Symbolism And Themes Of Catcher In The Rye

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that Holden must face is that he is
unable to protect the innocence in the world from the cruel reality in
which we live in. In Holden’s first mind of thought he thinks it should be
his duty to protect the innocence.

Holden tells Phoebe he would like to be “the catcher in the rye”.
Holden throughout the novel always feels he has to protect innocence. When
Holden thinks of the catcher in the rye he thinks of “all these little kids
playing in some game in this big field of rye and all.” Holden feels his
services are required in order to watch and supervise these children to
ensure their safety. “What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they
start to go off the cliff.” Holden considers the threat of the cliff to be
very strong and feels that there is no other job or duty that would suit
him better in the world. Symbolically if the children fall off the cliff
they will be falling from grace or innocence. Holden feels he is the
protector of innocence and feels that he ...

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on to the red hunting hat throughout pretty much the entire
novel. “My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way,
although I was still getting soaked.” Even though Holden is not being
protected from the rain Holden still feels as though he is being protected.
I believe that the red hunting hat is not just literally protecting him but
also a symbol of protection from the world for Holden. Holden is going
through a difficult change in his life in which he must realize the true
nature of the cruel world. Holden by the end realizes the truth and that
is that the world is cruel and that the innocent people in it will not
always remain innocent. These people who were ...

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