Holden Caulfield Trauma

Holden’s need to defend the virtues of children, specifically his sister, by being a catcher in the rye is one of the ways Salinger demonstrates the effects of trauma on a person. Furthermore, during a conversation with Phoebe, Holden came to the realization he wanted to be a catcher in the rye “I’d be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that's the only thing I’d really like to be” (173). It becomes Holden’s goal in life to be a catcher in the rye, someone who saves children from falling off a cliff while playing in a rye field. The cliff represents the loss of innocence, and since it is Holden’s personal goal to protect the innocence of his sister. Holden tells Phoebe that he wants to be a catcher in the rye in order to give her reassurance, that he will be there to protect her in any way she needs. In addition, while Holden watches children riding on the …show more content…
If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (211). Holden understands the struggles of dealing with trauma, and the loss of innocence because of his older brother. This is his driving force to insure that when he sees images of childlike innocence, he only wants to safeguard them because he understands what could happen if they fell off the cliff, and no one was there to catch them. This is another reference to Holden’s catcher fantasy in that he wants to protect the innocence of children by being a catcher in the rye, and ensuring that he can protect other children from have to face the reality of the adult world too early in life. The author chooses to use Holden’s loss of innocence to show how trauma can affect one’s ability to be open to the world and find happiness. The weight Holden carries on his shoulder’s is what drives his goal of being a catcher in the rye to watch over his sister Phoebe, and other children from losing their