The idealization of youth is reflected into Salinger and Wilde’s respective protagonists. Although this flaming desire connotes differently for the characters, they both have a strong admiration for youth consequently manifesting into a deep fear of losing it, by either becoming phony, as Salinger suggests, or losing the only thing worth having , the beauty of youth, as Lord Henry is made to think. Wilde portrays Dorian as initially clueless of the dimension of his own beauty only awakened by the portrait. For instance: “The sense of his own beauty came on him like a revelation (…) Yes, there would be a day his face is wrinkled and wizen, his eyes dim and colorless, the grace of his figure broken and deformed.” The simile strengthens this unconsciousness he used to have awakened by the symbolic portrait, further implied by “revelation”. Then, the affirmative “yes” …show more content…
Holden is portrayed as a teen who finds the world corrupted and undesirable, with its only salvation being the inherit innocence of childhood which is later lost. Holden’s fondness of children is derived by the expression of their genuine nature as opposed to two-faced adults, as revealed by: “God, he [Allie] was a nice kid, though. He used to laugh so hard at something he thought of at the dinner table that he just fell off his chair.” (p. 44). Salinger often uses Allie as an emblem of Holden’s fondness for innocence, presenting Holden’s memories of him in a nostalgic light, as he is reminded of the childhood he must renounce. The nostalgic tone is conveyed by the isolation of “God”, which intensifies his grief. At last, the action of Allie falling off his chair due to laughter is a reflection of how much he enjoyed life and did not hold back emotions. Clearly, the memory of Allie pushes Holden to fight against impending