The Catcher in the Rye and the Pursuit of Pipe Dreams
The struggle to find and achieve a definite goal in our finite lives is at the epitome of the human experience. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, sixteen year old Holden Caulfield believes that his life’s work is to take on the impossible task of holding others back from growing up and losing their innocence. Holden’s quest and subsequent struggle to fulfill this goal leads him on a journey both physically and psychologically through New York City and to the brink of insanity. His descent into madness finally ends after interactions with strangers and people closest to him causes him to realize that his dream is unattainable and impossible to achieve. Holden’s realization that …show more content…
Holden makes his intention clear in his exchange with Phoebe where he says: “I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff … That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all.” (Salinger 173) Holden wants to hold all children back from growing up and falling over the figurative cliff and losing their innocence so much that he considers it to be his job. However, this “job” is impossible to achieve and only brings Holden misery when he interacts with people who he deems to have already lost or begun to lose their innocence. The impossibility of his dream is referenced again when Holden is trying to erase swear words from the walls to protect the children from having to learn what they mean. Holden says: “ If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn't rub out even half the "F*** you" signs in the world. It's impossible.” (Salinger 202) This time however, he himself knows that it is impossible to always protect the innocence of children and the futility of his quest becomes clear even to someone as steadfast in protecting the innocence of children as
The struggle to find and achieve a definite goal in our finite lives is at the epitome of the human experience. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, sixteen year old Holden Caulfield believes that his life’s work is to take on the impossible task of holding others back from growing up and losing their innocence. Holden’s quest and subsequent struggle to fulfill this goal leads him on a journey both physically and psychologically through New York City and to the brink of insanity. His descent into madness finally ends after interactions with strangers and people closest to him causes him to realize that his dream is unattainable and impossible to achieve. Holden’s realization that …show more content…
Holden makes his intention clear in his exchange with Phoebe where he says: “I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff … That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all.” (Salinger 173) Holden wants to hold all children back from growing up and falling over the figurative cliff and losing their innocence so much that he considers it to be his job. However, this “job” is impossible to achieve and only brings Holden misery when he interacts with people who he deems to have already lost or begun to lose their innocence. The impossibility of his dream is referenced again when Holden is trying to erase swear words from the walls to protect the children from having to learn what they mean. Holden says: “ If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn't rub out even half the "F*** you" signs in the world. It's impossible.” (Salinger 202) This time however, he himself knows that it is impossible to always protect the innocence of children and the futility of his quest becomes clear even to someone as steadfast in protecting the innocence of children as