Loss of innocence in Catcher in the Rye - Essay Example

? 18 May Loss of innocence in Catcher in the Rye: Although growing up brings along with it many virtues that one cannot enjoy as a child, yet one very precious thing that is lost during the process of transition from childhood to adulthood is innocence. People not only lose their innocence themselves, but also notice it in other people around them who have grown up. In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, Salinger shows how while loss of innocence is one of the outcomes of maturity, there is hardly anyone who does not have the wish to preserve his/her true innocence. Even the most hardcore people whose courage others find intimidating often cherish a soft spot for many innocent memories of their childhood. Nevertheless, any attempts at preserving innocence during the transition from childhood to adulthood go in vain because this cause and effect relationship between growing up and recession of innocence is natural. The character Salinger has used in the novel to demonstrate this is Holden Caulfield who is presented in the novel as the protagonist. This essay basically attempts to explore this particular theme of loss of innocence and how it is portrayed in Salinger’s novel. The feeling that he is growing up very quickly and has no hold on time is frustrating for Caulfield and the fact that there is nothing in the world he could do to halt the process serves to exacerbate his emotional upheaval. A teenager’s way of thinking is captured very poignantly in this novel (Perle). The kind of thoughts Caulfield nurtures in his mind with regard to the Museum of Natural History provide explicit evidence for the fact that he is overwhelmed by complexity of life and is afraid of change. Dysfunctional alienation haunts this depressed teenager (Lombardi). Distraught over the looming prospect of permanent sickness, he wants to have things easily understandable and able to be fixed just like the Indians’ and Eskimos’ statues in the museum. Some of the behaviors he adopts to identify himself with mature people or other adults include drinking and smoking. However in spite of these behaviors, the fear of losing innocence entrenched in childhood is so powerful that he still feels and believes himself to be just a child deep inside. It is made clear from the cynical narration of Caulfield that the novel is definitely not for readers who are looking for a light-hearted story (Sabrina). The fact that the sins Caulfield notices in people around him and that he is not able to perceive everything around him makes him afraid. Then as he encounters myriad expectations of the society from him to grow up into a proper adult totally detached from everything that falls under the heading of childhood, he still chooses to stick to his personal innocence from the fear he has towards growing up. This consequently fuels the motivation inside him to keep protecting and safeguarding the innocence that the children around him have. The human condition discussed by Salinger with respect to Caulfield is both fascinating yet very depressing (Lomazoff). Caulfield himself narrates the story of his life at sixteen and makes it obvious how he is writing from a mental institution. After expelled out of fourth school having failed most of his classes, he temporarily checks into the Edmont Hotel hoping to escape a dreary and artificial life he has been living at Pencey (Burger). There he experiences many events which quite effectively foster the label of innocence on him. First while being in the Lavender Room, he attempt to flirt with three grown up women who are well into their thirties and dances with them. The women already have had several drinks and Caulfield mistaking their alcohol-influenced benevolence for their love for him manages to get his hopes up. However, the three women after cracking some jokes about his age flee the place leaving none other but Caulfield to pay their entire bill who did not help himself to anything in the first place as the waiter refused to serve him being a minor. This shows how this sixteen year old boy is so lost in the innocence of childhood that he seems largely detached from the wickedness of adulthood. He is also described as the hero of Salinger’s tough and tender story (Welter) because other adults he encounters easily manage to trick him but he seems unable to stand up against them or defend himself. He just lets others take charge of him and knock him down in the process as he is weak enough and as vulnerable as a child. His story throws light on brutal reality of society and sickening depression of a teenager (Aiman). Different experiences he narrates in the novel identify that he is probably even sacred of the courage and fearlessness associated with adulthood. That explains why he always comes across as clueless as a child when entrapped in any perilous or unsafe situation where he suffers from loss or hurt at hands of other adults who are not as enamored of innocence as himself. During another event when Maurice, the elevator operator at the Edmont, offers to send a prostitute to his room and he agrees, he beings to feel strange and out of character when the prostitute named Sunny starts undressing herself. In comparison to a regular adult who would have been aroused by the nature of such an act, Caulfield feels peculiar and instead of encouraging Sunny like any other person would have, he stops her from going any further and instead attempts to strike a conversation with her. He offers her money anyway and though she tries to charge at him by talking dirty, he insists on getting her out of the room without any contact. Later, Sunny returns in his room accompanied by Maurice who demands more money from him but gets punched in the stomach when he refuses. He still has five dollars taken away from him and is left lying on the floor which shows how innocent is he and hugely incapable of handling the cruelty, wickedness, and deception of the real world. He is so afraid of losing innocence of a child that he does not find any courage inside him to retaliate against those who take advantage of him. It is obvious from Caulfield’s narration that he is confused over his identity and suffers from gross alienation. Entrapped between childhood and adulthood, he is not sure if he should identify with children or adults. He is forced by the society in which he lives to be and act like someone else. But, he abhors the idea of being someone else and fervently wishes to be himself also wanting the world to love him for who he really is. Summing up, this much becomes clear from the above discussion that Salinger’s novel is a depiction of human suffering at hands of a brutal society. Caulfield, the hero of the novel, gets stuck between the state of childhood and adulthood as in comparison to others surrounding him, he seems to be more paranoid over loss of his innocence. He does not live in a world made up by himself, rather he is aware of the fact that he is in the process of growing up and even attempts to adopt ways and behaviors to demonstrate maturity that beings to show as one grows up. Sadly, the world does not see things from his eyes and subjects him to ceaseless suffering and benumbing confusion. Others around him definitely have a different set of values and failure to fit into the society’s definition of adulthood daily agonizes Caulfield in his heart. Works cited: Lombardi, Esther. “’The Catcher in the Rye’ – Review.” 2013. Web. 18 May. 2013. Perle, Liz. “The Catcher in the Rye.” 2013. Web. 18 May. 2013. Lomazoff, Eric. “The Praises and Criticisms of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye.” 1996. Web. 18 May. 2013. Sabrina. “100 Books in a Year: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.” n.d. Web. 18 May. 2013. Burger, Nash K. “Books of The Times.” The New York Times. 1998. Web. 18 May. 2013. Welter, Ben. “July 29, 1951: ‘Catcher in the Rye’ review.” Star Tribune. 28 Jan. 2010. Web. 18 May. 2013. Aiman, A. “Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger – review.” The Guardian. 21 Jun. 2012. Web. 18 May. 2013. Read More