Catcher in the Rye
"Loss of innocence" becomes apparent when one first begins to show concern for the people, tasks, and troubles in the world. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye presents an abnormal character, Holden, who goes through life as if nothing matters to him. Holden, a seventeen year old, is an extreme pessimist in a constant state of depression. He also possesses unattractive qualities as a person: he is irresponsible, immature, lazy, and disrespectful. Even though Holden's actions in The Catcher in the Rye are equivalent to those of a careless child, by the end of the novel, Holden begins to take steps toward maturity and the "loss of innocence". Holden's incessant carelessness for everything presents itself all the way through the book. For example, he always likes to "horse" around. The first time that he does this occurs when he spontaneously changes moods: "All of a sudden for no good reason, except that I was sort of in the mood for horsing around, I felt like jumping off the washbowl and getting old Stradlater in a half nelson"(30). This sporadic change in mood is only one of many times that Holden commits an immature act. Another time, when Holden first leaves Pencey, he describes himself as being
Holden seems to always act immature; however, he shows a sign of seriousness and maturity when he expresses his feelings for his sister. He loves to take care of Pheobe, treat her right, and give her a good life. Caring for someone and taking responsibility for another person is what makes someone mature. However, "the mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one"(188). At the end, Holden proves to the readers that he wants to take care of his sister, and according to this passage, it shows that he is taking the step towards maturity. Another way to show Holden's loss of innocence is looking at the decisions he makes in the end. By the end of the novel, Holden is completely out of cash, kicked out of high school, and totally depressed. He even decides to move into a little town and start a new life there. However, when Pheobe claims that she is going to go with him, Holden has to think again. He has to think about the best way to keep Pheobe in New York, the place with her best chances of doing well in life. Finally, with everything going against Holden, he buckles down and makes the right decision to stay in New York in order to give his sister a decent chance at life. It may sometimes appear that Holden is still a child, but when it comes to important events or people, Holden forgets his immaturity for a while and acts responsible. There are many ways to reach maturity. Holden demonstrates one of the most common, yet most effective motivations, the love for another human being. People ten
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Approximate Word count = 1075
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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