In The Catcher In The Rye Salinger writes about a young boy, Holden Caufield who is struggling to cope with growing up. The book follows the story of Holden as he goes from school to various jobs before being sent off to war. The loss of innocence happens very quickly for Holden as he struggles to cope with the idea of growing up. The loss of innocence for Holden is very difficult because he has seen this before in his brother, Allie. The death of Allie has a big impact on Holden’s life and shapes the way he views the world.
He goes through various things which lead him to realise that everything is going to change and he won’t be a child forever. The loss of innocence is a very important theme in The Catcher In The Rye because it shows the reader how growing up can make everything seem less appealing. The quotes used in this essay are going to show evidence that Holden has lost his innocence throughout the novel. In The Catcher in The Rye Holden is trying hard to be seen as the ‘Catcher in The Rye’, but he feels like he’s not doing enough.
The quote shows how much pressure Holden has put on himself and that he thinks he needs to do more. The reader starts to see earlier in The Catcher the Rye that Holden has very big expectations of himself. The quote tells us that he is always struggling to do what he thinks is good enough. The article claims “The only thing left was the catcher in The Rye” which means that Holden believes that everything will change but he can’t stop it. The young boy who used to believe that his brothers death was not his fault has changed and now accepts that its partly his fault.
The quote shows how much Holden has changed and that he really wants to be the catcher in The Rye, but doesn’t know if he can do it anymore. J. D Salinger suggests “The Catcher in The Rye” when Holden is talking to Phoebe about what she should do with her life. The quote shows how much Holden cares about her and wants what’s best for her. The reader can see that he is looking out for people, but wants everyone to do it on their own terms. The Catcher In The Rye was written in a time where children were not allowed to think about things like this.
The article claims “It’s the only thing I really know about” which means Holden has very little experience with things of life because he had been put into a special school because of his illness. The quote suggests that Holden doesn’t have much understanding of life and everything going on around him. The loss of innocence throughout The Catcher In The Rye happens very quickly and the readers get a glimpse at it is happening Holden is starting to realise that he can’t be a child forever and this quote shows his loss of innocence.
The fact he refers back to wanting to have two people in The Catcher In The Rye shows how much it means to him. The article claims “The whole book, I just kept picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye” The quote suggests Holden remembers being a child before having to grow up and what it was like for him. The reader starts to see earlier throughout the novel that Holden doesn’t want too much responsibility because he knows what it feels like when someone dies as a result.
The loss of innocence happens slowly throughout the novel as Salinger writes about Holden’s childhood memories. The reader sees how much it affects Holden when his brother dies and that he doesn’t want too much responsibility. The loss of innocence for Holden is very important in The Catcher In The Rye because the reader gets a glimpse at what it means to have a breakdown. The death of Allie has a massive impact on Holden’s life and makes him realise that everything is going to change soon. The loss of innocence shows how much growing up changes people and impacts their lives in different ways.
The Catcher in The Rye is a novel about Holden Caulfield’s loss of innocence. The story takes place when Holden is sixteen years old and has just been kicked out of his private high school for failing almost every subject. The time period of the book is unknown but it takes place during Christmas break. The main character, Holden, believes that all people are phony except for three characters: Mr. Antolini, Phoebe, and his brother Allie who recently died from leukemia. The name of the book comes from Holdens desire to protect children from falling off their pedestals by becoming corrupted once they get older.
The theme of The Catcher in The Rye can be defined as loss of innocence which feels upon learning about death and how adults can be corrupt. The Catcher in The Rye is not just one theme but it has many layers of meanings, which shows the loss of innocence through Holden’s life. The first layer is when Allie dies because this is where Holden starts to feel older and realizes that his brother will never live again even though he died several months ago. The second layer occurs when Holden enters into New York City and sees how corrupt the city is with all the prostitution, bars, etc.
The third layer takes place when Holden meets Mr. Antolini for drinks at his apartment and Antolini tries to seduce him. The fourth layer occurs after Holden’s date with Sally Hayes because she told him nothing feels good anymore. Finally on top of all these layers is The Catcher in The Rye theme of loss of innocence. Since The Catcher in The Rye is multilayered, there are also multiple themes that come into play including hope, loss of innocence, and the search for identity. The main character Holden Caulfield has lost his brother Allie who was very close with him their entire life.
The loss of innocence comes when Holden sees life as a game where people are playing to win instead of living life freely without caring about social norms or what other people think. The book takes place during Christmas because Holden believes everyone should be nice to each other at this time rather than being materialistic or judgemental. The theme that runs underneath all these themes is hope because even though Holdens brother had died and he saw a man who attempted to seduce him, Holden still had hope that good things will happen.
The Catcher in The Rye is an example of loss of innocence because as the story continues on Holden sees how corrupt the world is and realizes the only way to escape this corruption is by catching children before they fall from their innocence. The Catcher In The Rye shows that as people get older they lose their sense of innocence even though there are people that hide their innocence throughout life. For example, Phoebe never falls from being innocent but Holden thinks she would have if her mother had not been so protective.
