What Is The Catcher In The Rye Loss Of Innocence

The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger follows the story of a young adolescent man trying to figure out his way through life. Holden Caufield takes a journey through New York City before he must go home for winter break. Over the course of Holden's journey, he seems to keep going backward and longing for the past. Salinger presents the preservation of innocence by examining Holdens thoughts, behaviors, and past experiences. The natural history museum holds a special place in Holden's heart, reminding him of his childhood years. Holden's dream of becoming the catcher in the rye is to preserve their innocence. Holden wants to erase the phrase “fuck” off the wall of Phoebe’s school to protect the children who may see it. These are all

After Holden had given his letter to Phoebe to the front office he found the words fuck written on the wall. The words angered him and he wanted to erase them but he knew “If [he] had a million years to do it in, [he could not] rub out even half the [“fuck”] signs in the world. [It is] impossible.” (Salinger 202). This proves that Holden does everything he can to retain the purity of children. Holden does not want children to be exposed to adult language and begin to wonder what it means at such a young age. The word “fuck” represents the exposure that the adult world has on children at young ages and why most children are forced to mature at a younger age because of their surroundings. Holden knows this and wants to get rid of all these exposing factors but knows he cannot because there are simply too many to erase. Holden understands that he can not save all the children from the adult world but he will do his best to prevent children from losing their purity and

Salinger. The author presents the preservation of innocence by observing Holden, a young adolescent struggling through life trying to stay young and innocent in fear of growing up. Holden's fear of growing up causes him to be stuck in time almost, always reminiscing on the past when life was good. The natural history museum preserves a time in Holden's life when he was not exposed to the adult world. The museum always stays the same, this is why Holden adores it so much, because he also wishes he could stay the same and stay young forever. Holden's dream to be the catcher in the rye directly correlates back to Holden wanting to stay young and pure forever, therefore he wants to do the same for everyone else. The significance of the words fuck on the wall of the school represents the exposure of the adult world on younger kids, and what it causes them to do. Holden would like to erase all of these but he knows he can not because there are simply too many bad things that will affect kids, and he can not protect them all. The thought of staying young forever and never growing up is all Holden thinks about, this is why Holden is so protective of childhood innocence, he wants to prevent the pains of the adult world from reaching children because of how the adult world has affected him, and his negative outlook of adults and the adult world. Holden will do his best to stay pure and young-minded and will