Catcher in the Rye - Themes

Many of us have certain themes that we live throughout our lives. Sometimes one must overcome certain anxieties or pressures, and the one thing that may seem comforting, is what you may have to let go of. For Holden Claufeild in JD Salinger’s Catcher in The Rye, that idea is innocence. This is his dependency, and to grow up he must over come it. Holden focuses on innocence as a way of life, he …

…has started to see that you have to learn from your mistakes, or maybe even, your loss of all that is innocent. Holden Claufeild may seem like a disturbed person. If we look closely in our lives though, there is always something holding us back. This book is about that struggle that many have dealt with, but so few have overcome. Holden realized that people have to grow up and let go of their dependencies.