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Theme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

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Theme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye
Innocence, the theme repeated so many times within the novel. Our hearts all want to hold on to the innocence that we had as children. However, the adult world doesn’t allow for innocence, it only allows blood, sweat, tears, and stress. This spiritual theme of innocence is described perfectly when Holden states "Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around – nobody big, I mean – except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff.” (Salinger, 191) He is spiritually saying that he would like to be the guardian of innocence stopping children from falling into the terrors of …show more content…
I feel as though the hunting hat became a symbol of innocence only after Phoebe had placed it on his head because in his eyes she is very innocent and practically represents innocence for him. Salinger subtly shows us this by saying “My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway" (213). In the novel Holden is saying that his hat helps him deal with the rain and snow that falls while he is walking about the streets of New York City. However, I believe that Salinger intended this quote to have a much deeper meaning constituting his mind within a wrapped shield on all sides of his head. The hunting cap is his shield which protects his spiritual innocence the shield is needed to protect him from the actuality of becoming an adult. Holden realizes that children have a special way of life that distracts them from the truth of the world that we know
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