Childish Innocence In Catcher In The Rye
Holden Caufield, the protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s iconic coming of age novel, cycles through various emotional states towards people, places, items, and events throughout the story. However, most of his feelings can be categorized under the umbrellas of either contentment or dissatisfaction. For most of the novel, he exists in a state of deep depression that overshadows him and skews his view of many events. Holden’s emotions are very contradictory as well; he simultaneously abhors and desperately wants to be a part of the world he lives in. He is both fascinated and disgusted with the people he meets on his journey and finds himself in situations that make him feel many emotions, whether that emotion is joy, disgust, or just plain contentment.
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Her childish innocence brings joy to Holden since it serves as a stark contrast to his dreary and depressing worldview. He is interested in preserving innocence and keeping childhood last forever, as seen in his desire to be the “catcher in the rye” figure, “[catching] everybody if they start to go over the cliff…[coming] out from somewhere and [catching] them” (Salinger 173). When he meets up with Phoebe once again towards the end of the novel, he is shocked to find her maturing with a desire to run off west with him. When Holden refuses to let her go with him in a last-ditch attempt to save her innocence, she “took off [his] red hunting hat…and practically chucked it right in [his] face” (Salinger 207). Holden is devastated by this act and does everything he can to soothe her, such as tricking her into following him to the zoo. Phoebe eventually takes a ride on the carousel like she used to when she was younger, and Holden sits on a bench marveling at her enjoyment. He sees her as “[looking] so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around, in her blue coat and all” (Salinger 213). It fills him with joy to see Phoebe reveling in happiness and innocence like she used to when she and Holden were younger. The happy emotions Holden feels during this experience differ from the depression and sadness that he dealt with through a large portion of the novel in that he is finally celebrating the innocence that he has been striving to
Her childish innocence brings joy to Holden since it serves as a stark contrast to his dreary and depressing worldview. He is interested in preserving innocence and keeping childhood last forever, as seen in his desire to be the “catcher in the rye” figure, “[catching] everybody if they start to go over the cliff…[coming] out from somewhere and [catching] them” (Salinger 173). When he meets up with Phoebe once again towards the end of the novel, he is shocked to find her maturing with a desire to run off west with him. When Holden refuses to let her go with him in a last-ditch attempt to save her innocence, she “took off [his] red hunting hat…and practically chucked it right in [his] face” (Salinger 207). Holden is devastated by this act and does everything he can to soothe her, such as tricking her into following him to the zoo. Phoebe eventually takes a ride on the carousel like she used to when she was younger, and Holden sits on a bench marveling at her enjoyment. He sees her as “[looking] so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around, in her blue coat and all” (Salinger 213). It fills him with joy to see Phoebe reveling in happiness and innocence like she used to when she and Holden were younger. The happy emotions Holden feels during this experience differ from the depression and sadness that he dealt with through a large portion of the novel in that he is finally celebrating the innocence that he has been striving to