catch22 essays

catch22 essays In J.D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfields innocence is taken away through a twisted chain of events. The novel opens up with Holden depresses after fluking out of Penecy, the suicide of a classmate, and the death of his brother, Allie. Because if these tragic events, Holden tries to preserve his innocence and the purity of the children around him. Holden wants to catch all of the naive children who are falling off the cliff into adulthood. As a result of Holden coming across his sister Phoebe and the *censored* you on the wall of the school, Holdens dreams of becoming the catcher in the rye disappear. He finally realizes that all children must fall into adulthood, just as While walking through the bust streets of New York, Holden notices a lighthearted little boy who is walking and humming if a body catch a body coming through the rye (43). Holden finds it humorous that the child can hum so nonchalantly as the cars on the bust street honk at him. Despite the fast-moving cars, which represent the average phonies in the world, the child pays no attention to them. When Holden sees that the little boy will not allow himself to be pulled into the average crowd of people, he realizes that not everyone wishes to fall from their simple childhood into adulthood. From Holdens encounter with this little boy, he wants to become the catcher in the I kept picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I am 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 theyre running and they dont ...