Imagine a teenager whose dream job is to stop children from growing up. This scenario occurs in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye., where Holden Caulfield wants to be a “catcher in the rye”. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger employs symbolism and flashback to reveal that Holden Caulfield is obsessed with the idea that he should stop people from maturing, as he believes that maturing leads to the loss of innocence, later realizing that he can let people mature as long as he can preserve their innocence. At the beginning of the story, the reader sees that Holden likes to see Jane as her younger and more innocent self, hinting at Holden’s obsession. Jane Gallagher is Holden’s former neighbor and is Stradlater’s date at the beginning of the novel. When Stradlater and Holden converse about Jane, Holden’s mentions the odd strategy Jane uses when …show more content…
This is supported when Holden repetitively calls Stradlater a moron after his date with Jane. Salinger writes: I told him he thought he could give the time to anybody he felt like. I told him he didn't even care if a girl kept all her kings in the back row or not, and the reason he didn't care was because he was a goddam stupid moron. He hated it when you called him a moron. All morons hate it when you call them a moron. (Salinger 50) Holden calling Stradlater a moron because he doesn't care if a girl keeps her kings in the back row or not is showing off how Holden would insult Stradlater and other people if they didn't care about others’ innocence. Holden supports his aggressiveness towards Stradlater by explaining that since Stradlater hates being called a moron, and all morons hate being called morons, then Stradlater is a moron. This also is the point in where Holden’s fear of Jane losing her innocence is at its highest. While Holden’s view of an innocent Jane might not be true of her right now, there are two people in Holden’s life keep their innocent view throughout the