Innocence in Catcher in the Rye Essay

In JD Salingers backstop in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a boy aimlessly traveling New York urban center after being expelled from a classy boarding school. Holden poses a great(p) deal of trepidation when it comes to depend uponual relationships, especially those of Jane and Sunny. Further more(prenominal), Holden tends to misjudge the maturity of his associate degree characters. The combination of this misconception, the tension between sexual trepidation, and an fully grown life with adult relationships, results in confusion for him. In Holdens life, there call for further been a few people hes cherished more than his childhood neighbor, Jane Gallagher.They were close childhood friends, and when his roommate Strad later brings her up years later in high school, all he faeces talk near is the innocent fun they used to have playing checkers, watching her terpsichore ballet in the summer heat, and how her Doberman always came into his yard. However, he also reminisces on how her boozehound stepfather would always run around the goddam house naked (42). He suspects that her stepfather had harassed Jane, who had a terrific figure, and he wouldntve put it past that bastard (103).This rattling bothers Holden, as does when Stradlater insinuates that he made sexual advances onto Jane on their date. To Holden, sexual encounters reckon an adulteration of innocence, and he hates that Stradlater or Janes stepfather may have subvert Jane. Many times, Holden promises himself that he outa go down and say hello to her (40), or that he should give old Jane a buzz (195), but he never does. Subconsciously, he fears that Jane will have grown up, and calling her or seeing her will surely alter the young, innocent, checkers-playing version of Jane that he has in his mind.This is confusing for Holden because Jane has grown up, yet he still thinks of her as a little girl, not the grown woman that she is. Holden knew that she wouldnt let Stradlater turn back to first bas e with her, but it drove him crazy anyway (104). This shows Holdens potential misconception of Janes innocence. It is unlikely for a post-teenage young woman to be as sheltered and have as much innocence as she did when she was a little girl. However, this is something Holden cannot grasp.This dilemma is a direct result of Holdens irrational respect for innocence, influenced by sexual confrontations in Holdens past. When Holden agrees to have a misuse come to his room in the hotel, he is presently greeted by Sunny at his door. Holden is immediately unimpressed with Sunnys maturity how she was jiggling this one foot up and down, she never utter thank you, and she had this tiny little wheeny-whiny voice (123). He also notices that she appears truly young, and said things that were really childish.This ends up making him feel more cast down than sexy (123), and he decides not to have sex with her after all. The motion picture of this young girl making money as a prostitute seems to upset Holden, and he ultimately concludes that having sex with her would spoil her innocence. This is where Holden is again misguided. that as it is unlikely for Jane to retain the same degree of innocence done the years, it is improbable that Sunny, being a prostitute, will have not had sex with many people in the past, therefore preserving her innocence.But all Holden can see in Sunny is the childish and immature, which results in a conflicted popular opinion of the world. The importance of innocence to Holden is something that results in nervousness towards others sexual identity and activity. His scene of Jane and Sunnys innocence is also misguided to the point where he sees innocence in them when there is none. Overall, the importance of innocence to Holden results in disputation that is less than innocent.