J.D. Salinger wanted to make a statement about the vulnerability of innocence as well as highlight the struggles a teenager faces when confronted with his future. He does this by creating a character currently dealing with a quarter life crisis; Holden has no clue what he’s going to do with his life, is severely depressed and is in constant conflict with growing up and adulthood. Holden Caulfield is confronted with an unfair challenge; like most modern youths, at the tender age of 16 he faces the the impossible choice of what he’ll do in life. First of all, it is cruel and immoral for him to be dealt with this issue as he is still stuck in a child-like mindset and even references how people his age are “practically children” (Salinger 147).
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When he shows us how distressed Holden becomes at the idea of children becoming corrupted by curse words written on the wall. “Somebody’d written “Fuck you” on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy… I kept wanting to kill whoever's written it” (Salinger 221). Caulfield undoubtedly values childhood and it’s naivety. He misses it’s simplicity and regards it as something fragile and wants to preserve it, to protect it for as long as possible. “Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone. I know that's impossible, but it's too bad anyway” (Salinger). He shows us that someone always wants to corrupt innocence and how at one point in life, you must give up your hold on it. Holden Caulfield may not be the best narrator but he gets the point across- teenagers are at a crossroads between childhood and adulthood and are tasked with the emotional challenge of simultaneously giving up innocence and accepting maturity. This struggle is still as relevant today as it was in 1940, and The Catcher in the Rye illuminated this universal facet of human life beautifully, hence why this piece of literature is such a
When he shows us how distressed Holden becomes at the idea of children becoming corrupted by curse words written on the wall. “Somebody’d written “Fuck you” on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy… I kept wanting to kill whoever's written it” (Salinger 221). Caulfield undoubtedly values childhood and it’s naivety. He misses it’s simplicity and regards it as something fragile and wants to preserve it, to protect it for as long as possible. “Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone. I know that's impossible, but it's too bad anyway” (Salinger). He shows us that someone always wants to corrupt innocence and how at one point in life, you must give up your hold on it. Holden Caulfield may not be the best narrator but he gets the point across- teenagers are at a crossroads between childhood and adulthood and are tasked with the emotional challenge of simultaneously giving up innocence and accepting maturity. This struggle is still as relevant today as it was in 1940, and The Catcher in the Rye illuminated this universal facet of human life beautifully, hence why this piece of literature is such a