself indicates how dominating the theme is in the novel and in Holden’s life. That theme of innocence takes a drastic turn after the carousel scene. All Holden had dreamed of was being the “catcher in the rye” where he would watch over the children playing in a beautiful field, and catch them if they came too close to the edge of the cliff. That all changes with Holden’s attitude shift as he is watching Phoebe during the pivotal carousel scene. Finally, he comes to the realization that children, Phoebe included, have to be allowed to take risks if they choose. Innocence as a theme is furthered by the scene because it shows a development in Holden’s view of the subject. He sees that the loss of innocence is unavoidable, and you have to let children grow up regardless of how distasteful adulthood is. After this shift in Holden, it can be assumed that his motivations and values also take a shift in a better
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield returns to his hometown, where he goes on an adventure to answer the questions he has about life. After being kicked out of his third boarding school, Holden Caulfield spends three days alone in New York.While in New York, Holden constantly thinks about his old friend Jane Gallagher, who Holden’s old roommate just went on a date with the night Holden left Pencey Prep School. He also meets up with his little sister Phoebe and takes her to the zoo to ride on the carousel. One of the many things that the reader is exposed to during Holden’s adventure is his desire to protect the innocent. Holden constantly mentions how little kids are corrupted by the phony adult society and how he would
One of the purist times in a person’s life is childhood, during this time life is easy and often romanticized. As a person grows older the innocence and naivety of childhood begins to fade into a hardness caused by the harsh realties of adulthood. Though the transition from childhood is hard, one most remember not to rush into adulthood savor your innocence . In Catcher In the Rye , by J.D. Salinger the main character Holden Caulfield is in the transitional stage, he finds it hard for him to grow-up and act like an adult. So instead of rushing in to adulthood, he finds slowing down the process and acting less adult like is better for him. Holden finds mature adult like subjects and qualities phony, but finds innocent child like subjects and qualities pleasant. When Holden describes his little sister, Phoebe, he say’s “you never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole life.”(Salinger 67) Even though he calls all of his family members smart he is not as sweet about them as he is with Phoebe, as an example, he call’s his older brother D.B. “a prostitute“. (Salinger 2) His assumption of his siblings is based on their decision and actions he calls D.B. a prostitute because of his decision to become a Hollywood writer instead of remaining a short story author. It seems that Holden Admires and flocks over Phoebe’s innocent childhood bliss. The quote shows how innocence play’s a key role in the way a person judges another person. Also innocence is considered to be good, while anything other than innocence is consider bad or corrupt. In the end the main point that J.D. Salinger is trying to convey is that the time of innocence and childhood should be cherished and held onto tightly.