Innocence in The Catcher in The Rye Essay - 851 Words

In The Catcher in The Rye, by J.D, the main character, Holden, can be seen as a troubled teenager growing up in a less than perfect society. Throughout the novel Holden struggles with the fact that many young and innocent kids will grow up and see the world from a different perspective. He naturally becomes worried for all future generations who will one day grow, as he did, and loose their innocence. The fixation of youth and innocence can be seen in the title of the book, as well as throughout the novel. Holden has matured in many ways throughout the novel. He had grown from an immature child who only cared about himself to a mature adult who wanted to make something of his life. In the beginning of the story we are introduced to†¦show more content†¦At his age most kids are already sexually active, making them more adult in a way. The reason for this being that they are exposed to many things that younger, and more innocent children are not. With the protection of his virginity comes his innocence. Holden’s innocence is slowly being taken away as the novel goes on. When he goes to New York he is exposed to many things that normal kids are not used to seeing. He sees prostitutes for one thing, people who are the opposite of innocent and clean. Holden also has to be around a lot of phonies who make him realize hat the world isn’t perfect and that people lie and cheat to receive what they want. This is seen with Mr. Ossenburg, who takes advantage of other people while they are mourning their loved ones. He takes their money, which is supposed to go to a grave, but just ends up keeping it and throwing the bodies in a ditch. Holden meets many more phonies, and doesn’t want other children to be exposed to their dishonest nature. Holden then realizes that he wants to help preserve children’s innocence before they go out in to a corrupt world. He wants to become a catcher in the rye, and catch children before they go off the â€Å"cliff†, as he did. â€Å" What I have to do, 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 I have to come out from somewhere and catch them.†(P173) Holden can be compared to peter pan in theShow MoreRelatedTheme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye1046 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"I’d just be a catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but it’s the only thing I’d really like to be.†( Salinger 191)) In The Catcher in the Rye, a harrowed teenager named Holden Caulfield can’t accept the fact that everyone has to grow up. He believes that every adult in some way is corrupted in a sense. He also believes that children are t he only genuine thing in the world due to their innocence and their purity. Salinger employs adult situations in Holden’s journey to emphasize that lossRead MoreThe Theme Of Innocence In The Catcher In The Rye1222 Words   |  5 Pagesand lack of innocence on and off the camera. In this show young girls were depicted as acting like older, maturer, looking young women, who compete in beauty pageants. However, during this pageant stricken era, we have to realize that young childlike innocence has vanished. Although Holden Caulfield is a fictional character, he would not stand for these kinds of issues. Through Salinger’s use of symbolism and Holden’s views, he depicts the message of innocence. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s hypocriticalRead MoreCatcher In The Rye Innocence Essay1229 Words   |  5 Pages26, 2017 Lost in the Rye Many teenagers struggle with the concept of self-identity and growing up. Troubled 16-year old Holden, from the Catcher in the Rye, is no exception. The Catcher in the Rye follows the story of Holden and his journey to adulthood. To Holden, this adulthood is a world full of lies and phoniness. Due to his lack of interest in the world of growing up, Holden is a character who seeks to find the innocence in others and is a strong believer of stayingRead MoreLoss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye1429 Words   |  6 PagesJustin Hwang Ms. Lydia Wells English 9 10/24/17 Loneliness and Phoniness: Loss of Innocence in Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye Loss of innocence is one of the major elements of The Catcher in the Rye that make the novel so renowned. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is about an adolescent named Holden who wanders around New York City after being kicked out of a prestigious boarding school in eastern Pennsylvania. While learning more about himself and the adult world, he experiences alcohol,Read MoreExamples Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye1143 Words   |  5 PagesInnocence is something that people lose as they grow older from childhood into adolescence and then into adulthood and get more exposed to new things as they grow up. Innocence is important in the novel because it was the one thing that Holden was trying to hold on to by trying to save another person’s innocence but is also trying to lose his own. There are situations where there would be a loss of innocence and would influence Holden because he is transitioning from different stages of his lifeRead MoreTheme Of Innocence In Catche r In The Rye1185 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Catcher in the Rye, a harrowed teenager named Holden Caulfield can’t accept the fact that everyone has to grow up. He gets kicked out of his old school and sets of on a wandering adventure throughout a bunch of cities including New York and Agerstown, Pennsylvania. As we get to know Holden, we find out that he believes that every adult in some way is corrupted in a sense. He also believes that children are the only genuine thing in the world due to their innocence and their purity. SalingerRead MoreTheme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye951 Words   |  4 PagesCorrupted Purity: A Look into the Loss of Innocence in the Catcher in the Rye Innocence is a beautiful thing to appreciate. Sadly, all people lose that innocence to the impurity of the world. In the novel, the Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, Salinger uses symbolism that is found throughout the novel to portray the theme that losing innocence is an inevitable process in the human development. He depicts this theme by adding hidden messages to things that the main character, Holden, interactsRead MoreTheme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye812 Words   |  4 Pagesas much as the prospect of remaining unhappy.† -Unknown. Innocence is something we all fall out of eventually, whether we like it or not, yet not all of us are ready to. The edge of innocence is something Holden, the main character, struggles with in the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and though there’s always trouble, he is still able to learn from these struggles and grow into a young adult. As Holden denies his own innocence, he tends to forget what he’s speaking about in the firstRead MoreCatcher In The Rye Innocence Essay1870 Words   |  8 PagesThe Catcher in the Rye, it recalls the story by the narration of a rebellious teenage by the name of Holden Caulfield who is struggling with coming to terms with becoming an adult. After being flunked out of the fourth school and not getting the closure of his younger brother Allie’s death, who has been dead for 3 years, he decides to hang around New York City before heading back home of his on accords. As the title states and how he imagines himself later in the story, Holden is the â€Å"catcher† ofRead MoreEssay on The Theme of Innocence in The Catcher In the Rye996 Words   |  4 Pagesstory. In The Catcher In the Rye, Holden says that his dream job would to be the catcher in rye. This is significant to the story because of how Holden feels that adults are trying to ruin the innocence of children, a nd how he can be the one that saves them. Holden then realizes he cannot always be the one to save the children. This is show throughout the book but especially in the scene where Holden takes Phoebe to the carousel.This shows that Holden wants to be the catcher in the rye so that he can