Examples Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye - 1143 Words

Innocence is something that people lose as they grow older from childhood into adolescence and then into adulthood and get more exposed to new things as they grow up. Innocence is important in the novel because it was the one thing that Holden was trying to hold on to by trying to save another person’s innocence but is also trying to lose his own. There are situations where there would be a loss of innocence and would influence Holden because he is transitioning from different stages of his life. In a coming of age story, losing innocence is a sign of growing up and change. This is seen through characters that have effected Holden in a way, just like how Allie’s death showed him the harsh reality of life, and symbols like the record he†¦show more content†¦When he first brought Allie up he also â€Å"wrote about [†¦] Allie’s baseball glove.† (Pg.38) This symbolizes how Holden also wanted to hold onto innocence in a way with the glove indicati ng holding onto things and how he is also holding onto the past and his childhood and does not want anything to change. When he thought about the glove, he also thought of Allie and the memories that came with it. With the baseball glove which is used to catch, it also shows how he wants to save the innocence. In the book, Holden talks about what he wanted to do, which was to be the catcher in the rye and catch the children from falling off a cliff and into adulthood to save their innocence. With the glove relating to purity and saving others from corruption, this shows how Holden is trying to hold onto innocence instead of growing up. Another situation when innocence would affect him is when James Castle died and when Holden talked about it when â€Å"James Castle [was] laying right on the stone steps and all. He was dead, and his teeth, and blood, were all over the place, and nobody would even go near him.† (Pg. 170). This shows the cruel reality of life and death. Just like the windows in Holden’s garage, the windows in which James jumped though were shattered which shows another cruel way that innocence was crushed revealing the reality of real life. Holden thought of James Castle when Phoebe asked him if he liked anything. Holden could notShow MoreRelated Innocence In The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger Essay examples1412 Words   |  6 Pages In J.D. 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