Catcher Of Innocence Essay

Submitted By BookNerdies
Words: 1192
Pages: 5
Open Document
Catcher of Innocence
Take a moment to picture little kids playing a game in a big field of rye. Thousands of kids but nobody is as wise or as grown up as the protagonist, Holden. In his mind, like in the poem, he is standing at the edge of a steep cliff, keeping a watchful eye over the playing children. As some get dangerously close to the edge, lost in their excitement, Holden leaps forward, catching them at the last moment - a catcher in the rye. Yet Holden is the one that is caught, snared by illusions of grandeur and deep insecurities about growing up. Soon enough, he will find out that life is more complicated than a poem.
Holden views himself as the savior of little kid’s innocence, yet he, himself is the one that needs to be saved. Holden acts his age, thinks as an adult and has an ability to accurately perceive people and their motives. "Anyway, 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. 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-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. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy." (Saligner, 173) People highlight the dilemma of Holden’s state, in between adolescence and adulthood, while Holden views himself to be smarter than and as mature as adults. The title is an analogy for Holden admiring the kid’s attributes that he struggles to find in adults, like innocence, kindness and generosity. Holden fantasizes about being the catcher of the rye because he has to overcome many obstacles in his life: Dealing with loss at an early age when Allie dies and Holden is just ten years old, his perception of adult phoniness and his emotional intelligence. Falling off the cliff could be a progression into the adult world that surrounds him and that he strongly criticizes.
Holden faces difficult problems growing up, which makes him resent the very process of maturation. He loses his own innocence but he wants to keep other kids from losing theirs, not understanding that falling is an inevitable in a personal journey to adulthood. “Sometimes, you just have to let them fall” (Saligner, 115) said by Phoebe. Being the catcher of the rye is pointless. Growing up and losing your innocence is just part of life. Emotionaly numb due to the death of Allie, Holden desperately clings to the present, fearful of change. Holden visits to a museum and recalls what he liked about it them most. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move… Nobody’d be different. The only thing different would be you.” Change leads to maturity. Maturity leads to loss of childlike innocence, the very thing Holden is not ready to let go of. (Saligner, 121)
True to the meaning of being a teenager, Holden is rebellious, displeased, isolated, directionless and sarcastic. His indecisiveness is contagious, leaving the reader unable to make up their mind whether to feel sorry for him or wish he would just get his act together. All he wants to do is connect with someone, but Holden has impossibly high standards make it nearly impossible to establish a real connection. Every time Holden thinks of someone to call, he ends up deciding not to, usually because he is afraid he will have to interact with someone he does not like. His behavior gets him kicked out of four schools, setting him on the path of poor decisions and terrible long term planning, which started with the sale of his typewriter. The typewriter was given to him as a gift from his parents, and a very meaningful one at that. It represented a step towards a possible career in writing, which in turn would give Holden the means of
Show More

Related Documents: Catcher Of Innocence Essay

Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

In the story The Catcher in The Rye there are a variety of themes that pertain in this novel such as isolation, death, sexuality, and etc. In my opinion the theme of innocence is a key and important piece of the novel. Innocence is an important theme because that’s all Holden wanted to keep and save others child innocence. He would try to keep to the point of thinking of running away just to stay a kid. When he sees child innocence, he would defend it, he would be happy for it at all cost. An example…

Words 570 - Pages 3

Theme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

Importance of Innocence Getting older and maturing is a part of life. In growing up, people often lose their innocence. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a troubled teenage boy struggling with his transition from boyhood to manhood. Although he wants to feel more mature, he values innocence. When asked what makes him happy, he replies that he would be happy being a catcher in the rye. Throughout the novel, Holden proves to the readers that he is a already a catcher in the rye…

Words 796 - Pages 4

Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

world of childhood? Holden Caulfield wants to protect that innocence, he wants to be the Catcher in the Rye. Just as Holden wanting to protect the innocence from society corruption he tries to rebel it as well. In the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger symbolism is used to represent a struggling young adult not wanting to grow up and rebelled causing him to spiral out of control. Pencey Prep and New York, is the setting for the story Catcher in the Rye. In the late 1940’s in the post World War II era…

Words 788 - Pages 4

The Theme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

Innocence is one of the most fragile parts of the human psyche, it is so pure, but so easily tainted. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the goal of protecting children's innocence against the evils of adulthood is that of the protagonist. This theme of protecting innocence is shown by Holden, a rich but depressed teenage boy in 1940’s New York. Holden has the desire to be the “catcher in the rye”, this causes him to try to protect other children's purity, while he is losing his…

Words 655 - Pages 3

Catcher In The Rye Loss Of Innocence Quotes

murder of John Lennon he committed was both premeditated and inspired by an outside source called The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. In this book, Holden, the main character, is a unique person with a different outlook on life. Throughout the book many different themes are explored through Holden’s mind such as phoniness in modern society, mental health issues, and the preservation of innocence. Chapman took a heavy liking to this book and especially the main character Holden and what he believed…

Words 2066 - Pages 9

Catcher In The Rye Loss Of Innocence Essay

A person's loss of innocence ultimately directs their transition into adulthood. As a person matures, their sense of innocence is lost and accepting society's flaws is the only way to cope with this problem. Growing up is important as it allows us to see a different and more realistic perspective on the world, shedding idealistic perspectives. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, one character tries to prevent himself and others from growing up, but ultimately realizes change is inevitable…

Words 472 - Pages 2

Examples Of Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

had a good heart. Holden wants to keep young kids innocent; from becoming corrupt by the world. Innocence is an important theme in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” because Holden, the main character has lost touch with his innocence. For an example he struggles with the death of his younger brother, Allie who died of cancer. Which plays a huge part in Holden’s day to day life. Loss of innocence plays in Holden’s childhood which when growing up was a struggle for him. Throughout the story…

Words 544 - Pages 3

Examples Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

Dictionary defines innocence as, “Lack of experience with the world and with the bad things that happen in life.” This definition of innocence is how Holden perceives it in the story. In a way, I think Holden already believes he is already losing his innocence because he has experienced so many bad things in life. For this reason, he is trying so desperately to hold on, making him afraid of the notion of ‘growing up’. Holden is being left behind. His peers are losing their innocence and Holden hates…

Words 912 - Pages 4

How Does Holden Lose The Innocence Of Children

Lillian Angu 6/8/16 American Literature 11 / Period 1 Mrs. Lagomarsino Innocence of children The Catcher in the rye is about a boy named Holden Caulfield who believed in the innocence of children and would do anything to protect it. Holden has a younger sister(Phoebe), a younger brother(Allie) who died of leukemia, and an older brother(DB) who is a writer in Hollywood. Holden has a unique and different personality; he finds himself lonely and depressed most of the time. Holden is always…

Words 749 - Pages 3

The Carousel In The Catcher In The Rye

machine with model horses or other animals in which children ride for amusement. In the Catcher in the Rye, the carousel is a symbol of Holden’s acceptance of his loss of innocence and his realization that he will not be able save other children from growing up. In the novel, Holden said that his dream job would to be the catcher in the rye; he thinks that all the children’s parents are ruining their innocence. Rather than recognizing that adulthood terrifies and disorients him, Holden creates a…

Words 684 - Pages 3