Catcher In The Rye Quotes

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Holden Caulfield’s story is seemingly aimless and without any sense of direction. However, Salinger brings the novel into focus in the final chapters by introducing the idea of being the “Catcher in the Rye” from the poem by Robert Burns. Holden confesses to Phoebe his desire to be a “Catcher,” but the definition of this role is only given in a short exposition. A “Catcher in the Rye” can be defined unofficially as a person that is a savior of others and exhibits the qualities of control and bravery. The Catcher is meant to save people from going over the fictitious cliff that Holden imagines. It is evident that a Catcher should also not be “yellow” and they should also protect the innocence of people

Initially, Holden displays an inherent wish to protect the world as a whole from all malefactors. “That’s the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that’s nice and peaceful, because there isn't any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody’ll sneak up and write ‘Fuck you...’” (264). This quote was delivered after Holden sees a “Fuck you” in both Phoebe's school and in a museum. The significance of this is that these two places are most likely to be filled with children, which means that Holden is aggravated by the miscreant trying to taint the minds of the otherwise oblivious and naive children. Holden rubbed off the obscenity in the school, but only in the museum does he display his actual temperament towards those who would disturb an otherwise tranquil place. In short, Holden is idealizing what a perfect world would be. However, despite Holden’s concern for children and youngsters to maintain their mental chastity, he also fears for the innocence of himself and those who have lost their way. A prime example of this occurrence would be when Holden is conversing with the prostitute and he says“‘Don’t you feel like talking for a little while?’ I asked her. It was a childish thing to say, but I was feeling so damn peculiar…” and “‘Honest to God. I’ll pay you and all, but do you mind if we don’t do it?”’ (124-125). In this instance, it is apparent that Holden is fearful and nervous over the topic of relations. This makes it obvious that at least one motivation to not sleep with the prostitute could be that he is afraid. However, the actual motivations behind Holden’s actions in this scenario are that he is trying to protect both the literal and figurative virginity of himself and he is trying to save the prostitute. So, in this instance, Holden is trying to maintain his worthiness