Catcher In The Rye Essays: Holden's Dissatisfaction With Society

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Holden’s dissatisfaction with society inspires him to go on a quest to become a protector of all children. There is danger in life which Holden believes children should not have to see. Holden decides to take on the challenge of being the protector, meaning he would shield children from the threatening outside world. Holden feels the need to be the guardian of all children because he lost Allie his own defender; however, throughout his journey to fulfill this task, he realizes it is impossible. Holden desires to be the protector of all children because he doesn’t want children to see the terrors of the real world. Holden was exposed to reality at a young age which made him feel vulnerable because he learned the dangers of the world. This also made him feel alone as he realized how large the world was and how he was only one small person in it. Holden tries to make sure that children never feel as terribly as he previously did, so he goes on a quest to become the …show more content…

Allie was always Holden’s role model as he was brilliant and amusing and Holden wanted to be exactly like him. Even though Allie was the younger brother, he was still Holden’s guardian due to his intelligence and kind personality. Holden says, “‘Allie, don’t let me disappear. Allie, don’t let me disappear. Allie, don’t let me disappear. Please, Allie.” (page 218) because Allie is his defender and Holden wants him to take care of him. However, when Holden comes to terms with the loss of Allie, he realizes he now has to fill Allie’s shoes and take on this role for the children and Phoebe’s sake. Just as Allie was there for him, Holden now needs to be there for Phoebe and make her feel as secure as Allie made him feel. Yet, when Allie died Holden felt the dangers of the real world as this is part of life. From this, Holden realizes that he will not always be able to protect children from

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