Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

Tiffany Madison once said “No one loses their innocence. It is either taken or given away willingly” (Goodreads). Indeed, many people naturally and even eagerly exchange their childhood with adulthood. However, some people cannot let go of their pasts and move on towards their futures; they are haunted by the memories of their childhoods. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden’s past events demonstrate that he is aware of the process of maturing, but he chooses to maintain his naïve view on life until events galvanize him to grow up. His past experiences have shaped him into someone who naïvely clings to childhood; he becomes a character that dodges responsibility to avoid maturation, and he is eventually forced to change …show more content…
For instance, Holden remembered the time he played checkers with Jane. He adored Jane’s innocence in the way she would put her kings in the back row when they played checkers in his childhood memories: “What she’d do, when she'd get a king, she wouldn’t move it. She’d just leave it in the back row. She’d get them all lined up in the back row. Then she’d never use them. She liked the way they looked when they were all in the back row” (Salinger 31-32). For Holden, these memories are spoken of with a great fondness, and he yearns to hold on to them, resulting him to not grow up. He wants to preserve that memory of Jane playing checkers, resulting his present life to be lived in the past. In addition, he does not want to face the fact that Jane is growing up, so he decides to not talk to Jane throughout the novel. Thus, the memory keeps him from maturing. The death of his younger brother, Allie, also plays an important role in preventing Holden from growing up. He naïvely believes that since Allie died so young, his innocence has been stolen by this event. Even though he physically matures, Holden does not emotionally grow up: “‘Allie, don’t let me disappear. Please, Allie’” (Salinger 198). This quote shows that Holden is still acting like a child. He repeatedly calls out to his dead brother for support, believing that he will not be able to get to the other side of the street each time he …show more content…
He shows some transition towards adulthood when he asks cab drivers where the ducks will go once the lake freezes: “‘You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?’... I realized it was the only one chance in a million” (Salinger 60). The cab driver thinks that Holden is a ‘madman’ and in fact, ignores Holden’s question completely. Just like the ducks, Holden is anticipating where he will go. He is starting to contemplate about his future, which demonstrates maturity. Holden is also pushed to grow up, when Phoebe tells him that she will run away with him in chapter twenty-five. He shows true maturity, when he realizes that his plans of running away can affect Phoebe, after she refuses to go back to school because he is not going to return home. He makes a decision to stay, so Phoebe will go to school: “‘In the first place, I’m not going to run away anywhere, I told you. I’m going home. I’m going home as soon as you go back to school’” (Salinger 208). He begins to come out of his shell, when he shows concern for Phoebe and his willingness to love those around him. Furthermore, he insists that he will stay when Phoebe asks him if he is really going home: “‘Are you really going home afterwards?’... ‘Yeah’ I said. I meant it, too. I wasn’t lying to her” (Salinger 212). The reader gets the feeling that Holden is