Loss of Childhood Innocence: the Transition to Adulthood Essay Example

Society is filled with corrupt adults, which makes it inevitable for the loss of childhood innocence as children enter into the adult world. Some say that society can change and take a turn for the better, and though it may not be filled with honest, pure hearted people, it can be more genuine and more about the heart and less about success and materialistic pursuits. Others say that society cannot change and that it will continue to be corrupt and filled with selfish individuals, regardless of whether or not there are a few who are truly honest. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield categorizes anyone, usually an adult, who is insincere as phony and runs away from the corrupt adult world, ultimately demonstrating that the world would be a better place if it’s filled with children’s innocence and purity; however, he finds that such a world is impossible, for people can’t help but to grow up into the phony world of adults no matter how much they don’t want to. Most teens or adolescents are already corrupted or tainted by society for they have already accepted and embraced the ways of adulthood and are old enough to understand how society works; thus, they are phony starting from a relatively young age. For example, Holden’s classmate and roommate, “Ward Stradlater, initially appear[s] sophisticated, but [he is really a phony]. Stradlater seems good-looking, but he is secretly a slob who never cleans his rusty old razor. He also appears to be a successful student but is really an ungrateful egotist who gets other people to do his assignments” (“The Catcher in the Rye” 4). On the outside Stradlater seems like a perfect citizen – clean, well-groomed, handsome, charming, smart, and hard working. In reality, however, he is actually a slob who doesn’t clean his daily necessities, such as his razor, and contrary to how he appears to be an intellectual individual, he arranges for another student to finish the assignments for him. The fact that he