In the novel "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger, Salinger uses the main character Holden Caulfield to express the cruelty of adulthood hood, seen in the symbolism of the dream Holden desires, to protect the innocence of children. Beginning his description of his career goal, Holden starts with a image of innocence and childhood, where "all these kids playing some game" were. Among the children, there was "nobody big ,I mean-except me." Being the only adult with maturity, Holden finds himself in a position where "I have to come out from somewhere and catch them." Representing innocence, the children are unaware about the hardships of adulthood and it puts Holden in a situation where he is the only adult in the field of rye, Being the only one aware about thhe cruelty of adulthood, Holden feels obligated to "catch them," the children, before they transition and fall into adulthood, to protect them. Salinger creates this dream for Holden, where it metaphorically …show more content…
D. Salinger, Salinger explores the theme that society has already set rules for people to live by, by using a metaphor spoken by Spencer, a history teacher in the novel. Being a history teacher, Spencer represents firmness and rules that have been set, because history is something that has past and cannot be changed. Representing this, Spencer speaks with an authoritive tone when he states that "Life is a game" in which "one plays according to the rules." With this, Spencer states that to live life, it is necessary to follow "according to the rules" that have already been set by society. Salinger expresses that people are strictly bounded to a certain way of living, and that society wants it that way because "life is a game" and winning means one must obey the norms and rules of society. By having a symbolic figure, Spencer, state that life is game with rules, Salinger expresses his distaste to the lifestyle and rules that society has forced upon
Salinger’s symbols in the novel help the reader understand that growing up is a necessary part of human’s and should not be ignored. Holden is forced to accept that just as he had to grow up so does every other child in the world. Holden represents the hard years between adulthood and childhood and how they affect a teenager. Through Holden we learn not to make his mistakes and instead to enjoy every period of life.
Ambiguity in literature after World War II reflects and explores issues of self and society. These two ideas often work against each other instead of coexisting to form a struggle-free existence. J. D. Salinger, Sylvia Plath, and Richard Heller illustrate this struggle with their works. These authors explore ambiguity through different characters that experience the world in different ways. Identity, while it is an easy concept, can be difficult to attain. These authors seek out ambiguity with the human experience, coming to different conclusions. Ambiguity becomes a vehicle through which we can attempt to define humanity. J. D. Salinger’s novel, Catcher in the Rye, Sylvia Plath’s novel, The Ball Jar, and Richard Heller’s novel, Catch 22 explore ambiguity experienced through an attempt to find self. Each experience is unique, incapable of fitting a generic mold created by society.
In The Catcher in The Rye, by J.D, the main character, Holden, can be seen as a troubled teenager growing up in a less than perfect society. Throughout the novel Holden struggles with the fact that many young and innocent kids will grow up and see the world from a different perspective. He naturally becomes worried for all future generations who will one day grow, as he did, and loose their innocence. The fixation of youth and innocence can be seen in the title of the book, as well as throughout the novel.
Themes in literary works are central, recurring ideas or messages that allow us to understand more deeply about the characters. It is a perception about life or human nature that is often shared with the reader. In The Catcher in the Rye, there are several themes that can be found in the words and actions of the narrator, Holden Caulfield. The dominating theme in this novel is the preservation of innocence, especially of children. We can see this throughout the novel, as Holden strives to preserve innocence in himself and others.
Have you ever pondered about when growing up, where does our childlike innocence go and what happens to us to go through this process? It involves abandoning previous memories that are close to our hearts. As we can see in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, we listen to what the main character; Holden Caulfield has to say about it. Holden is an average teenager dealing with academic and life problems. He remains untouched over his expulsion from Pencey Prep; rather, he takes the opportunity to take a “vacation.” As he ventures off companionless in New York City, we are able to observe many things about him. We see that Holden habitually states that he is depressed and undoubtedly, wants to preserve the innocence of others.
Salinger uses specific motifs and symbols to illustrate Holden’s naive and unrealistic view of the world. A great example of this is when he believes he can be the catcher in the rye. By doing so he imagines he is able to maintain all the innocence within society. Holden
This reveals Holden’s fantasy of an idealistic childhood and his role as the guardian of innocence. Preventing children from “going over the cliff” and losing their innocence is his way of vicariously protecting himself from growing up as well. Holden acknowledges that this is “crazy,” yet he cannot come up with a different lifestyle because he struggles to see the world for how it truly is, and fears not knowing what might happen next. Holden’s “catcher in the rye” fantasy reflects his innocence, his belief in a pure, uncorrupted youth, and his desire to protect it. This fantasy also represents his disconnection from reality, as he thinks he can stop the process of growing up, yet
The Catcher in the Rye Essay Through Salinger's use of symbolism, as a society, he depicts the importance of preserving innocence. We want to save our innocence. In court, people try to plead not guilty, meaning that they are innocent. Holden Caulfield tries to protect kids from becoming guilty. He wants to make people never become guilty.
This is in J. D. Salinger's novel, "The Catcher in the Rye," Mr. Spencer lectures Holden on why he has been expelled from Pencey and about how life is like a game and should be played by the rules that have been made for it. Here, Salinger's use of a metaphor to describe life as a game suggests that not everyone is given the same advantages to succeed. Holden himself comes from a wealthy family but refuses to conform to society and the role of his social class and play the game "according to the rules. " This suggests a theme in the novel of nonconformity which relates back to when Salinger first wrote "The Catcher in the Rye." Individualism beginning in the 1960's turned into a cultural movement for young people and is expressed through Holden's defiance in the game of life.
An image he has created in his mind as someone who overlooks children playing in a rye in order to save them shall they fall off the cliff at the end of the rye. Holden’s only dream serves as a parallel of his life, showing his inability to strive for anything real as it simultaneously reveals his fear of falling from childhood or innocence. Childhood is associated with innocence in Holden’s eyes as he sees all things beyond it as something you need to be saved from. Holden believes he needs to save these children before they fall from their
It also illustrates the benefits of a social lifestyle via Holden 's negative interactions with many other characters in the book, including Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini, who act as voices of reason for him yet are almost entirely ignored. Salinger also conveys a message of the dangers and consequences that come with poor decision making through Holden’s desire to act both older and younger than his age. By combining these three elements of the novel, Salinger helps to create its aforementioned
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 a conversation Holden has with his sister Phoebe, she asks him what he would want to be. In response, Holden says, “... I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. ... I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t know where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them ... I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (Salinger 224-225). Holden reveals his desire to be the protector of innocence and the reader sees that he would rather live in his own fantasy of innocence, than face the reality of the world around him. In his dream world, Holden wishes to be someone who protects children’s innocence. Similar to a child, Holden oversimplifies real life and has his own fantasy of what he wants to do. Lott and Latham stated in regards to Holden and his journey while finding his identity and say, “... the heroes also experience disillusionment with themselves and with the world around them as they move from innocent idealism of the very young to a more realistic acceptance of personal limits and social imperfections” (24). During the novel, it is obvious that Holden is stuck between the worlds of adolescence and adulthood. Holden 's obsession with innocence causes difficulty in accepting the responsibilities of adulthood. Everything is considered “phony” by Holden, except for what is still innocent. Holden is completely fixated on all forms of innocence and wishes to stay in
Growing up and becoming mature can be an intimidating experience; it is difficult to let go of one’s childhood and embrace the adult world. For some people, this transition from youthfulness to maturity can be much more difficult than for others. These people often try to hold on to their childhood as long as they can. Unfortunately, life is not so simple. One cannot spend their entire life running from the responsibilities and hardships of adulthood because they will eventually have to accept the fact that they have a role in society that they must fulfill as a responsible, mature individual. The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger follows the endeavours of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who faces a point in his life where he must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In an attempt to retain his own childhood, he begins hoping to stop other young children from growing up and losing their innocence as well. As indicated by the title, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a book that explores a theme involving the preservation of innocence, especially of children. It is a story about a boy who is far too hesitant to grow up, and feels the need to ensure that no one else around him has to grow up either. His own fear of maturity and growing up is what leads to Holden’s desire to become a “catcher in the rye” so he can save innocent children from becoming part of the “phoniness” of the adult world.
Through Holden’s view, Salinger convinces adults not to force children to behave in a certain way. If adults could just watch the children, the children would figure out how to mature by