Themes in literary works are recurring, unifying subjects or ideas, motifs that allow us to understand more deeply the characters and their world. In The Catcher in the Rye, the major themes reflect the values and motivations of the characters. Some of these themes are outlined in the following sections.
As its title indicates, the dominating theme of The Catcher in the Rye is the protection of innocence, especially of children. For most of the book, Holden sees this as a primary virtue. It is very closely related to his struggle against growing up. Holden's enemy is the adult world and the cruelty and artificiality that it entails. The people he admires all represent or protect innocence. He thinks of Jane Gallagher, for example, not as a maturing young woman but as the girl with whom he used to play checkers. He goes out of his way to tell us that he and Jane had no sexual relationship. Quite sweetly, they usually just held hands. Holden comforted Jane when she was distressed, and it bothers him that Jane may have been subjected to sexual advances from her drunken stepfather or from her date, Holden's roommate, Stradlater.
Holden's secret goal is to be "the catcher in the rye." In this metaphor, he envisions a field of rye standing by a dangerous cliff. Children play in the field with joy and abandon. If they should come too close to the edge of the cliff, however, Holden is there to catch them. His attitude seems to shift near the end of the novel when he realizes that Phoebe and other children must be allowed to "grab for the gold ring," to choose their own risks and take them, even though their attempts may be dangerous.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
When someone is young, they tend to have innocence about them. As children grow up, they no longer possess this natural innocence. Exposure to all of the hatred in the world causes this loss. Holden Caulfield realizes this simple fact, as he himself grows up, and has a difficult time with the change. He experiences problems with communication as well as his school work. A common theme used throughout The Catcher in the Rye has to do with contradictions Holden makes. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, first person point of view is used to highlight contradictions Holden makes throughout the novel.…
- 747 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
His concern is symbolic of the fact that he cannot save all of the children in the world from danger. He sees that the phoniness around him and the faults within him are irremovable, and that he will just have to manage to live in the flawed society as it is. So the two sides of Holden are protection and violation of innocence. He tries to preserve innocence in others, and then to appreciate people’s independence in exploring the world. He says “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab 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” (211). The quote means that people learn from experience. So he is saying maybe the only way people will learn is by facing the harsh truths of society. His realization is significant because Holden himself needs to face the harsh truths of…
- 908 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
He wants to protect his sister phoebe as he says what he like to be to phoebe “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big filed 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 going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them I’d just be catcher in the rye and all.” This show that Holden doesn’t want the kids to fall of the cliff. The rye is life and falling off the cliff can mean dead. He doesn’t want all the kids to become like Allie he wants to help them. And he doesn’t realize that it’s okay, to fall that’s how life…
- 1609 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
Holden wants to “the Catcher in the rye”, preventing others from being mature. But his concepts come from the misheard lyrics from “Comin’ Thro the Rye”, where a girl loses her innocence, where “a body meets a body” and having sex in the fields. In his daily life, this demonstrates his lack of ability to understand what others are trying to say and misunderstands them. As a result, it makes him harder to communicate with others and therefore pushing him further from the community.…
- 492 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Holden relates to the fantasy because although he says he wants to catch kids from falling off the cliff, that’s exactly what he needs. He is out of control, which is proven by finding out at the end of the novel that he has been telling this story from his room in the mental hospital. He has been through some traumatizing moments in the past few days, which is the last thing that he needs, and he is becoming desperate to find someone that can rescue him. Phoebe helps Holden a little at the time by stopping him from running away and becoming a deaf-mute. He is so unstable at the time that he does not even realize how ridiculous that is. Phoebe helps him by saying that she would come with him, which snaps him back to reality. Without Phoebe’s help, Holden could have made a terrible choice. Instead of dreaming of running away, Holden can dream about being the catcher in the rye. If he had decided to run away, he might have fallen off of the cliff. Holden uses this fantasy to sub-consciously say that what he really needs is someone to save him, instead of him saving people.…
- 1092 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The title, The Catcher in the Rye, directly indicates the reoccurring theme of the novel, to protect the innocence of the younger generations. The novel is structured on Holden’s desire to protect all the innocent children in the world from growing up because with age comes experiences that lead to corruption and the loss of innocence.…
- 181 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
Towards the end of the novel Holden takes Phoebe to ride a carrousel where she along with the other kids try to grab the gold rings. Initially, Holden fears they might fall, but then he reaches the conclusion it is okay for children to fall off and it is bad to prevent them from doing so. The author includes this in the story to show that Holden is finally coming to the realization that it is okay for children to “fall off” in other words it is okay for children to grow up. This demonstrates that Holden no longer aspires to be the catcher in the rye who obstructs children from maturing. He begins to comprehend that it is necessary to grow up and it happens to everyone at some point in their lives. Growing up is an option one has to make, and up until that point Holden had not made that choice. Seeing the children not care about falling down Holden comes to an outcome and decides to not run away from reality and determines to stay which is the first step he takes to growing up. The children going after the rings in the carrousel has a more profound importance than what meets the…
- 852 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Phoebe is the youngest figure in his life and is at the age where she is between a child and adolescent. When Holden feels Phoebe’s innocence is threatened, he gets defensive and angry. As he walked the halls of Phoebe’s school he comes across profanity written on the wall and automatically thinks “how Phoebe and all the other little kids who would see it, and how they’d wonder what it meant, and finally some dirty kid would tell them and maybe even worry about it” (201). This upsets him because profanity is a gateway to loosing innocence completely. Phoebe created the whole gist of becoming a hero figure of The Catcher in the Rye. He kept “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. What I’d have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” (173). Holden’s altruistic ideal is now proposed in words that he wants to keep children from falling off the edge, and becoming a grownup which to him is the same as death. Holden than gives Phoebe his red hunting hat as a way to never truly lose her innocence. Only to be disappointed to see her “take off my red hunting hat-the one I gave her- and practically chucked it right in my face” (207). Salinger delibritly put this in the book to show that everyone must lose their innocence at one time or another and cannot be avoided but only postponed. “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” (211). This challenged the thoughts of Holden’s ideal of being The Catcher in the Rye. Throughout the book he constantly believes he can save others, and watching Phoebe reach for something that she might fall off of scared him, but not enough for him to go save her. He found…
- 1743 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
“The catcher in the rye” argues that children's innocence should be protected for as long as it can be. Holden wants to be the catcher in the rye, Holden sees the rye field as this gigantic field that overlooks a cliff. The rye field is a gigantic field filled with children. Holden wants to be the person who catches the children before they go over this cliff. This cliff represents the”descent into adulthood” or the loss of innocence”. Holden wants the children to retain innocence for as long as they possibly can. This explains why Holden covers up the words “f*ck you”, he’s afraid that the kids will see it and someone will explain to them what it means. This ties into why Holden can never go through with a sexual encounter, because at heart…
- 802 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
There are many examples in the Catcher in the Rye, that show Holden's hate toward the idea of losing innocence. Holden mentions a lot about children, his love for them and how he wants to save their innocence. He seems to relate more to people younger than him, whether they are male of female. He cares about them so much, becuase they haven't lost their innocence, unlike adults who are all "phonies." There are three main things he does and talks about, that shows his concern. His fascination to save innocence, erasing profanity, and Allie's baseball glove.…
- 553 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Her childish innocence brings joy to Holden since it serves as a stark contrast to his dreary and depressing worldview. He is interested in preserving innocence and keeping childhood last forever, as seen in his desire to be the “catcher in the rye” figure, “[catching] everybody if they start to go over the cliff…[coming] out from somewhere and [catching] them” (Salinger 173). When he meets up with Phoebe once again towards the end of the novel, he is shocked to find her maturing with a desire to run off west with him. When Holden refuses to let her go with him in a last-ditch attempt to save her innocence, she “took off [his] red hunting hat…and practically chucked it right in [his] face” (Salinger 207). Holden is devastated by this act and does everything he can to soothe her, such as tricking her into following him to the zoo. Phoebe eventually takes a ride on the carousel like she used to when she was younger, and Holden sits on a bench marveling at her enjoyment. He sees her as “[looking] so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around, in her blue coat and all” (Salinger 213). It fills him with joy to see Phoebe reveling in happiness and innocence like she used to when she and Holden were younger. The happy emotions Holden feels during this experience differ from the depression and sadness that he dealt with through a large portion of the novel in that he is finally celebrating the innocence that he has been striving to…
- 1222 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is an emotional journey of 16 year old Holden Caulfield who is struggling to recognise his identity. Holden’s journey begins at Pencey Prep, one of three schools he attended and was expelled from. Holden then narrates as through the events following his expulsion from Pencey Prep and his eagerness to avoid his parent’s disappointment. Holden spends the couple of days before his parents are informed of the expulsion in New York meeting with old friends and acquaintances. On his third night alone he goes to visit his younger sister Phoebe who he describes as being highly intelligent for her age. She calls him up on his behaviour, although it isn’t until he later visits Mr Antolini that he begins to see reason and returns home.…
- 1588 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Some works of literature portray childhood and adolescence as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder. Others portray it as times of tribulation and terror. In J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, childhood seems to be shown more as times of innocence. Childhood is praised by the protagonist Holden Caulfield, as he does not seem to like the idea that he will grow up and life will be different. The meaning of the novel as a whole is basically that growing up sucks, so protect your innocence. Holden shows this throughout the entire novel by showing his hatred to society, sex and change. Holden talks about how he hates pretty much everyone, women, phonies, and even cliques, he hates that society is run by adults and he HATES adults. He…
- 1574 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
Striving to protect the innocence of others commonly reflects in the ambitions of society. I relate to the struggle of preserving the desired chastity of adolescence. Around the holidays, children dream of Santa and his majestic sleigh pulling up to their home on Christmas Eve. Boys and girls anticipate the magic of Christmas day and question its phenomenon. Sadly, once a child discovers the reality of Christmas, all dreams of the mythical man on the big sleigh melt away. As an older sister, I dread watching my brother approach this realization as he matures. I want to cherish his youthful christmas spirit forever. Others express desires for sustained purity in friends and family as well. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger illustrates our human need to protect the innocence of others.…
- 970 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger the main character Holden Caulfield is obsessed with phonies and the loss of innocence. To Him almost everybody are phonies especially those who have lost their innocence. According to Holden there is only one thing that can cause one to lose their innocence and that is sex. Throughout the entire novel Holden is confronted with sex. In every confrontation with sex he “runs away” due to his fear of growing older. Holden never wants to become an adult therefore he never wants to have sex. It is obvious that the only thing in his mind that will make him an adult is sex because he smokes and drinks alcohol throughout the novel. Many believe that those two acts along with other things bring about the change from childhood to adulthood. However Holden commits these acts and still believes he maintains his innocence. Even through all his fear Holden also seems to be fascinated with sex. When he meets up with Carl Luce he constantly ask him questions about sex. This shows that Holden is both fascinated and disgusted with sex. He seems to be more concerned with other people’s innocence, especially Jane. He is so concerned he gets into a fight with his roommate Stradlater because he thinks he had sex with Jane. After this incident Holden continues to contemplate calling Jane but always decides not to. This shows he is worried he will find out that that she did have sex. If she did have sex…
- 829 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays