In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden views the world as an evil and corrupt place where there is no peace. This perception of the world does not change significantly through the novel. However as the novel progresses, Holden gradually comes to the realization that he is powerless to change this.

During the short period of Holden's life covered in this book, "Holden does succeed in making us perceive that the world is crazy." Shortly after Holden leaves Pencey Prep he checks in to the Edmont Hotel. This is where Holden's turmoil begins. Holden spends the following evening in this hotel which was "full of perverts and morons. (There were) screwballs all over the place." His situation only deteriorates from this point on as the more he looks around this world, the more depressing life seems.

Around every corner Holden sees evil. He looks out on a w

Shortly after this point Holden has his nervous breakdown. His breakdown is due to this depressing realization that the world is corrupt and filled with evil. He knows now with a sickening certainty that he is powerless to stop both evil and maturation. As a matter of fact, it is "bad" to do so.

Ironically enough, it is one of the "innocent" children that he is trying to protect who helps him come to terms with this realization. It is Phoebe who challenges his plan to escape out west. As he is telling Phoebe that she can not run away, he discovers that he too can not run away. "You can't ever find a place that is nice and peaceful, because there isn't any." The final break-down comes near the end of the book when he is watching Phoebe on the carousel.

It takes most of the book before Holden begins to realize that he is helpless to stop this corruption. Finally, he realizes that not only is there nothing that he can do, but there is nowhere he can go to hide from it. Holden takes awhile to comprehend these concepts. One good example is when Holden is delivering the note to his sister. He encounters a "*censored*-you" written on the wall. Holden careful rubs this off with his hand so as to protect the innocent children from reading it. Later on he finds "*censored*-you" scratched into the surface with a knife. He discovers that he can't efface this one. Even in the timeless peace of the Egyptian tomb room at the museum there is an un-erasable "*censored*-you." This incident is the beginning of Holden's realization that his dreams are infeasible.

The one conviction that does change during the novel is Holden's belief that he can change the world. On his date with Sally, Holden reveals his feelings. "Did you ever get fed up? ... I mean did you ever get scared that everything was going to go lousy unless you did something..." Holden goes through several plans. Holden at one point contemplates heading out west where he will pretend to be a deaf-mute and live a quiet life. At another point Holden proposes to Sally to escape this world with him. It is finally to his younger sister Phoebe that Holden reveals his ultimate plan. Although Holden describes the situation in a very picturesque and symbolic manner he essentially tells Phoebe that he wants to prevent children from growing up. He blames the world's corruption on adults and believes that when he stops the children from growing up he will preserve their innocence and save the world.

orld which appears completely immoral and unscrupulous. The three days we learn of from the novel place a

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Approximate Word count = 1729
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)