More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay on the characters of the catcher in the rye
The catcher in the rye character analysis
Essay about catcher in the rye characters
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Caleb Colling
Mrs. Fraser
ENG 2D1-07
18 April 2017
The Protector
Protecting the innocence of young children is very important for parents and family members. [CC1] Parents do not want to see their children mature too fast, and want them to enjoy their childhood. In J.D Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s desire to protect innocence results from his belief that the adult world is untruthful, further leading to an awareness of his shortcomings. Holden shows this want for protection of innocence in his hesitation to throw a snowball. He further shows his desire to protect the innocence of children by trying to erase the “fuck you” on the school wall. Lastly, Holden dreams of being the “catcher in the rye” in order to stop children from falling off the metaphorical cliff, into
…show more content…
adulthood. Holden first demonstrates his desire to protect the innocent when he makes a snowball, but never throws it. In the novel, Holden is waiting for Ackley to get ready for the movie they are going to see. Holden “[packs] a snowball with [his] bare hands. The snow was very good for packing. [He] didn’t throw it at anything though” (Salinger 47). Holden thinks about throwing the snowball but does not, simply because everything “looked so nice and white” (Salinger 48). White symbolizes innocence, and thus Holden not throwing the snowball is an example of him protecting innocence. Later in this scene, Holden is still waiting for Ackley, and he has the snowball in his hands. “A little while later I still had it with me when I and Brossard and Ackley got on the bus” (Salinger 48). Since Holden is still holding the snowball, this shows that he is trying to protect the snowball, and watch out for it. He does not want to abandon the snowball, and holds it to protect its perfectness. This symbolizes his desire to protect and keep watch over the innocent. In both situations, the snowball represents the children of the world. Holden wants to protect their innocence, and keep watch over them, as he does with the snowball. Another way Holden shows his need to protect innocence is when Holden is rubbing off “fuck you” off the walls at Phoebe’s school.
In the book, Holden is writing a letter to Phoebe, telling her that he is leaving. As he is writing the letter he notices something he does not like. “I saw something that drove me crazy. Somebody’d written ‘Fuck you’ on the wall. It drove me damn crazy” (Salinger 260). Right when Holden sees it he rubs it away. Holden’s desire to protect innocence is shown here because he thinks no kid should ever see that word. By rubbing it off, it prevents other kids from seeing the dirty word. As he leaves the school after giving the note for Phoebe to the office, he notices “another ‘Fuck you’ on the wall. [He tries] to rub it off with [his] hand again, but this one [is] scratched on, with a knife or something” (Salinger 262). Holden tries to erase another “Fuck you”, to ensure no one else sees it. When Holden cannot rub the second “Fuck you” off the wall, he notices that no mater what he does he cannot protect the innocence of kids. This realization does not stop Holden’s desire to prevent the innocence of youth from being
ruined. The third and final reason of Holden’s eagerness to protect innocence is shown when Holden sneaks into Phoebes room. They talk for a while, then Holden says that he would like to be the catcher in the rye. “I keep picturing all these little kids playing this game in this big field of rye and all. 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” (Salinger 224). Holden wants to catch the kids from falling off the cliff which means he wants to protect kids from going into adulthood and thus, losing their innocence. Holden is also saying, “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” (Salinger 224-25). Holden’s desire to protect the innocence of youth is clearly exemplified here. When he says, “That’s all I’d do all day”, he is showing that he would no want to do anything else with his life other than protect children from falling into adulthood. Throughout the novel, Holden is not passionate about anything except his desire to protect the innocent. His obsession over keeping the snowball safe reflects Holden’s need to protect the pure and innocent. Furthermore, Holden obsesses over erasing the “fuck you” on the school walls, in order to keep the students of the school away from such a foul word. Lastly, Holden feels it is his calling to become the “catcher in the rye”, to prevent the children of the world from falling into adulthood. He never shows much interest in anything in his life, except his sister Phoebe and his desire to protect those that are innocent. Much like a parent of a young child, Holden feels he needs to protect the things around him from changing away from their innocent nature.
Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye, the movie Pleasantville, and even in real life, a theme constant is the theme of protection of innocence. The Catcher in the Rye portrays the idea of protection of innocence through the main character of Holden Caulfield. Holden is a highly troubled boy, and is constantly getting kicked out of schools. However, there is one idea he is fiercely serious about. He explains this idea to his sister when she presses him about his life choices. “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids...and nobody’s around-nobody big, I mean, except me....What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all”(Salinger 173). This quote spoken by Holden is him
...others, Holden does not want to grow up and Holden does not want to advance into the world of adulthood. Holden wants to preserve the innocence of him and the innocence of others but he can't simply because that is how life is. An example is “All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was 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 have to let them do it and not say anything” (Salinger 211). This is a quote were Holden finally noticed that he can’t help the kids to keep their innocence because he can't. Holden just needs to let them reach for the gold rings and if they fall you should let them get back up. This is an important thing Holden learned throughout his adventure, that he can’t become The Catcher in the Rye.
A big trait in Holden’s character is the stubbornness. Holden is not willing to accept his problems in addition to let others help him. It is equally important to realize that Holden’s stubbornness is fatal to changing, otherwise growing up. One of the first symbols introduced is Holden’s red hunting hat. “This is a people shooting hat. I shoot people in this hat. (3.31)” gives signs that this hat is a way to alienate himself from the world. When Holden articulates it is for shooting people; shooting really means calling them phonies to only stubbornly protect himself from the outer world. Proceeding to Holden’s visit to Phoebe’s school, the f**k you signs on the wall are a way of representing the negative influences on kids. Holden’s stubbornness is shown when he attempts to erase them off the wall, although states “you couldn’t rub out even half the ‘F**k You’ signs in the world.(25.18)” The symbol’s meaning towards the story is understood that it’d be pointless to erase even all of the negative influences in the world because they’d just re-appear, except the protagonist cannot accept the reality of the situation. Jumping right to the end of the novel, when Phoebe ...
The form of diction used in The Catcher in the Rye is a topic on which many people are strongly opinionated. Because the narrator speaks solely in the vernacular, the novel is ripe with vulgar language. Most of this language is used to characterize Holden, the protagonist and narrator, as a typical American teenager living in the late 1940s or early 1950s, but some of it is utilized to convey Salinger’s theme of innocence versus corruption. When Holden is walking through his sister Phoebe’s school, he sees a scrawl on the wall saying “Fuck you.” He imagines the writing was etched by “some perverty bum that’d sneaked in the school late at night to take a leak or something” (260-61). Again in the museum, Holden encounters another such sign. Both the school and the museum are places he identifies with his childhood, but they have been perverted by the corruption of the world. He is concerned for the children who will inevitably see these signs and be told what they mean by “some dirty kid…all cockeyed, naturally” (260), spoiling the children’s innocence. This is just one more step towards adulthood and corruption. He is disgusted by the people in the world, saying “You can’t ever find a place that’s nice and peaceful, because there isn’t any. You think there is, but once you get there, when you’re not looking, somebody’ll sneak up and write ‘Fuck yo...
One of the main conflict’s in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is the recurring theme of innocence. Holden attempts to resist maturing and wants to live his life as an innocent adolescent, by staying the same, like the exhibits in the Museum of Natural History. As he reflects on the corruption of innocence throughout the novel, he realizes that he cannot remain innocent forever. While sneaking home to see his mentally unblemished little sister Phoebe, she asks him what he wants to do with his life. Holden responses to her question with a quote from a poem called “Comin’ Thro’ the Rye” by Robert Burns. This poem is about two kids having sex in a field, but Holden believes that the poem is about kids playing in a rye field. He relates this to what he wants to do in life by stating, “ 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” (Salinger 173). Holden implies if you fall of the cliff of childhood you mature, but if Holden catches you, you remain innocent.
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...
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...
...oes want them to turn into “phonies.” Holden seeks for a peaceful and uncorrupt world but he cannot obtain that due to the actions of others. Despite Holden’s attitude and outlook on life, he is quite passionate. Although he is a firm pessimist, calling every person he comes across a “phony,” there is an alternate side to him. In his interaction with Phoebe and the other children in the book, he tries to protect them from the rest of society, since children are still naïve and pure. It is justifiable why Holden craves to preserve the innocence of others. For most of us, growing up, we begin to understand more. We start to look at life in a different perspective, different from the one we did when we were young, but as a person who has seen and experienced more in life.
It shows how Holden feels about small children to be introduced to profanity. He wants to protect his and the innocence of others because he has seen the harsh realities of the future. Holden also doesn't want his sister to see those things, “Phoebe and all the little kids would see it, and how they’d wonder what the hell it meant. ”(Salinger 221) he doesn’t want her to grow up the way he has, cursing everything and everyone in the world. Holden begins to realize that he's not the best person he can be and basically his attitude towards everything is "f everything".
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year-old boy, transitions from childhood to adulthood. The death of Holden’s little brother signifies the beginning his loss of innocence and growth of maturity. As he enters adulthood, Holden views society differently from his peers by characterizing most of his peers and adults he meets as “phonies.” Thus, Holden takes the impossible challenge of preserving the innocence in children because he wants to prevent children from experiencing the corruption in society. The Catcher In The Rye embodies Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of children and reveals the inevitability of and the necessity of encountering the harsh realities of life.
One of the ways that Salinger shows Holden’s desire to protect children 's’ innocence is through the graffiti Holden sees at Phoebe’s school. Holden visits Phoebe’s school to deliver a note to her, and while he is there he “saw something that drove [him] crazy somebody’d written ‘Fuck you’ on the wall… [He] thought how Phoebe and all the other kids would see it, and how they’d wonder what the hell it meant, and finally some dirty kid would tell them-all … what it meant, and how they’d think about it and maybe worry about it for a couple of days” (Salinger 221). The “fuck you” written on the wall angers Holden because it is written in a place that he feels is supposed to protect children, and he feels the “fuck you” will ruin them. If the children see the graffiti and find out what it means they cannot unlearn what it means, making them forever corrupted. When Holden wipes off the “fuck you” he is protecting the kids from “all the negative things that [he] wants children to be protected from,” which is what the graffiti represents (Alsen). Holden is eliminating the thing that will corrupt some children making him the protector of their
In JD Salingers' Catcher in the Rye, a troubled teenager named Holden Caufield struggles with the fact that everyone has to grow up. The book gets its title from Holden's constant concern with the loss of innocence. He did not want children to grow up because he felt that adults are corrupt. This is seen when Holden tries to erase naughty words from the walls of an elementary school where his younger sister Phoebe attended. "While I was sitting down, I saw something that drove me crazy.
Holden shows a particular liking towards children over adults. He values the innocence and authenticity of children and he tries to protect them from the phoniness and evil of the world. When he goes back to his old school at the end of the novel to give a note to Phoebe, he sees an obscenity on the wall that infuriates him. He says, "Somebody'd written `F*** you' on the wall. It drove me near damn crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them-all cockeyed, about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever'd written it" (201). When Holden's sister Phoebe demands that he tell her one thing that he really likes, Holden's responds saying, "I like Allie...And I like doing what I'm doing right now. Sitting here with you, and talking and thinking about stuff..." (171), showing that he's most content in the simple and innocent world of his childhood.
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.
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.