Innocence Theme in Catcher in the Rye

Innocence Themes in literary works ar recurring, unifying subjects or ideas, motifs that allow us to understand more late the characters and their world. In The Catcher in the Rye, the major themes reflect the values and motivations of the characters. nigh of these themes are outlined in the following sections. As its title indicates, the high-and-mighty theme of The Catcher in the Rye is the protection of innocence, especially of children. For almost of the book, Holden sees this as a primary virtue. It is very closely related to his conflict against growing up.Holdens enemy is the adult world and the cruelty and artificiality that it entails. The people he admires all represent or protect innocence. He thinks of Jane Gallagher, for example, not as a maturing young woman but as the girl with whom he used to play checkers. He goes out of his way to tell us that he and Jane had no sexual relationship. Quite sweetly, they usually just held hands. Holden solace Jane when she was distressed, and it bothers him that Jane may have been subjected to sexual advances from her drunken stepfather or from her date, Holdens roommate, Stradlater.Holdens secret finishing is to be the catcher in the rye. In this metaphor, he envisions a orbit of rye standing by a dangerous cliff. Children play in the field with joy and abandon. If they should come too close to the edge of the cliff, however, Holden is in that respect to catch them. His attitude seems to shift near the end of the novel when he realizes that Phoebe and other children must be allowed to grab for the gold ring, to have their own risks and take them, even though their attempts may be dangerous.