Holden values children’s innocence. When phoebe asks Holden what he would like to be when he grows up, Holden says: “Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around–nobody big, [he means]–except [him]. And [he’s] standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What [he has] to do, [he] has to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff… [He’d] just be the catcher in the rye” (191). Holden pictures himself as a “big” figure catching thousands of children before they fall off a cliff. Falling off this cliff symbolizes transitioning from childhood to adulthood. As he catches these kids, he prevents them from losing their innocence, or becoming adults, which is why Holden wants to be the catcher in the rye. Holden, himself, does not want to grow
