Phoebe changes this meaning of youth when she allows Holden to make a very mature decision. Youth is very important to Holden, he makes this very clear when he tells Phoebe about his dream to be the catcher in the rye in the name of protecting kids of their innocence. When Allie died, he never got to experience his youth, so Holden wants to protect other children from the same fate. Holden acts very childish throughout the novel, he ruins a friendship with a girl because she does not want to carry out his plan with him. He acts childish because he is afraid of growing up, the reader can tell that Holden is not ready to make adult decisions, and if faced with one he would probably make the situation worse. When Holden finally makes his adult decision it leads him to some sort of hospital because of a "sickness", Holden needed to get professional help. Phoebe changed the theme in that she allowed the reader to understand why Holden had this strange desire to protect children from falling off a