Examples Of Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

Everyone is born innocent, but for one reason or another, people lose it. It’s an inevitable fact that everyone has to grow up, which Holden Caulfield learns throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. One can’t stop or prevent someone from growing up because through life experience innocence gets lost. In this novel there is, the loss of innocence, Holden trying to prevent the loss of innocence, as well as the acceptance that it is all a part of life.

The 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

For example when Holden sees all the naughty words on the walls of the elementary school that Phoebe goes to, he wants to try and erase them. This shows how he struggles with allowing young minds to be corrupted by things he feels they shouldn’t be exposed to, like when he says “I thought how Phoebe and all the other kids would see it, and how they’d wonder what the hell it meant,...” (201). He goes on to say how some dirty kid would tell them, furthering the thought that their young minds would be corrupted. Another example is when Phoebe asks Holden to tell her one thing he really likes and his response is, Allie and sitting there talking with Phoebe. This shows his contentedness with being in the simple and innocent world of his childhood. He shows this when he’s talking about Allie, “I know he’s dead! Don’t you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can’t I?” (171) It shows his inability to except what is and his willingness to avoid facing his problems. Furthermore, when Holden attempts to fight Stradlater, because he went out with Jane, shows his innocence and sensitivity about girls. For example when Holden says “Give her the time in Ed Banky’s car?” (43) This shows his immaturity as well as his nervousness about discussing sexual matters, which is quite strange for a boy his age. He could have just maturely talked to his roommate about the fact that he cares about Jane and

For example, when Holden is talking about how he wants to be the catcher in the rye and he says, “... I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff,” (173) This means he wants to protect them from falling into losing their innocence. His constant need to preserve innocence is crazy and unrealistic as losing innocence is simply a part of life. Another example is when Holden decides he wants to venture westward so he wouldn’t have to deal with any phonies of his everyday life any longer. But he changes his mind when Phoebe insists on going with him when he says, “I’m not going anymore. I changed my mind.” (207) Holden saying this shows his growing obligation to his life here and his conversion into an adult. Lastly, at the end of the novel, when Phoebe is on the carousel and she is on her horse trying to reach for a gold ring in order to win a prize, Holden desperately wants to tell her to stop but he decides against it. “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything.” (211) He realizes at the end of the novel that it is okay to fall. He realizes that children need to follow their own path and fall if necessary to become successful in life. Holden goes from a boy to a man throughout the