As a soldier who fought in World War II, J.D. Salinger witnessed his fellow comrades' and friends' youthful lives dwindle in the wake of battle. Distraught and pained by their shortened adolescent years, J.D. Salinger developed Holden Caulfield, the main character of his classic American novel, Catcher in The Rye, to mirror the pain he endured and his desire to sustain his generations youthfulness. Salinger uses Holden's loss of youth due to his brother's death, (in order) to drive the loss of adolescence Salinger encountered during the World War II. Salinger takes us through Holden's fit of rage, preempted by his brothers decease, in which he breaks every window in his garage, "I slept in the garage the night he died, and broke all the windows with my fist..." Salinger uses the broken windows as a symbol to exhibit the loss of Holden's innocence and protection from the outside world. …show more content…
Salinger draws Holden into the idea of becoming a catcher in the rye, "I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff-I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going..." Salinger utilizes the poem and Holden's idea of a "catcher in the rye" to symbolize Holden's desire to protect kids from entering adulthood. This aspiration mimics that of Salinger's, who wished to preserve his generation's innocence after witnessing their