Catcher In The Rye Literary Analysis

As a child you wanted to be a grown-up, but as a grown-up you want to be a child again. The Catcher In the Rye, a novel by J.D. Salinger, is narrated by a sixteen year old boy named Holden Caulfield who talks about the events that happen in his life. The events that Holden narrates take place in a span of two days while he wanders alone around New York. There are many themes in the book, including fear of maturing, fear of change, but most of all, the protection of innocence is the dominating theme of the book. Throughout the novel Holden tries to preserve children's innocence, and his goal in the book is to be the catcher in the rye but in the end realizes that change is inevitable.

In the novel, Holden comes across a phrase that he sees as being monstrous, “I went down by a different staircase, and I saw another "F*ck you" on the wall. I tried to rub it off with my hand again, but this one was scratched on, with a knife or something. It wouldn't come off. It's hopeless, anyway.” (221) Holden realizes that it must have been a little kid who wrote that phrase as it was written in crayon, realizing that makes Holden angrier. The phrase represents Holden’s inability to prevent

Holden explains how all he wants to be is a catcher in the rye. “I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be.” (191) He pictures himself wearing a giant mitt, ready to catch all the little kids as they fall off of a cliff while playing in the rye. The field the kids are playing on represents innocence, while the kids playing on the field represent childhood. As the kids are falling off the cliff, it represents the fall from their innocence. Holden imagines catching each and every one of the kids playing on the field, in hopes of preserving their innocence. Holden imagines sheltering the kids from growing up, and sheltering them from the hardships of