Examples Of Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

Innocence is a possession that is best not taken for granted. Once lost, it can never be returned. Many wish to preserve innocence in the people around them, but may fail to realize that the loss of innocence is only a part of growing up. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield tries to preserve the innocence around him. However, he is not able to get away from the "phoniness" nor is he able to keep everyone innocent. In the article "On First Looking into Chapman's Holden: Speculations on a Murder", by Daniel M. Stashower, the murder of John Lennon is justified by the murderer, Mark Chapman, through use of The Catcher in the Rye. The author of the article speculates that Chapman saw John Lennon as an

Caulfield had tried to grasp onto the innocence of many people, but he had failed to succeed. He once told his sister Phoebe, "...I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all...What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...That's all I'd do all day." (Salinger 191) Caulfield saw little kids living in a field of innocence. The game they were playing was the game of life. If the kids started to grow up, they would go over the cliff, because they were no longer innocent. However, Caulfield wants to catch them, to preserve their innocence, ultimately preventing them from growing up and experiencing the "phoniness" that he felt around him. Eventually, he realizes that even if he cannot preserve the innocence of everyone, he could still savor the innocence of those who he thought were not corrupted yet. "I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around...I felt so damn happy...I don't know why. It was just that she looked so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around..." (Salinger 234) Caulfield saw Phoebe as innocent when she wanted to go on the carousel, going around and around continuously in life. In that moment, she was innocent to him. There was no need for her to face the responsibilities of Holden sitting there in the rain waiting for her, and therefore no need for

However, Holden had realized that innocence was inevitably only a passing cloud, and that in order to live life, you must savor innocence while also accepting the "phoniness". "D. B. asked me what I thought about all this stuff I just finished telling you about. I didn't know what the hell to say. If you want to know the truth, I don't know what I think about it. I'm sorry I told so many people about it." (Salinger 234) He doesn't know what to think about his experiences from the past few days because he finally understands and can accept the "phoniness" around him. He had been fighting to preserve all the innocence around him, but he can let it all go now that he knows how to coexist with both sides of the world. He had matured and subsequently lost his innocence as well. On the other hand, Chapman had decided the only way to preserve innocence was to face death, not life. He had murdered John Lennon in an attempt to save his innocence. In a twisted way, this indeed did preserve the innocence Lennon may have lost otherwise. "Because of his violent death, anything about him that is base or even unkind has been erased." (Shashower 377) Chapman was arguably innocent himself, for he didn't understand the fact that maturity must replace innocence in order for the world to continue its course. He had committed an act of horror, yet he still proudly defended himself with confidence using someone