In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield returns to his hometown where he goes on an adventure to answer the questions he has about life. After being kicked out of his third boarding school, Holden Caulfield spends three days alone in New York.While in New York, Holden constantly thinks about his old friend Jane Gallagher, whom Holden’s old roommate just went on a date with the night Holden left Pencey Prep School. He also meets up with his little sister Phoebe and takes her to the zoo to ride on the carousel. One of the many things that the reader is exposed to during Holden’s adventure is his desire to protect the innocent. Holden constantly mentions how little kids are corrupted by the phony adult society and how he would
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However instead of going to see her himself, Holden asks Stradlater, “[to] ask her if she still keeps all her Kings in the back row” (Salinger 39). The reason Holden asks Stradlater to ask Jane is because if she is no longer innocent the memory he has of her will be ruined and he will not be able to envision her as a symbol of innocence. He asks Stradlater to ask her about the checkers because in Holden’s mind if she still keeps her checkers in the back row she is still innocent due to the checkers representing “an aversion to risk, [and]a need to be protected- for if one moves a king onto the playing field of a checkerboard, it might, after all, be jumped” (Pinsker). Though Holden thinks that Jane just keeps her kings in the back row because she like the look of it, she also keeps her kings in the back row to protect them, like a little kid would protect their toys. Afterall, if she were to move her kings out of the back row they could get jumped, just like if she were to lose part of her innocence she sets herself up to get hurt. Jane did step out of the back row when she went on a date with …show more content…
Holden tells Phoebe “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids and nobody’s around… except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff… I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” (Salinger 191). Holden’s dream job as he explained is to catch kids as the fall of a cliff, and the cliff symbolises the loss of innocence. If the kids falls of the cliff they lose their innocence, but if Holden is able to pick them up and put them back in the field he is able to protect their innocence. Alsen said that “the way Holden explains why he wants to be the catcher in the rye show the kindness and unselfishness of his character” (Alsen). Holden wants to protect children’s innocence purely out of the kindness of his heart.
Salinger uses Holden’s memories about Jane, interactions with Phoebe, and obsession with children’s purity to express Holden’s desire to protect the innocence of children. Due to Holden’s love of Jane, Phoebe, and children, he chooses to express his desire toward them . Similarly to Holden, parents today try to protect the innocence of their children whom they love through limiting internet access and trying to cut their exposure of inappropriate topics. Even though times have changed, the desire to protect the innocence of the loved ones is still as
However instead of going to see her himself, Holden asks Stradlater, “[to] ask her if she still keeps all her Kings in the back row” (Salinger 39). The reason Holden asks Stradlater to ask Jane is because if she is no longer innocent the memory he has of her will be ruined and he will not be able to envision her as a symbol of innocence. He asks Stradlater to ask her about the checkers because in Holden’s mind if she still keeps her checkers in the back row she is still innocent due to the checkers representing “an aversion to risk, [and]a need to be protected- for if one moves a king onto the playing field of a checkerboard, it might, after all, be jumped” (Pinsker). Though Holden thinks that Jane just keeps her kings in the back row because she like the look of it, she also keeps her kings in the back row to protect them, like a little kid would protect their toys. Afterall, if she were to move her kings out of the back row they could get jumped, just like if she were to lose part of her innocence she sets herself up to get hurt. Jane did step out of the back row when she went on a date with …show more content…
Holden tells Phoebe “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids and nobody’s around… except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff… I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” (Salinger 191). Holden’s dream job as he explained is to catch kids as the fall of a cliff, and the cliff symbolises the loss of innocence. If the kids falls of the cliff they lose their innocence, but if Holden is able to pick them up and put them back in the field he is able to protect their innocence. Alsen said that “the way Holden explains why he wants to be the catcher in the rye show the kindness and unselfishness of his character” (Alsen). Holden wants to protect children’s innocence purely out of the kindness of his heart.
Salinger uses Holden’s memories about Jane, interactions with Phoebe, and obsession with children’s purity to express Holden’s desire to protect the innocence of children. Due to Holden’s love of Jane, Phoebe, and children, he chooses to express his desire toward them . Similarly to Holden, parents today try to protect the innocence of their children whom they love through limiting internet access and trying to cut their exposure of inappropriate topics. Even though times have changed, the desire to protect the innocence of the loved ones is still as