Catcher In The Rye Innocence Quotes

Spencer directed towards Holden and is said when Holden goes to Mr. Spencer's office to say goodbye because he's getting kicked out of Pencey. This quote is said because it tells us a lot about Holden since he disagrees with it in his narration directly after. It shows that Holden doesn't want to play by the rules and wants to get out of that lifestyle and move away from it. The style writing is that of a metaphor. The metaphor being that in order to succeed in life, you need to play the game otherwise you'd fail. If you follow the rules, you'd surely be able to keep on climbing. The significance of the quote is that it revealed things about Holden right away when he was introduced. It revealed that Holden didn't want to live a "normal" life and wanted to live his life away from the norm. It helps us characterize Holden as someone who thinks people are fake and morons and that he tries to stay away from this life but in reality, he becomes the same thing he dislikes so much. This shows that Holden himself is a fake and a phony

The quote above taken from Chapter 23 of Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" depicts a conversation between Holden and his younger sister Phoebe after he sneaks into his parents apartment. It shows how Holden, the narrator doesn't want to grow up to be a part of the phony adult world. Instead he wants to "just be the catcher in the rye." Holden would just "have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff" which symbolically makes him a protector of the innocence of children before they have to grow up and join the adult world by taking that leap off the edge of the cliff. Through his longing tone while talking about the rye the reader sees the reluctance Holden carries with himself to grow up and get a real job among the adults that he

In J.D Salinger's novel, The Catcher in The Rye, the main character Holden is failing school and does not seem to have any regard for his subjects except for English in the beginning of the novel. As a result, Holden is lectured by Dr. Thurmer on his failures about the idea that "life is a game" where the main quotation takes place. This quotation is significant because it contributes to the overall theme that people who follow the standards provided by society are phonies through diction and parallelism. This theme is shown in his grave and serious lecture where he states that "life is a game that one plays according to the rules" which contains an ironic diction as the word "game" is connected to the idea of childish as adults have responsibilities

“You know that song ‘If a body catch a body comin’ through the rye’?” (Salinger, 224). This quote said by the main character of the novel, Holden Caulfield, gives a great view on why readers are either against Holden or supporting him. Through this quote you can either inquire that Holden is an impractical dreamer who just wants to save the childish innocence of kids everywhere or a vacuous young boy who has based his life’s ideals on a song that he didn’t even remember the right lyrics to. Some critics of Salinger’s, Catcher in the Rye, say that Holden Caulfield is a pessimistic and naive teen that doesn’t add any depth or complexity to the novel, but I disagree; I believe that Holden is misunderstood by his peers, as well as his mentors,

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year-old boy, transitions from childhood to adulthood. The death of Holden’s little brother signifies the beginning his loss of innocence and growth of maturity. As he enters adulthood, Holden views society differently from his peers by characterizing most of his peers and adults he meets as “phonies.” Thus, Holden takes the impossible challenge of preserving the innocence in children because he wants to prevent children from experiencing the corruption in society. The Catcher In The Rye embodies Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of children and reveals the inevitability of and the necessity of encountering the harsh realities of life.

In this quote from "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D Salinger, Mr. Spencer is lecturing Holden in his house about the rules of life and how one should follow just like everyone else in society. Holden sees Mr. Spencer as a phony because he "plays according to the rules". These rules aren't fair, Holden to trying to run away from the rules of life. The rules of how Holden will grow up and become a successful businessman or lawyer. Then go to work everyday and waste his money on stuff like Broadway shows just like his father does.Instead, Holden displays deviant behavior to "run away" from this transformation. He respects Mr.Spencer but does not look up to him because Mr.Spencer is just like any other adult who follows the rules and norms of society.

In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s outlook in life is either the innocence of childhood or the cruelty of adulthood. He believes that the innocence of childhood is very valuable and it should be protected from

Everyone is innocent and pure during their youth, it is only when they begin to age into adulthood where they become corrupt and unscrupulous. In this coming of age fiction titled The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Salinger shows through the character of Holden Caulfield the jarring life of a depressed teenager trying to find his way. Having the trait of innocence is something everyone has while they are young, but change is inevitable, happening in mental ways rather than physical ways. Holden’s mental need for innocence is displayed when Holden is angered after he sees that, “Somebody’d written ‘Fuck You’ on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy” (221).

Salinger,the character Holden goes in to talk to one of the adults at his school at the time, Pency Prep where the man makes an analogy been life and a game. Holden is told by the adult that "Life is a game" yet the readers leader that Holden does want to be involved in that game, in fact, his wants to escape the game. Holden views the game of life as unfair and he does not want to conform to how the game is played. The adult goes on to tell him that "Life is a game that one plays according to the rules" which makes Holden upset because he does not think the rules are fair. This quotation is significant because the whole novel is about Holden trying to escape the "game" or life and be able to live by his own rules and not "according to the [set]

“Those who improve with age embrace the power of personal growth and personal achievement and begin to replace youth with wisdom, innocence with understanding, and lack of purpose with self-actualization” (Bennent). In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher In The Rye, a sixteen year old boy named Holden Caulfield has to go through a plethora of different turbulent obstacles that no other normal kid his age would ever have to go through. He has flunked out of five schools, has had to cope with his younger brother Allie’s death and just never ever gets along with anyone. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden has the fear of losing innocence. This is shown through the curse on the wall, the Little Shirley Beans record and finally the incident

Holden has numerous distinct attributes pertaining to both childhood and adulthood. His transition from growing and relational life, to an uncontrolled spiritual realm, this stresses him. He has instances of introspection that helps him encompass a realization for his own livelihood. When he shares with his sister Phoebe what he would sincerely like to do with his life he says “I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.” (Salinger 173) That quote reveals the reasoning for the title of the book because Holden wants nothing more than to protect the innocence of children.

Phoebe is even seen by Holden as an impressive young child, and tells his audience that, “she'd wear white gloves and walk right between us, like a lady and all” 68). Holden compares Phoebe to “a lady” and convey’s even though she is a little child, she looks and acts like an adult at times. However, Holden does not want Phoebe to grow up the way he did, wants to protect her innocence, and does not want Phoebe to end up like him. That is why Holden wants to be “The Catcher In The Rye,” and wants to “catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” (173). By not letting the kids fall off the cliff, he is protecting

Generally speaking, the young and innocent are still impressionable and need to be presented with essential and valuable information in their developing stages. Moreover, it is a necessity that they are set on the proper path to becoming mature, functioning adults in society before it is too late and they are steadfast in their ways. The author provides an example of this by creating Old Spencer, a wise character, to bestow theses words upon Holden, “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules” (12). In writing this, Salinger portrays how Old Spencer is attempting to make Holden realize that it is vital to cease acting “quite young for [his] age” (13) and conform with society's expectations, as that is the only method to become successful in life.

After Phoebe asks what he wants to be when he grows up, Holden goes into detail and illustrates, “… 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—I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all”(Steinbeck 191). Holden values a child’s security in the highest regards and is willing to save one from hitting the bottom of a cliff. As the bottom of the cliff represents the unpleasant and demanding world of adulthood, Holden is finally separating himself from childhood and accepting that he is an adult. After Holden encourages Phoebe to enjoy the carousel, he observes, “All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she’d fall off the goddamn horse, but I didn’t say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but its bad if you say anything to them…”(Steinbeck 232). Holden is overprotective over his younger sister Phoebe, except when she is on the carousel and he learns that she can develop her own independence. Noting that children also have risks and decisions they have to make themselves without adult interaction, like reaching for a gold ring but knowing the risk of falling. Holden can finally completely separate his adult self and his child self, and only look back with nostalgia. Earlier, Holden regards himself as “the catcher”, the savior who protects children from frightening reality of adulthood, but after seeing a lot of maturity in Phoebe he encourages her to reach for “the gold ring”, without any need for safety and

In J.D.Salinger’s novel, Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield, the main character of the novel, is a walking paradox who desires to hold onto his innocence and ,in his mind, thinks that people who lose their innocence will either turn into a “phony” or a “jerk”. During his journey towards trying to preserve his innocence Holden affected his desire to hold on to his innocence through his action, such as his experience with a prostitute named Sunny, his interaction with Sunny shows him that most of the world of adults is just an illusion. Another person who affects Holden desire is his 10 year-old sister Phoebe Caulfield, his interaction with his sister phoebe shows how it’s ok to lose your innocence because with the loss of that innocence you