Highschool Paper on Catcher in the Rye
Innocence and Purity
Innocence is to be free from sin or moral wrong, and purity is freedom from guilt or evil. According to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, innocence and purity grow weaker with time and life experience. The main character Holden holds onto his innocence and purity for as long as possible before understanding that it is inevitable that he grow up. J.D. Salinger proves that innocence and purity fade with time and age. He proves that life experiences can change a person and compel them to grow up and in turn lose their innocence and purity.
Innocence and purity are crucial aspects of Holden’s life; he does the best he can to hold onto these pieces of himself throughout the book. Holden takes his red hunting cap with him everywhere. He makes a point to wear the cap around his peers and those he calls “phonies”. Yet he makes an effort to keep the hunting cap out of sight when he is around adults or those he looks up to. The cap represents his innocence. He finds comfort in this object without realizing the underlying significance. When Holden visits the museum, he recalls a time when he was younger and things were simpler. He explains that the museum is a great place because it never changes and it’ll never grow old – it’ll always be the same. Holden wishes he could stay young forever. Soon after, he makes a proposal to Sally that they get away from society and protect themselves from change by hiding somewhere in the forest. Sally doesn’t take Holden seriously, but he is more than serious about the idea. Holden does not want to picture the next chapter of his life; he wants to go back in time to a life of innocence.
Holden realizes that the world around him and time are not on his side in upholding innocence. His younger brother Allie died of cancer and he misses him terribly. He remembers the times when the two of them were just kids and things weren’t complicated. To some degree he is jealous of whom Allie was and that he didn’t
Innocence is to be free from sin or moral wrong, and purity is freedom from guilt or evil. According to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, innocence and purity grow weaker with time and life experience. The main character Holden holds onto his innocence and purity for as long as possible before understanding that it is inevitable that he grow up. J.D. Salinger proves that innocence and purity fade with time and age. He proves that life experiences can change a person and compel them to grow up and in turn lose their innocence and purity.
Innocence and purity are crucial aspects of Holden’s life; he does the best he can to hold onto these pieces of himself throughout the book. Holden takes his red hunting cap with him everywhere. He makes a point to wear the cap around his peers and those he calls “phonies”. Yet he makes an effort to keep the hunting cap out of sight when he is around adults or those he looks up to. The cap represents his innocence. He finds comfort in this object without realizing the underlying significance. When Holden visits the museum, he recalls a time when he was younger and things were simpler. He explains that the museum is a great place because it never changes and it’ll never grow old – it’ll always be the same. Holden wishes he could stay young forever. Soon after, he makes a proposal to Sally that they get away from society and protect themselves from change by hiding somewhere in the forest. Sally doesn’t take Holden seriously, but he is more than serious about the idea. Holden does not want to picture the next chapter of his life; he wants to go back in time to a life of innocence.
Holden realizes that the world around him and time are not on his side in upholding innocence. His younger brother Allie died of cancer and he misses him terribly. He remembers the times when the two of them were just kids and things weren’t complicated. To some degree he is jealous of whom Allie was and that he didn’t