Examples Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

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The Merriam-Webster 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 this. He wishes that everyone could just stay innocent, “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move.” (Salinger, 121) Holden is reminded of this fear of maturity through encounters with friends and adults and when he steps into that museum, Holden just wishes that was his world. …show more content…
He wishes for everyone to hold on to innocence to keep him from being left behind. Holden is afraid to grow up because of people like Stradlater, people who make it painfully clear to Holden that he is falling off. “Most guys at Pencey just talked about having sexual intercourse with girls all the time – like Ackley, for instance – but old Stradlater really did it.” (Salinger, 51) boys like Stradlater make it clear to Holden that he is not at the level of maturity as his peers and is starting to fall behind in these

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…

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Catcher in the Rye Essay

The Catcher in the Rye “Is The Catcher in the Rye, as a work of literature still relevant for today’s youth?” Name: Sara Sigurdson Course: English A1 Supervisor: Mr. Peter Steadman Word count: 3851 Candidate number: 00136022 Table of Contents Content Page Number Abstract 3 Introduction 4 The Actual Catcher in the Rye 4 The Sexual Matter 5 The Caulfield Family 6 Narrator and Protagonist 8 Role Model 9 Mr. Antolini 10 Targeted Audience 10 Guidance 12…

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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 through…

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Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

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 of Holden…

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Compare and Contrast Paper

Young and Innocent Lives As people slowly grow up and change in every way, they also lose their own innocence and they acknowledge and accept the loss of innocence of everyone else. The good people are isolated from society, because they are unwilling to change. Two novels that I have read share a similar theme, but in different ways. In each novel a character is going through hard times and is not able to make decisions. They need a close friend to help them, so they can move on. Although these…

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An Analysis of The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger Essay

Jordan Shelton 11-19-12 Paidea Preperation the Catcher in the Rye Questions 1. I my opinion I think this novel is filled with both pessimism and optimism. The main character Holden Caulfield contains within his character both of these traits. I think that Holden holds a more pessimistic view of life in the beginning of the book where he always assumes the worst of things and doesn’t pertain a positive outlook on life. In the end of the novel, Holden finally achieves the feeling that he is…

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How Does Holden React To Allie's Death

Catcher in the Rye Essay The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a novel about a teenager Holden Caulfield, who is trying to find how to live his life and what kind of person he is. In the book, we find out that Holden’s little brother, Allie, recently died of Leukemia and this has impacted Holden in many ways. The theme of death and mortality is expressed throughout Catcher in the Rye. Because of Allie’s early death, Holden felt his innocence had been stolen. Holden's witnessed a young boy’s…

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Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

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, Holden…

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The Tragedy of Holden Caulfield Is That He Cannot Accept the Adult World He Is Too Old to Continue the Innocent Life of a Child Essays

The main concern of the novel The Catcher in the Rye is not only that the protagonist is trapped between childhood and adulthood, but also the alienation and regression caused by grief when the sufferer does not address their loss properly. Holden Caulfield's nervous breakdown is largely due to the death of his younger brother. It is because of this that he fears change and maturity so much, specifically the loss of innocence. Holden cannot accept the complexities of the world; instead, he uses "phoniness"…

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Comparative Analysis Paper

City, is not expected to look out for anyone and likewise has no one to protect him in The Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Although the two have opposite backgrounds, both learn similar life lessons, whether it be from personal experience or observation. Throughout Norman and Holden’s stories, both authors use point of view, characterization, and extended symbolism to build the themes of losing innocence and understanding life. An intriguing literary element in both novellas is how the authors…

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