|
ExternalThe character of Holden is a rebel and doesn't abide by the rules, he doesn't mess with "phonies" at the beginning he keeps this mind set but as the book goes on you're introduced to his main problem with society, which is keeping the innocence of children, and Holden fights to keep it. This external, man vs society conflict is one of the more big conflicts that Holden faces throughout the entirety of the book. At the beginning of the book Holden maintains the "against phonies" mantality and rarely thinks about others and thinks about himself a lot. Holden says, "One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That's all. They were coming in the goddam window. For instance, they had this headmaster, Mr. Haas, that was the phoniest bastard I ever met in my life"(Salinger 13-14). Holden thinks that everyone that is does not follow his mindset is a phony, he's goal this early in the book is to challenge anyone who is a phony and avoid them as much as possible. But as the book goes on Holden's much more deeper conflict is that of keeping the innocence of children. With the death of his younger brother Allie at a young age and his little sister Phoebe, it makes sense that Holden wants to keep children from adulthood. Holden says to Phoebe late in the book, '"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around—nobody big, I mean—except me. And I'm 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 they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy"(Salinger 173). Holden is imagining himself cather kids from jumping off a cliff, but what is really being said is that Holden feels like his is the only one who can save kid's innocence, he wants so bad to protect his little sister and every other child that lives. Holden changes how he feels throughout the book, starting with "phonies" and ending with protecting the innocence of children. This change made Holden a better character to read about and a better person overall.
|