He mentions to her her all the schools he has gotten kicked out of and she is disappointed in him. (Salinger 209) It seems to me that his little sister also means a lot to him and has a very large influence on him. He seems to care what she thinks of him quite a bit. After telling me about the time spent with his sister later in the session and taking her on the carousel he realizes that his sister’s innocence and childhood is running thin. Holden sees that she is growing up after noticing that she is reaching for the “gold ring” on the carousel. (Salinger 273) Holden confides to his sister about what he wants to be. He claims he wants to be “the catcher in the rye” stating that when children are playing in a field nearby he would catch them as they fall off a cliff and preserve their innocence. (Salinger 224) Children seem to bring Holden happiness and help him cope with his depression since he seems to not like change which also suggests why he likes museums so…
The “Little Shirley Beans” record was a record Holden heard at school and thought Phoebe would like so he bought it for her. However, when Holden was drunk walking to the pond he dropped it and the record shattered. He stopped and picked up all the pieces and put them in his pocket to give to her. The record is an image and shows what Holden wanted her to have. She asks Holden if she can keep the pieces even if they are…
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…
Holden believed he could help kids, saving them form losing their innocence. He wanted to be the “catcher in the rye.” But he now knows he can’t, kids have to grow up. We all grow up and there is nothing we can do about it. He finally accepts that, he come face to face with himself. Holden is growing up. He accepts the hard cold truth about adulthood. Eventually kids will learn they have to grow up and they will finally acknowledge it just like Holden did. For once Holden is happy, before he was unstable but he has an emotional release. The carousel shows adulthood, you have to let them make mistakes to…
During the novel, Finny calls Gene his best pal after they had spent the day at the beach with each other. Gene doesn’t feel the same about Finny though. Gene accuses Finny of joking around and distracting Gene all the time because he believes Finny is trying to keep him away from studying and school. Gene chooses to respond poorly, and convinces himself to think that Finny was a bad guy, and that he was trying to distract Gene from what really mattered to himself. Gene started to think that Finny was out to destroy him, so he became full of envy, and jealousy, and worked hard to be better than Phineas. Finny doesn’t realize that Gene is out to get him, and that Gene envy’s him. Finny is filled with innocence and doesn’t realize what is really happening around him. He…
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.…
Just like the lake in a midway transition, Holden is between childhood and adulthood, and cannot seem to let go of his younger years. This is regularly proven when something goes wrong and he does something more adult in Holden's mind view such as repaying the prostitute. After the events, he often thinks he deserved it or just wanted to end it all. It can be regularly seen when something does not go the way Holden intended, he will often verbally beat himself up about it which shows Holden does not have very good self-esteem at this age. Interestingly, Holden also mentions "I didn't give much of a damn any more if they caught me. I really didn't. I figured if they caught me, they caught me. I almost wished they did, in a way." This can be interpreted to mean perhaps Holden wanted to transition into adulthood, but the grief of Allie's death was holding him back too much. Although at the end of the book, Holden has a realization about adulthood. During the carousel scene with Pheobe, Holden realizes Instead, of trying to catch kids or his own self from going into adulthood, he should allow them to make their own mistakes. He says, “I was sort of afraid…but I didn’t say or do anything…If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (232). Comparatively, it took a while for Holden to come to this realization. Moreover, it also helped…
Holden also has an unstable sense of self. His unstable sense of self is depicted in a few ways. First is his relationship with his little sister Phoebe. 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” (273). In this quote in a way he saying let them be adventurous they will learn from their mistakes. He acts this way towards his little sister because he is trying to give her the childhood he didn’t get to experience. You can tell that kids have a certain place in his heart. For example anything that was said about his younger brother Allie was positive, also how he took Phoebe to the carousel and finally when he helped a little girl at the park tie her skates and the 2…
When assessing youth and adolescence, innocence plays a major part in one’s mind. Innocence. A word in which one could argue indefinitely along with the word “war”. An aura of innocence is not only found in the souls of young soldiers, but is also found in every brave soul of anyone who has ever served or are serving for our country. This powerful word of “innocence” is relatable towards the young troopers because they are the inexperienced newcomers with minor knowledge of what actuality is to come. Recent research has found a significant difference in a teen’s brain versus an adult’s. In fact, the rational part of a human brain is technically not fully developed until one reaches the age of 25 or so. With being partially developed, it raises…
Holden vainly seeks for innocence in society only developing anger and depression as a result. Holden acts disturbingly at the thought of Jane, his childhood friend, having a casual encounter with his room…
Holden loses touch with reality when his younger brother Allie dies, he cannot comprehend why the essence of pure innocence had to suffer and die. Allie represented the good and truth in the world while everyone else represents the phony and evil aspects. After losing Allie, Holden believes that the only innocent people left are himself and his younger sister Phoebe. The death of Allie is the start of Holden’s…
Holden mishears the words of Robert Burns’ poem. Holden hears “if a body catch a body comin’ through the rye” (Salinger 224). Instead of “ If a body meet a body coming through the rye” (Salinger 224). His misinterpretation leads him to want to become a catcher in the rye. He describes to Phoebe what he would like to do by saying “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” (Salinger 225). He wants to save people from falling off of this cliff and losing the innocence they posses. Timothy Aubry further extends Holden’s need to preserve innocence in his article The Catcher in the Rye: The Voice of Alienation by stating “Holden’s urge to shield children from danger and allow them to play endlessly exemplifies his desire to suspend time, to inhabit a space of youth preserved indefinitely” (Aubry). Salinger’s illusion is a major indication of Holden’s struggle with preserving innocence. A symbol of Holden losing his innocence, was the record that he gave Phoebe. The title implies, the record was made for children to listen to. Holden giving the record to Phoebe represents him wanting to preserve her child-like innocence. He dropped the record in the park which symbolizes holden’s life and innocence shattering. Holden describes Phoebe’s reaction when he gave her the pieces as “She took them right out of my hand and then she put them in the drawer of the night table” (Salinger). Phoebe accepted the shattered record. She accepted him for who he was. She ends up influencing Holden and he learns to accept the idea of not being completely innocent. Holen had an epiphany while Phoebe was riding a carousel. He noticed “ All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and…
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.…
Holden believes in keeping children innocent while Baby has been exposed to the loss of innocence at an early age. For instance, Holden becomes frustrated when he sees graffiti at Phoebe’s elementary school: “... I saw something that drove me crazy. Somebody’d written “F*** you” on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they’d wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them…”(Salinger 201). It irritates him and causes him to rub it off so no one would see it. This demonstrates how protective he is over children, in his desire to keep their innocence. When he visits Phoebe, he reveals to her his dream of being the catcher in the rye:“.. I have to catch everyone 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 have to do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all” (Salinger 173). Holden wants to “catch” children before they lose their innocence. He wants them to stay in their childhood forever. However, Baby’s situation is quite different as she loses her innocence at a very early age. Due to the fact that, Jules has been a drug addict since before she was born, Baby has learned all about it. She knows that ‘chocolate milk’ is code for heroin and she knows…
J.D. Salinger uses glass cases and profanity to portray the importance of Holden's need to protect the youth of Phoebe and other children. Holden's need to preserve chastity also appears in characters that Holden interacts with such as Jane and Phoebe. Like Holden, I feel the need to protect my own brother from reality. I want him to remain youthful in believing in the magic of Christmas forever. I also fear the devastation he might feel when told the truth. Many of us use such innocence to shield ourselves and others from the corruptions of society. However, progression shapes people into who they are and gives reality a…