Children and Innocence
9. May, 2013
Children and Innocence Hold on to your innocence for as long as you can because you never know when it is going to slip away. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger the main character, Holden Caulfield, is revealed through multiple interactions with children. The bitter side as well as the more caring side of Holden is revealed at different moments in the novel. Ever since the death of Holden’s brother Allie, he has never been the same and is forced to grow up too fast. Also, Holden has a strong relationship with his young sister Phoebe, whose childish innocence is what keeps him happy. Even a young boy Holden sees walking on the side of the curb one day reflects the life that Holden has, but also the life that Holden lost at a young age. These children in the novel all represent the theme of innocence because the children all have an innocence that Holden longs for because he lost it so quickly. Holden Caulfield’s character is revealed through his interactions with different children throughout the novel and all connect back to the theme of innocence. One of the children mentioned in the novel is Holden’s younger, deceased, brother Allie. Holden’s depressed and bitter character is revealed through Allie’s death but it also reveals how much Holden really loved Allie. The reader sees Holden as a sad young boy, but when he talks of Allie his world seems to light up. He talks of how intelligent Allie was and how all his teachers used to love him. This reveals how much Holden cares for Allie and how much he misses him. His death however also causes Holden to lose his innocence. When Allie dies Holden is heart broken, “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” (Salinger 39). At this very moment any trace of innocence Holden has disappears and he is forced to grow up too fast, too early. Allie’s death also causes Holden to question his senses of self-confidence
Children and Innocence Hold on to your innocence for as long as you can because you never know when it is going to slip away. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger the main character, Holden Caulfield, is revealed through multiple interactions with children. The bitter side as well as the more caring side of Holden is revealed at different moments in the novel. Ever since the death of Holden’s brother Allie, he has never been the same and is forced to grow up too fast. Also, Holden has a strong relationship with his young sister Phoebe, whose childish innocence is what keeps him happy. Even a young boy Holden sees walking on the side of the curb one day reflects the life that Holden has, but also the life that Holden lost at a young age. These children in the novel all represent the theme of innocence because the children all have an innocence that Holden longs for because he lost it so quickly. Holden Caulfield’s character is revealed through his interactions with different children throughout the novel and all connect back to the theme of innocence. One of the children mentioned in the novel is Holden’s younger, deceased, brother Allie. Holden’s depressed and bitter character is revealed through Allie’s death but it also reveals how much Holden really loved Allie. The reader sees Holden as a sad young boy, but when he talks of Allie his world seems to light up. He talks of how intelligent Allie was and how all his teachers used to love him. This reveals how much Holden cares for Allie and how much he misses him. His death however also causes Holden to lose his innocence. When Allie dies Holden is heart broken, “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” (Salinger 39). At this very moment any trace of innocence Holden has disappears and he is forced to grow up too fast, too early. Allie’s death also causes Holden to question his senses of self-confidence