Comparing Loss of Innocence in Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and Voznesenky's First Ice
Comparing Loss of Innocence in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Andrei Voznesenky’s “First Ice”
Childhood is a very memorable and happy part of life. Running, playing and not a care in the world. However, eventually this must all come to an end which may or may not be pleasant. Each and every child must grow up and leave their childhood behind. Holden Caulfield, the main character in the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and the girl from the poem “First Ice” by Andrei Voznesensky are perfect examples of children leaving behind their childhoods. Both of them are transitioning into adulthood in a long process called loss of innocence. Their only differences are the ways that they react to their personal problems. Holden is resisting his loss of innocence but the girl is facing it, Holden isolates himself in times of need while the girl wants help from her loved ones, and Holden acts out when confronted with a problem, which causes the problem to worsen, whereas the girl accepts her problems and does not get angry. Holden ends up having a more difficult experience losing his innocence than the girl due to his negative outlook on life. Since the girl has a more positive approach, she will be able to get through this experience much easier. Ones outlook on loss of innocence, or even life in general, impacts its outcome dramatically.
First of all, Holden is running away from his problems and avoiding losing his innocence while the girl is accepting the situation that she is in and is not trying to stop it. For example, in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden observes that, “the best thing… in [the] museum [is] that everything always stay[s] right where it was” (Salinger, 121). When he says this, he is reflecting on himself and his own feelings. He does not like change and never wants to change. Keeping this in mind, he proposes an idea to Sally Hayes, a pretty girl who he goes on a date with. He asks her, “How would you like to get the hell out of
Childhood is a very memorable and happy part of life. Running, playing and not a care in the world. However, eventually this must all come to an end which may or may not be pleasant. Each and every child must grow up and leave their childhood behind. Holden Caulfield, the main character in the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and the girl from the poem “First Ice” by Andrei Voznesensky are perfect examples of children leaving behind their childhoods. Both of them are transitioning into adulthood in a long process called loss of innocence. Their only differences are the ways that they react to their personal problems. Holden is resisting his loss of innocence but the girl is facing it, Holden isolates himself in times of need while the girl wants help from her loved ones, and Holden acts out when confronted with a problem, which causes the problem to worsen, whereas the girl accepts her problems and does not get angry. Holden ends up having a more difficult experience losing his innocence than the girl due to his negative outlook on life. Since the girl has a more positive approach, she will be able to get through this experience much easier. Ones outlook on loss of innocence, or even life in general, impacts its outcome dramatically.
First of all, Holden is running away from his problems and avoiding losing his innocence while the girl is accepting the situation that she is in and is not trying to stop it. For example, in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden observes that, “the best thing… in [the] museum [is] that everything always stay[s] right where it was” (Salinger, 121). When he says this, he is reflecting on himself and his own feelings. He does not like change and never wants to change. Keeping this in mind, he proposes an idea to Sally Hayes, a pretty girl who he goes on a date with. He asks her, “How would you like to get the hell out of