Holden's Breakdown

“This fall I think you’re riding for- it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit the bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn’t supply them with. So they gave up looking. They gave it up …

…they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” The gold rings are not gold, but are really brass plated iron which represents the corrupt world which wears a shinny surface to hide the evil. Holden finally realizes that he cannot stop children from growing up or reaching for that gold ring. If they fall, they fall; and there is nothing he can do about it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**