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The idea of preserving innocence and growing up is a common topic throughout Catcher in the Rye. In chapter 22 it is further revealed that Holden is unable to protect Phoebe’s innocence because he is already corrupt. This chapter exposes Holden by revealing his innocence is gone, due to his constant cursing and having no plan in life. One of the major themes in the novel is protecting innocence in children, and this chapter elucidates that because Holden came to Phoebe to try to protect her innocence. In the novel Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger argues that innocence is lost due to the protector, or Holden Caulfield, being corrupted himself; Holden already lost his innocence and refuses to grow up and face reality which makes him corrupted and unable to protect Phoebe’s innocence.
In chapter 22, Holden is being exposed for being afraid to face the future and grow up while there is a paradox of child versus adult. Throughout the novel, Holden is immature and never wants to face reality. The major theme in the text is protecting innocence in children, and this is what Holden attempts to do with Phoebe. When he visits her in this chapter, he is surprised to see she is more mature than him. Phoebe calls him out for not liking anything when she says, “You don't like any schools. You don't like a million things. You don't”(220).
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As the chapter continues, Phoebe continues to say the more rational things. Eventually when Holden brings up Allie, Phoebe says, “Allie’s dead-you always say that! If somebody’s dead and everything and in heaven, then it isn't really-”(222). Phoebe eventually makes Holden realize he has no plan in life and needs to get back on track. Overall, it is Holden’s unwillingness to grow up and face reality that leads to the inevitable loss of Phoebe’s
He has nothing but nice things to say about her and wants to protect her. She makes many adult observations that you would not expect a ten year old to notice, yet still acts like a ten year old. She realizes that Holden got kicked out of school, and then responds by repeating, “Daddy’ll kill you!”(214). She corrects Holden about the words in a Robert Burns poem and realizes that Holden does not like anything, yet at the same time acts like a ten year old. She resembles Holden in the way she goes between adulthood and childhood. She is like a younger version of Holden. Holden wants to protect her and keep her from ending up like him. Holden gives his hunting hat to Phoebe, this shows how much he cares about her. He is able to give up the symbol of his independence and accept that he has ties to his family. The only time Holden is happy during his trip is when he takes Phoebe to the carousel. After deciding not to run away Holden realizes, “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 off,” (274). At this point he realizes that growing up might not be the worst thing in the world and that even if he gets hurt in the process it is something he needs to
Phoebe tries to help Holden by asking him to name one thing he likes. However, when Holden mentions Allie, Phoebe tries to be his wake up call and remind him that Allie is dead (Salinger 171). This part in the novel shows how Holden is still attached to Allie, and will not forget about him. However, Phoebe tries to remind Holden that Allie is dead, attempting to make Holden let go of what happened in the past. Phoebe attempts to get Holden’s mind off of his removal from his school by asking him what he wants to become in the future (Salinger 172). This is when Phoebe’s words of advice and support start effecting Holden. Holden begins to think about his options, and what he truly wants to do in the future. “Why can’t I? Please, Holden! I won’t do anything-I’ll just go with you, that’s all! I won’t even take my clothes with me if you don’t want me to-I’ll just take my-” (Salinger 206). This quotation shows how supportive and encouraging Phoebe is towards Holden. When Holden tells Phoebe that he is leaving, Phoebe’s reaction is very affectionate. Phoebe brings a suitcase filled with her clothes, and begins to beg Holden to let her follow him. Phoebe’s encouraging words of advice, is another source of familial love for Holden to move on, and look forward towards his
J. D. Salinger’s novel, Catcher in the Rye explores the ambiguity of the adult world Holden must eventually learn to accept. Throughout the novel, Holden resists the society grownups represent, coloring his childlike dreams with innocence and naivety. He only wants to protect those he loves, but he cannot do it the way he desires. As he watches Phoebe on the carousel, he begins to understand certain aspects of truth. He writes:
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.
A scene where she shows her influence over Holden is where Holden states, “I kept thinking about old Phoebe going to that museum on Saturdays the way I used to see, I thought how she’d see the same stuff I used to see, and how she’d be different every time she saw it… Certain thing is they should stay the way they are… I know that’s impossible, but it’s too bad anyway.” Holden shows his fear of change. He also demonstrates that he does not want to change, and does not want to grow up, but to stay as a kid.
Holden’s family is obviously very important to him. The novel opens with talking about his parents and his brother. Holden negatively criticizes them to hide the fact that he truly loves them. But, one would ask, how can you love those you never see? Holden is constantly being shipped from one boarding school to another. This absence between him and his parents intensifies his general alienation from everyone. Holden’s only real love in the family is for his sister Phoebe. The bond and respect between brother and sister can not be broken no matter how far the distance between them. When Holden arrives back in New York, he immediately wanted to call someone; his sister Phoebe. "She wouldn’t’ve cared if I’d woke her up…" (Salinger 59) Many people her age would not appreciate being woken up that late at night, especially by their brother, but there is a mutual respect between Phoebe and Holden that would allow for this event to occur. Through out the whole novel, this relationship continues because she is his little sister and he would never hurt her. In today’s world, this type of relationship is next to impossible.
Although Phoebe Caulfield may be Holden's younger sister, she is someone whom Holden looks up to for support and advice. She is one of the few people he feels great affection for and he talks about her with obvious happiness. Everything that he says of Phoebe is something that brings contentment to him and he becomes gentle and avoids the jokes that usually fill his sentences. Everything he says sounds touching. It is obvious that being with children such as Phoebe makes Holden very happy.
When he is talking to Phoebe, he tells her he knows what he wants to be when he grows up. However, it isn’t a realistic job like a doctor or lawyer, instead he goes on about a fantasy where there is a field of rye where kids play in, and “[he has] to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” (224) where he will always stand to make sure no one goes over. This can be interpreted as Holden having trouble with growing up, because he wants to protect childish innocence, such as that of Allie. He also tells Phoebe of Veteran’s day at Pencey, where old alumni come to visit the school. A fifty year old man tells Holden that Pencey was the greatest time of his life, which in turn “depresses [Holden]” (219). Another example of Holden clinging to childish behavior is his multiple counts of acting like a movie star, like at the hotel with Maurice or when he calls Sally Hayes. It is extremely clear through the novel that Holden has a negative connotation with growing
Holden knows that people will grow and change but still isn’t contempt with the idea, this happens especially when he visits the museum and thinks to himself, “The best thing though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move….Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you”(121). Holden over thinks about how the museum will always be the same and then remembers that you’d change and he feels uncomfortable with that, ultimately he decides not to enter the museum because he knows he has changed and does not want to deal with it. Throughout the book Holden holds on to the idea that a childhood must be saved from growing up, but when he sees Phoebe on the carousel he then realizes that maybe it’s best for children to grow up and he then states, “The thing is with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she’d fall off the goddamn horse, but I didn’t say anything or do anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them”(211). Holden is finally realizing and understanding how children will grow up and yes it will be sad but Holden isn’t
It can only last a couple years. It is pure joy and happiness. Childhood comes with innocence and it vanishes as children grow up and go through new experiences. In the Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield, the main character of the novel cherishes innocence dearly. Holden in a 16 year old boy who grew up in the mid 1900s and he often complains about his problems. Holden attends a boarding school called Pencey Prep where he rooms with his friend Stradlater. As a result of poor effort and not applying himself, Holden gets kicked out of school and takes a train back to New York. Holden almost calls Jane Gallagher, a girl he has feelings for, several times, but he never completes the phone call. When he gets home, the only person
The only enemy innocence will ever encounter is time. J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye demonstrates this with the story of a young seventeen year old boy in the 1950’s. Holden Caulfield a worrisome teenage boy struggles with the thought of evolving into an actual adult. After having been exiled from yet another school for the lack of dedication to his studies, Holden decides to leave before his expulsion and take time to really think about life before going home and facing his parents to give them the disappointing news. While traveling back home to New York, from Agerstown Pennsylvania, Holden seems to find himself in several predicaments where he faces the troubles of feeling “lonesome”, “worried”, (Salinger 40) and many other filth like emotions. Toward the end of his visit, Holden seems to have come to the conclusion that if he leaves out of New York forever, his problems will be solved; however, after meeting with his younger sister Phoebe in New York, he realizes that he has to continue saving her and other children from losing their innocence. The world takes a child’s innocence so easily and Holden wants to make sure each child can live a complete childhood without all the negativity and disgust that people bring into it. Phoebe is a young girl in elementary school that doesn’t take deep thought into many things. Her youth is what Holden wants to conserve in her and all children. After having time for himself and getting to realize what his true take in life is, he becomes conscious of the fact that throughout one's journey in life, society and nature itself cause innocence to die out.
Keep it for me," she said. Then she said right afterward,"Please."That's depressing, when somebody says "please" to you. I mean if it's Phoebe or somebody. That depressed the hell out of me. But I put the dough back in my pocket.” Holden became so depressed by this encounter because he wanted to be the provider and helper to his sister, but she had to help him. He felt as though he couldn't be her hero. At the end of the novel, Holden says he wanted to hit Phoebe. He isn’t noble, he can hardly control his own emotions.
Holden wants nothing more than to have them maintain their honesty. He told Phoebe, “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” (173). Holden wants to protect the kids from the real world. He knows what it is like to lose the sense of innocence that one has when they are a child. Holden lost his innocence when he was young because his brother Allie died at such a young age. Since Allie died when he was a young boy, he never lost all of his innocence and was never corrupted by society, Holden views Allie as being perfect. This forces Holden to open his eyes to a world he no longer believes in. It is because of losing his innocence so young that he wants to prevent children from losing theirs. He wants them to be as naive as they could be. Holden does not want them to have to face the harsh realities of the real