How Does Holden Change Throughout The Catcher In The Rye

From the very beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is disgusted with the world and his attitude towards it wasn’t good. He always says how it was full of phonies and how evil and corrupt it was. He often thinks about shutting himself out of society. However, by the end he realizes he must accept he can’t change the way the world works, and that he must find his place in it. Throughout 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. Another time he thinks about joining a monastery. Then, he desperately considers hitchhiking out west and pretending to be a deafmute. He wouldn’t say it, but deep down he was on a search for someone to

He wants to protect their innocence by keeping them from falling over the cliff into the realistic world he hates. He was on the edge of the cliff too. Throughout the novel he keeps on falling. He slips down the stairs when he leaves Pencey, trips over a suitcase, and falls when he ice skates with Sally. These were all preparations for his big fall into the world. At one point, he visits a past teacher, Mr. Antolini. After Holden explains everything that happened when he was expelled, Mr. Antolini says he had a feeling Holden was going to have a hard, terrible fall. He also says, “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” This meant Holden’s fall would be more terrible if he didn’t learn to grow