Catcher In The Rye Central Insight Analysis

Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, Holden does reach Watt’s central insight. Watt’s central insight is the “realization that life can never be grasped, never possessed or stand still” (Watts 75). Holden accepts Watt’s central insight when he rejects Phoebe’s offer to ride on the carousel, talking to the psychoanalyst about his thoughts, and admitting that he misses certain people in his life. The first reason that shows Holden has learned to let go is the moment he rejects Phoebe’s offer during the carousel scene. Phoebe, who is Holden’s little sister, still has innocence. With this in mind, Holden is trying to preserve Phoebe’s youth and innocence. An example is “‘No, I’ll just watch ya. I think I’ll just watch’” (232). This quote represents that Holden realize he cannot ride the carousel like Phoebe can. The carousels are ridden by young and innocent children.

Holden states that he misses Stradlater and Ackley, even though, he picked fights with both of them. Holden emphasizes “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” (234). This quote shows how much Holden has matured by the end of the book. Throughout the whole book, Holden calls most of the characters a “phony.” In terms of Holden, phony means people who acts fake and are hypocrites. This supports the central claim because Holden confessing that he misses people shows that he has become more honest and learned the impossibility of becoming the catcher in the rye. Out of all the reasons given in the book, the realization during the carousel scene, the talk with his psychoanalyst, and the confession of desiring certain people’s presence stood out the most. It also shows how much Holden has change as a character. He was able to let go and accept the reality at the end of the book. No matter what, there will always be changes in the world and people must learn to accept the