The Theme Of Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

No matter how much a person strives to remain young and innocent, eventually all children grow up and innocence fades. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden, values innocence and does not believe that children should lose it as they become adults. The early death of his younger brother, Allie, causes Holden’s constant need to prevent the loss of innocence in the people he cares about most and in himself.
To Holden, his old friend, Jane Gallagher, represents purity and it frustrates him when his roommate, Stradlater, threatens Jane’s spotless image. Holden is nervous that something happened between Jane and Stradlater that could tarnish her so far flawless image. He does not want her to reform from the naive little girl he always knew her as. He thinks about Jane a significant amount, which demonstrates how much he cares about her. He also does not wish to visualize her in a way that contradicts the admirable reputation she has in his eyes. He
However, he eventually realizes that her loss of innocence will happen regardless of how strongly he tries to stop it. Holden wants to protect Phoebe and the other children at her elementary school from reading vulgar language on the wall. He aims to prevent Phoebe from losing her naivety and innocence by learning what the curse means. It concerns him to simply think about the possibility of this happening. Later on, Holden has a sudden realization. Holden finally comes to accept that children need to grow up and make their own mistakes and learn from them independently. He is willing to let Phoebe grow and realizes that he cannot prevent her from losing her innocence nor can he prevent Jane from doing the same. Even Holden will lose his innocence at some point and there is nothing he can do to stop this. He realizes that the three of them must grow up unlike Allie