Holden's Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye
Holden Caulfield dreams of being a “catcher in the rye”. This job would entail preventing small children from accidentally skipping, running, or hopping off a cliff. We are led to believe that the edge of this cliff is adolescence, with adulthood waiting below, claiming the innocence and joy of those who fall victim to it. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden frequently expresses his thoughts, including thoughts on politics, Lillian Simmon’s “knockers”, phonies, and the loss of innocence. He seems almost fascinated with innocence, whether he recognizes it or not. Occasionally, Holden acts upon these thoughts; however, it’s not always for the best. Holden’s thoughts often come back to his younger sister, Phoebe, as he can’t bear to think of her …show more content…
He expresses this hatred in violence or in silence. He chooses to resolve whatever occurs with internal or external methods. There was a snowball Holden formed, which he referred to as the “perfect” snowball. He didn’t dare to ruin or blemish it, so it was left unthrown. Silence. Silence isn’t always his solution. Early in the novel, he results to violence when Stradlater, a former classmate, ruined Holden’s mental picture of innocence relating to a former friend, Jane. Holden likes to remember Jane as the girl keeping her kings in the back row when playing checkers, not as the girl Stradlater screwed and left. Instead of listening to that particular story ramble on, he clenched his fist and punched Stradlater. Violence. Another instance occurs in which the violence exclusively appears in silence. At the school he had attended when he was young, offensive graffiti litters the halls. This upsets Holden to the highest degree. He tells himself that he “kept wanting to kill whoever'd written it” (Salinger 201), yet he takes no direct action in uncovering the culprit or causing him harm. Holden has developed a keen sense of when innocence is slipping away, so that he may have a chance to prevent it. What would happen if he saw signs of innocence slipping away in his
Holden Caulfield Censorship In Schools
891 Words | 4 PagesHolden has been conditioned by society to acquire mannerisms such as drinking, smoking, rebellion and lewdness. His vulgarity is the only way he feels he can gain attention to both his opinions and beliefs. This is demonstrated when he admits to smoking in school. He does this in order to rebel against school rules, as well as, to challenge the jurisdiction of Stradlater. The purpose of challenging Stradlater is to have him admit to what really happened on his date with Jane.
How Does Holden Change Throughout The Catcher In The Rye
536 Words | 3 PagesThroughout the novel Holden sees evil wherever he goes. At Pencey he fears his roommate would corrupt Jane Gallagher, a girl past who he believes is perfect and the definition of innocence. In New York he observes many acts, such as the curse words written of the school wall, which either make him depressed, or want to change things. Several occasions Holden thinks of cutting himself out of society. When he meets up with his old girlfriend Sally, he suggests they run away from everything.
Isolation Experienced By Holden Caulfield In The Catcher In The Rye
227 Words | 1 PagesWhen he has a conversation with his roommate Stradlater, he feels disconnected from his classmates. Holden's isolation has a bad effect on his mental state and he begins to have a negative and out of touch mentality with the world around him. He criticizes the "phoniness" of other people and their behavior in almost always a
How Does Holden Present The Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye
1076 Words | 5 PagesIn the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger uses the main character Holden Caulfield to portray the loss of innocence. Holden is a teenage boy who struggles with adulthood and the innocence of being a child. Through Holden's experiences, Salinger shows that the loss of innocence can be painful and difficult, but it is also necessary for personal growth and maturity. Holden's journey towards loss of innocence is shown by several events, such as his expulsion from Pencey Prep School and his roams in New York City. Holden's expulsion from Pencey is a turning point in the novel, as it marks the beginning of his realization that he can no longer hold on to the innocence of childhood.
How Does Holden Change Throughout The Catcher In The Rye
1123 Words | 5 PagesHolden admired Phoebe who is someone not his age. He never admired anyone else that is anywhere near his age. Holden is growing up and wants to go back to his younger days. Talking to Phoebe brings back those times. Talking to people that are older than him, does the
How Does Holden Grow Up In Catcher In The Rye
1005 Words | 5 PagesHolden is clearly trying to drop his innocence because he thinks it will make him look more appealing. However, we do see Holden walk the tightrope as later in the novel he realizes it was a mistake to let go of his innocence, he
Examples Of Obsession In The Great Gatsby
718 Words | 3 PagesIn more depth, this quotes shows his need to save children like his sister phoebe or his dead brother Allie from losing their childhood innocence and becoming adults which he believes are all phonies. In reality, Holden is one person so he can not be the catcher in the rye; despite that he keeps trying to be till he reaches a loin where he is truly lost in touch with reality and blinded. He does however realize that in the back of his mind, which is what leads him on such a destructive path of competing with himself constantly on meeting the idea he believes he is. He does this by drinking, smoking, becoming involved in fights and even attempting to have meaninglessness sexual encounters. However in the end he comes to the realization that he can not be the catcher in the rye despite what he’s done, and what triggers this realization for him is when he sees the word “Fuck you” on the walls of phoebe’s school.
Examples Of Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye
1065 Words | 5 PagesThe loss of innocence occurs throughout the entire novel. For example, Allies death. Holden’s brother Allie is an innocent young boy that unfairly loses his life. Holden is deeply affected by this as he states, “I broke all the goddamn windows with my fist, just for the
Holden Is A Playlist For The Catcher In The Rye
2662 Words | 11 PagesAfter Phoebe convinces him to not run away, Holden watches as she goes around the carousel, and how he felt “so damn happy… it was just that she looked so damn nice… God, I wish you could’ve been there” (233-234). At the point where Holden is finally about to leave behind his life because he cannot handle his reality anymore, his connection with Phoebe motivates him to stay. Phoebe is one relationship that Holden is able to grasp onto for comfort, and she helps him realize that he cannot run away from his emotions, grief, or loneliness.
Catcher In The Rye Loss Of Innocence Quotes
727 Words | 3 PagesBecause the loss of innocence reveals society’s realities, recognizing innocence is to value ignorance. Holden is afraid that if he loses his innocence, he wouldn’t be any different from all the “phony” adults in the world. In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Salinger shows the thematic idea of how the desire to protect innocence can result from one’s own loss of innocence. Holden uses his red hunting hat as a protective shield around him, the idea of having sexual intercourse with a prostitute, and the graffiti written on the walls of the elementary school. Starting off, Holden has a very strong bond with his red hunting hat because he finds the hat as a sense of comfort and innocence.
Theme Of Growth In Catcher In The Rye
850 Words | 4 PagesIn addition, Holden can show his emotions around Phoebe. He “[starts] to cry” right in front of her, which is another thing he has not done much during the book (179). Student 2 argues that “ Holden actually [allows] himself to become close with Phoebe,” which has had a positive impact on
Growing Old In 'Catcher In The Rye And' The Outside
813 Words | 4 PagesHe sees Phoebe as the embodiment of childhood innocence and purity, and he is afraid that she will eventually grow up and become corrupted by the adult world. He wants to protect her from this fate, but he knows that he cannot. He doesn’t want Phoebe to grow old but he knows he can’t have her stay young. Everytime Holden sees his sister he is hoping she doesn’t grow older and how he turned out because he knows she looks up to him and he knows if he keeps dropping out of school she will start to drop out of
Holden's Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye
707 Words | 3 PagesHolden is so passionate about preserving innocence that he literally tries to erase potential corruption from kids’ lives. The swear words that Holden finds on the walls embody the fathomless amount of wickedness that he sees in the world. Despite Holden’s best attempts to protect the elementary school children, he finally comes to terms with how useless his endeavors are. As he strives to guard innocent children from the world’ s evil, Holden comprehends that this desire is in fact
Holden's Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye
1230 Words | 5 PagesHolden’s unusual fantasy metaphorically displays this desire to save children’s innocence on his quest, and literally displays his obsession with death and preventing it, as being the catcher in the rye would accomplish both goals. F. Literary Critics also note that Holden’s catcher in the rye job is a dream of his that he pretends to be a reality to hide the fact that he secretly knows that he is unable to save the innocence of all children. G. Authors James E. Miller jr, and Arthur Heiserman explicitly state that, “Holden delights in circles – a comforting bounded figure which yet connotes hopelessness” (Miller, Heiserman 496). H. The “comforting bounded figure” is Holden’s catcher fantasy that he literally uses to comfort himself against the reality he refuses to believe because it “connotes hopelessness” and he is still too innocent and naïve to accept that. I. Holden possesses this dream as a weak attempt to save the innocence of children and to avoid a hopeless reality of defeat he has yet to accept.
Catcher In The Rye Internal Conflict
1032 Words | 5 PagesThis connects to the theme of the story, which is that people should not force themselves to grow up when they are not ready yet. Throughout the novel, this theme is emphasized by Holden's love for the innocence of children. Overall, The Catcher in the Rye is an amazing novel to read, and very much deserves its position as a classic of American
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