Examples Of Happiness In Catcher In The Rye

"I felt so.... happy.... the way old Phoebe kept going around and around" (213). In the novel by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield tells his story of getting expelled from Pencey Prep and his experience resisting to conform to society. Social Construct is an image of a 'perfect person'. People want to follow the social construct which leads them to act like phonies because they believe that in order to fit in society they must be dishonest, judge others, and be sophisticated. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden does not want to conform to society which leads him to search for happiness and comfort by looking for others innocence and remembering his childhood. Holden was looking for happiness by looking back on his childhood. Holden resists to fit in with society by reaching to childhood to remember who he is. Childhood is a time of fun, no responsibility, and happiness. He uses childhood as a way to find comfort and to forget about the corruption of society. He remembers about his memories with Allie and Allie's baseball mitt with the green quotes. "He …show more content…
Holden finally finds pure happiness when he was watching Phoebe reach for the gold ring on the carousel. “All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she’d fall off….but I did’t say anything or do anything….If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (211). Holden learned not to barge into someones life to stop them from growing up for his own delight. He found that happiness can be found by watching someone grow up and mature into their own person. He searched hard to find what would make him happy without realizing what would make him happy was right in front of him. Holden was so caught up in the corruption of society, he never realized the happiness he could find from his