Holden Caulfield Corruption Of Society

Corruption of Society Through the thoughts, actions, and experiences of Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger is able to portray the corruption of society that is present in the world. Throughout the novel Holden attempts to sway innocent children away from the dangers that society presents, and to keep them contained in their endless happiness. Holden is severely distraught from reality, his retelling of events which make up the story come from when he is in a mental institute. During the time of Holden’s deep ponderings he was talking to Phoebe about his desires later in life. Holden described how he wanted to be the “Catcher in the Rye”, telling Phoebe, “I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start …show more content…
It is when the children mature and are exposed to new ideas and figures that their mental attitude is adjusted. From personal experience Holden wishes to allow the children to enjoy as much of their time as possible, and never face reality. It is the corruption of society that motivates Holden to “hold in” the children from the dangers in life, and falling off the cliff. The ideas that are apparent in adulthood are not beneficial for the children. They create mentalities of worrying and stress inside individuals. With Holden’s plan he wishes to contain these ideas from entering the children’s thoughts, and allowing them to live life as themselves, free from any form of containment or hazards. Holden is seen in action as a protector of innocence within Phoebe’s school. As he went to visit his younger sister he noticed a very disturbing phrase along the wall, many times. Holden recalled, “It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they would wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them-all cockeyed, naturally-what it meant, and how they’d all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple