Essay on The Theme of Innocence in The Catcher In the Rye

In many novels the title of the story is more important than most people initially think. It often reveals important information about the story. 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, and 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 help keep the children their innocence from adults. Almost everybody in the Catcher In the Rye gets†¦show more content†¦Thousands of little kids, and nobodys around - nobody big, I mean - except me. ( Salinger 224) It shows that in Holden ideal world is that he would be the oldest person one there, and he could be the one who saves them, no t an adult. Holden wishes that someone could have caught him. The person that Holden caught him is Allie. When Allie passes away the thing that Holden decides to save is Allies glove, which is used for catching. Even though Allie is dead Holden still acts like he is there to help. When Holden has this illusion that he will disappear when the turns the corner, he says, Allie, dont let me disappear, and when I reached the other side of the street without disappearing I would thank him. ( Salinger 257) This shows that Holden still asks Allie for help and imagines that he had him to help him, to catch him when he had problems. Holden wants to catch the children before they turn out to be like him, sad and depressed all the time. Holden tries to erase all problems for children that he faces. Holden soon realizes that he cannot keep the all the children safe all by himself. When he encounters the curse words on the staircase wall for the second time he again immediately tries to remo ve it. However, this time the vulgar terms are scratched on to the wall. Holden is not able to remove it, no matter how hard he tries. This shows that no matter how hard he tries in helping the children keep their innocence, he willShow MoreRelatedThe 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 MoreTheme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye1046 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"I’d just be a catcher in the rye and all. 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