Catcher In The Rye Holden's Innocence

Holden prefers to stay as a kid rather than “grow up”. When Holden talks about phonies they were most of the time adults and never kids. He dislikes the idea of growing up and becoming a phony himself. He even says this when he talks about his cabin, “ I might come home when I was about thirty-five.”(pg.213) He decides that he might be able to accept to grow up by the time he is thirty-five. He doesn’t believe that he will be able to let go of the concept of innocence any sooner than that. Holden explains his thoughts at the end of the book, “ I mean how do you know what you’re going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don’t. I think I am, but how do I know? I swear it’s a stupid question.”(pg.213) He is pretty much confused on whether he should let go the feeling of innocence. His statement at the end tells us that he is tired of being questioned about his maturity, he admits that he doesn’t know when he will be able to

Holden loves little kids because of their innocence and when Pheobe takes out his hat and puts it on him she knows that he does want to leave the feeling of innocence. “Then what she did-it damn near killed me-she reached in my coat pocket and took out my red hunting hat and put it on my head. “ Don’t you want it?” I said. “You can wear it a while.”(pg.212) The last sentence when Phoebe tells Holden that he can keep his hat for a while is saying that she is allowing him to not grow up for now. And that is what kills him because she just granted him or welcomed him back in safe haven. And Holden does have the option to leave and grow up he just doesn’t want just like the boy from the museum. “Can’t he talk?” I looked at the one that wasn’t doing any talking. “ Can’t you talk at all?” I asked him. “ Yeah,” he said. “ I don’t feel like it,”(pg.203) The boy doesn’t feel like talking and Holden doesn’t feel like growing up his childish actions prevent from growing