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A recurrent aspect shared by prominent literature is the ability to portray and explore intrinsic human experiences. A fundamental component of life that is often portrayed is the demise of innocence as someone matures from childhood into adulthood. In J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden, frequently demonstrates that loss of innocence is a prevalent theme. The corruption of Holden’s ingenuousness, combined with his corresponding concern for the prolongation of the goodness in others, and his desire to return to his former state of naiveté, connote the overall premise of loss of innocence. The suffering that Holden experiences in the novel elicits the extraction of his innocence. Holden upholds times where his innocence …show more content…
is greater, and has an innate desire to protect the innocence of others, which he realizes he is unable to do, as people have to experience their own inevitable failures. Due to the unfortunate events that unfold throughout the novel, Holden’s innocence deteriorates. Allie death triggers Holden into a violent breakdown that acts as the beginning of his downfall from innocence. During Holden’s explanation of Allies death he remarks, “I was only thirteen… I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it... It was a very stupid thing to do, I’ll admit, but I hardly didn’t even know I was doing it, and you didn’t know Allie” (Stradlater, 38-39) The intensity of Holden’s reaction to Allie’s death truly exhibits the emotional and mental impact this tragedy has on him. Allie and Holden’s innocence were correlated in the sense that Holden viewed his brother as a true source of happiness and virtuousness, and losing that source instigates anguish in Holden that raises his awareness of the capability of pains depth in a way that he can never repudiate. Holden getting expelled from his school prompts him to stay alone in New York, where he is suddenly submerged into a sordid way of life. During the beginning of the novel at Holden’s school, while he appears to be apathetic towards many aspects of life, he still maintains some innocence and childlike behaviour, exemplified through his playful attitude with Stradlater, “I backed up a few feet and started doing this tap dance, just for the hell of it.
I was just amusing myself. I started imitating one of those guys in the movies…’I’m the goddam governor’s son,” I said. I was knocking myself out. Tap-dancing all over the place…Old Stradlater laughed. He didn’t have too bad a sense of humour.” However, as he leaves school and stays alone in New York, leaving a familiar place and having to live independently in a seedy environment proves to have a detrimental effect on him, “I was crying and all…I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome… I didn’t even know where to sleep yet… I wasn’t tired or anything. I just felt blue as hell.” (Stradlater, 153 – 154). The harshness of living independently in such an overwhelming environment is destructive to Holden’s innocence. If he had never been expelled from school than he could have maintained the remnants of his innocence in a safe and familiar environment. The loss of his brother combined with his expulsion from school causes damage to his innocence that he cannot repair. Holden is dismayed by his loss of innocence, and as outside factors push him farther into corruption his wishes to go back to when he was wholly …show more content…
unadulterated. As Holden spirals further away from his past innocence, he yearns for it to return. He constantly reminisces about times before he lost his innocence, and views his life before it was expunged as a time where he was truly happy. While reminiscing about his time spent with Jane, Holden recalls, “You never even worried, with Jane, whether your hand was sweaty or not. All you knew is that you were happy. You really were.” (Salinger, 79) While his summer spent with Jane is not an imperfect memory for Holden, as it is after his brother’s death, it is clear through his narrative that it was still a time with a sense of contented innocence that he presently longs for. His constant nostalgia over moments where the innocence he possesses is greater signifies how he is mournful over it’s loss and is not satisfied with his current state of indifference and depression. His nostalgic thoughts and positive sentiment towards times of innocence display Holden’s yearn to regain his virtue. While Holden cannot salvage his innocence, he manifests his wish for it to return through his desire to prolong the innocence of others. Holden wishes to preserve the virtue of others, but eventually comprehends that he has to allow people to make their own mistakes and cannot prevent their loss of innocence. At the beginning of the novel, Holden does not want Stradlater to diminish Jane’s perceived innocence by taking advantage of her. Subsequent to Stradlater leaving for his date with Jane, Holden states that, “I kept thinking about Jane, and about Stradlater having a date with her. It made me so nervous I nearly went crazy. I already told you what a sexy bastard Stradlater was.” (Salinger, 34) The trepidation Holden has over the notion of Stradlater taking Jane’s virginity is based on the concept of a person’s virginity representing their innocence. Holden subconsciously deems that by Jane losing hers to Stradlater she will become impure. When Holden notices crude vandalism on the school walls, he desperately tries to remove it, so it cannot corrupt the children. The realization that foul language is on the wall at the school leads to Holden visualizing the exaggerated impact he reasons the words will have on the children. As he erases them, he violently fantasizes about injuring the ‘pervert’ who wrote them. Holden’s longing to prolong the children’s innocence is indicated through how passionately he wants to erase the vandalism. His belief that the obscene phrase written on the wall would initiate a loss of innocence in the children also signifies how fragile and pivotal he believes a person’s purity to be. Near the end of the novel, Holden does not stop Phoebe from reaching for the golden ring while riding on the carousel even though she may fall. When he discusses seeing Phoebe trying to reach for the golden ring, he reflects that, “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. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” (Salinger, 211) Holden’s commentary on Phoebe trying to grab the ring demonstrates how his mindset is beginning to shift and mature.
The physical pain he is scared she will encounter if she falls off the horse is a metaphor for the emotional pain he fears she will experience as she grows older. He reaches a state of acceptance over the inevitability of loss of innocence, and that the failure and pain that provokes that loss is an inevitable part of growing up. Holden’s desires to essentially ‘save’ those he deems as truly innocent from becoming corrupted by suffering and the lewd behaviour of others, are ultimately shelved as he begins to accept the reality that loss of innocence is an integral aspect of a person’s growth into
maturity. Holden’s wish to preserve the innocence of others, and his longing to repossess his lost purity that has been depleted by adverse situations display the underlying theme of loss of innocence. Trying situations eradicate Holden’s innocence, as he is made aware of levels of emotional turmoil, unpredictability, and loneliness that he has not previously experienced. The desire to attain his former genuine childlike exuberance develops into a subconscious longing to ‘save’ others from losing their innocence, which is eventually suppressed as he acknowledges that he cannot prevent people from encountering pain. The Catcher in the Rye has the ability to transcend time as its overall theme of loss of innocence resonates with the fundamental life experiences of all people. The situations and emotions Holden faces regarding the loss of his, and other people’s innocence make the novel a true coming of age story, with youth often discovering aspects of their sentiments within the novel.
Due to J.D Salinger’s personal and relatable narrative treatment, Catcher in the Rye continues to engage audiences, even 64 years after it was first published. The way the book deals with alienation and disillusionment in regards to Holden’s past trauma - through the closeness of first person narration and conversational writing among other techniques - creates a personal connection to Holden’s character and helps adolescents relate his troubles to their own.
Holden’s apparent desire to be separated from the majority of his family and friends appears to have been triggered by the death of his younger brother Allie. From Allie’s there has been a downward spiral in Holden’s relationships, as he begins to avoid contact with others and isolate himself more. The reason I believe this is because we can see how immense his anger is after Allie’s death, ‘I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist’. The death of Allie has become like an awakening to Holden, and has alerted him how precious childhood innocence is, when Holden comes to this realisation he convinces himself to do everything within his power to protect the innocence of himself and those around him, to protect them from what he sees as a false adult world. Although Holden clearly fails to protect himself, as he falls into all sorts of situations which hardly boasts of innocence and virt... ...
J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is a compelling narrative on the themes of isolation and individualism. Holden Caulfield’s loneliness, a more distinct manifestation of his isolation problem, is a driving force throughout the book. A majority of the novel portrays his almost frantic quest for companionship as he darts from one meaningless encounter to another. However, while his behavior is a stark indicator of his loneliness, Holden consistently shies away from self-reflection and therefore doesn’t really know why he keeps behaving as he does. Since Holden relies on his isolation to sustain his detachment from the world and to keep intact a level of self-protection, he frequently sabotages his own efforts to end his seclusion.
Holden Caulfield can be analyzed through his thoughts, actions and circumstances which surround his everyday life. Holden acts like a careless teenager. Holden has been to several prep-schools, all of which he got kicked out of for failing classes. After being kicked out of the latest, Pency Prep, he went off to New York on his own. Holden seems to have a motivation problem which apparently affects his reasoning. The basis of his reasoning comes from his thoughts. Holden thinks the world is full of a bunch of phonies. All his toughs about people he meets are negative. The only good thoughts he has are about his sister Phoebe and his dead brother Alley. Holden, perhaps, wishes that everyone, including himself, should be like his brother and sister. That is to be intelligent, real and loving. Holden’s problem is with his heart. It was broken when his brother died. Now Holden goes around the world as his fake self, wearing his mask. Holden is looking for love, peace and understanding. He is scared to love because he is afraid he might lose it like he did with his brother. That is the reason for Holden's love of the museum, he feels safe because it never changes it always stays the same. Holden is troubled with the pain of death, it effects every aspect of his life causing him to not care about the future, himself or anyone, except Phoebe and Alley.
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.
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
At the beginning of his story, Holden is a student at Pencey Prep School. Having been expelled for failing four out of his five classes, Holden leaves school and spends 72 hours in New York City before returning home. There, Holden encounters new ideas, people, and experiences. Holden's psychological battle within himself serves as the tool that uncovers the coming-of-age novel's underlying themes of teen angst, depression, and the disingenuous nature of society. The novel tackles issues of blatant profanity, teenage sex, and other erratic behavior.
In his novel Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger portrays childhood and adolescence as times graced by innocence when his protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is faced with the reality of becoming an adult. Holden’s desperation to maintain his innocence and the manner in which he critiques those he deems to have lost theirs, emphasizes his immaturity and ignorance while highlighting the importance the author places on childhood.
In the book, the reader sees how someone can lose their innocence by losing their virginity. Throughout the book Holden is put in situations where he can lose his virginity, but he ends up not going through with it. One example of this is when he agrees to spend the night with a prostitute. He says to the pimp in the elevator that he wants to give her the time. Yet, when he is actually put in the situation, he cannot go through with it. When the prostitute arrives, he try’s to think of an excuse so he would not have “give her the time”. He ends up telling her that he just had an operation on his clavicle, so he can’t “g...
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.
Holden cannot accept the loss of innocence as a step into the growing up process. The ones that he loves most, are those who are younger to him, they are innocent, and untouched by society’s truths. Holden says, “…I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around-nobody big. I mean – except me.
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.
There is a singular event that unites every single human being on the planet, growing up. Not everyone can say it was pleasant, but no one can deny that it took place. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing; often forcing one to seek out the answers to questions that likely have no definitive answer. During the process, the adult world seems inviting and free, but only when we are on the brink of entering this cruel, unjust society can the ignorant bliss of childhood be truly recognized. Catcher in the Rye explores the intimidating complexities associated with adulthood and how baffling it seems to the naïve teenage mind. Through the main protagonist, Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger captures the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenge of adapting to an adult society.
Salinger uses motifs, symbols, and Holden’s diction to convey the difficulties of adolescence and the struggle between letting go and moving on. Through Holden’s struggles, The Catcher in the Rye makes its readers ponder about human nature and the emotional struggles of becoming an adult. In this period of time, one might find themselves without a sense of direction in their life, and without a grip on the reality that they are facing. Salinger conveys to his readers that letting go of childhood will be difficult but necessary as there could be incredible mental and social repercussions if one refuses to accept