Catcher in the rye
The Catcher in the Rye depicts “the loss of childhood innocence in a perverse world, and the search for genuine love amidst often adulterated human relationships” The world is a perverse place. Many relationships are adulterated and superficial. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has a hard time dealing with the perversity of the world. He finds the worst in everything and tries to avoid every impure relationship. The two people that Holden loves the most are his two siblings, Phoebe and Allie. They are both younger than him, and they are both innocent children. Unfortunately, Allie died of leukemia. This was a very sad event in Holden’s life and it affected him greatly. Holden’s difficulties in life arise from his intolerance of any lack of innocence, from his fear of losing loved ones, and from his resistance to moving forwards in life. In Holden’s eyes Phoebe is the definition of innocence and purity. Holden expresses how great Phoebe is by saying: “You’d like her. I mean if you tell old Phoebe something she knows exactly what the hell you’re talking about. I mean you can even take her anywhere with you. If you take her to a lousy movie for instance, she knows it’s a lousy movie. If you take her to a pretty movie, she knows it’s a pretty movie.” (pg. 67) Holden describes Phoebe as a very grown-up, mature, little girl, who knows what is going on in the world. What he likes about her is that he can talk to her about anything and that she has her own opinions.