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What Is The Catcher In The Rye Loss Of Innocence

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In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden is a teenager with unique and resolute opinions. He is very stubborn and gets kicked out of multiple schools, winding up back in New York City chasing his younger sister. The novel captures the essence of his character and perspective, which focuses on alienation and adolescence. Holden expresses fear in losing memories of his older brother, Allie, which explains his anxiety facing adulthood. Holden tends to isolate himself because he believes if he gets close to someone or loves someone like he did Allie, he or she will leave. Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to do with his life, and he responds with an image which he believes relates back to innocence. As she sits in her bed, Holden asks, …show more content…

After returning to the bedroom, Holden sits on his bed as Ackley begins to pester him over his hat. Holden is one of those people who hates the world. Because of his pessimism, he takes it out on other people rather than dealing with his own problems, especially when someone judges his belongings, like his red hunting hat. Ackley asks Holden where he got his hat because he wears the same type of hat at home. Continuing to say, “That’s a deer shooting hat,” where Holden immediately replies in contrary as he looks at the hat, “This is a people shooting hat. I shoot people in this hat” (26). The meaning of that quote, however, is that Holden does not entirely like the majority of people he meets because he thinks of them as phony. When Holden says, “I shoot people,” it is a hyperbole for when he is in his cynical frame of mind, judging everyone around him (26). In addition, Holden makes an obvious attempt in trying not to be like everyone around him because he wants to be independent because everyone else is a phony, and expresses the feeling in his quote "One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies" (17). Holden is one of those people who hates the world. Because of his pessimism, he takes it out on other people rather than dealing with his own problems, especially when someone judges his belongings, like his red hunting hat. With the red hunting hat, Holden can express his isolated personality more directly, because his desire for independece connects back to his feelings of alienation. The hat is a clear sign of Holden’s individuality and independence. During the aforementioned scene, it is visible that his desires for independence relate to his feelings of alienation, and to the asperity he has on the world.

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