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Universal Theme Statement: The inability to accept undeniable changes is more harmful than the actual changes. 

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Universal Theme Statement: The inability to accept undeniable changes is more harmful than the actual changes. 

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We saw throughout the novel that Holden doesn't like the idea of growing up, through his immaturity and longing to protect children.
I think the way J.D. Salinger wrote Holden as a character shows that the he wants the reader to see how harmful it can be to the mental and emotional health of a person if they refuse to accept the changes that need to happen so life can happen.

(I'm sorry but I had to stick this in here.)

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Moment #9: Holden is in a Mental Institution

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Moment #9: Holden is in a Mental Institution

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The novel ends with reveal that Holden is in a mental hospital, except it isn't really a reveal, he mentioned it setting the scene in the first chapter. "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy." (Salinger 1).

Nonetheless, it seems like Holden is right back to the Holden we though he grew from with the scene at the park with Phoebe. "A lot of people, especially this one psychoanalyst guy, they have here, keeps asking me if I'm going to apply myself when I go back to school next September. It's such a stupid question." (Salinger 276).

This scene solidifies the thoughts that Holden is mentally unstable and serves to make the novel into one big flashback, even though the events are written like Holden was in them as he was narrating them. We see all the mental deterioration that brought him to this place. It brings the novel full-circle.

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Moment #8: Holden and Phoebe's Day at the Park

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Moment #8: Holden and Phoebe's Day at the Park

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The day after the night of Mr. Antolini, Holden meets Phoebe in the park and tells her that he is going to run away. He will hitchhike west and live out as a recluse for the rest of his life. Phoebe begs to come with him but he denies her and this makes them both mad.

They go to the zoo and look at some animals. They make up and Holden tells Phoebe that he isn't actually leaving. Holden convinces Phoebe to ride the carousel. Holden sits on the bench and watches her. "I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, they way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth." (Salinger 275).

This event is important because it solidifies the idea that Holden believes in the good and innocence of children while the rest of the world is cruel. He is unhappy when he sees all the "fuck-you"'s written on the walls, he is unhappy with all the phoniness of people, but he is happy just looking at the innocence of Phoebe.

Also, his line "The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them." (Salinger 274) builds the effect of him admitting earlier in the book that he wants to catch children, to be the catcher in the field of rye.

Overall, this chapter serves as ending of Holden's development. We saw all his actions in the past and they portrayed a depressed, cold young man but then we get this revelation where we see the one thing he cares about is children, especially his younger siblings.

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Moment #7: Holden's Interaction with Mr. Antolini

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Moment #7: Holden's Interaction with Mr. Antolini

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After saying goodnight to Phoebe, Holden calls and goes over to Mr. Antolini's apartment. Mr. Antolini was one of Holden's teachers at Elkton Hills school and it seems like him and Holden have a good relationship, given the fact Mr. Antolini offered to let Holden crash at his place for the night.

Holden and Mr. Antolini talk and catch up and discuss why Holden was kicked out of Pencey Prep. Mr. Antolini then becomes worried for Holden and talks to him seriously. " 'The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one'." (Salinger 244).

Since Mr. and Mrs. Antolini have just wrapped up a party for the night, Holden makes up a bed on their couch after talking and says goodnight to Mr. Antolini. Mr. Antolini then, in the dark, starts rubbing Holden's head and watching him sleep. This freaks Holden out. "What he was doing was, he was sitting on the floor right next to the couch, in the dark and all, and he was sort of petting me on the goddam head. Boy, I'll bet a jumped about a thousand feet." (Salinger 249).

This whole chapter with these two contrasting scenes with Mr. Antolini and Holden serves as a deeper look into Holden. For one, the fact Mr. Antolini gets the feeling something is wrong with Holden clues the reader into the same thing. Secondly and more importantly, Holden tells us, after Mr. Antolini is patting him on the head, "That sort of perverty stuff has happened to me 20 times since I was a kid." (Salinger 251). This is huge and reveals to the reader that Holden may have been sexually abused as a younger child which could definitely explain some of the sexual angst we see in Holden if not obvious mental problems Holden has.

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Two nights before Holden is supposed to be home, he decides he really wants to see his 10-year old sister, Phoebe. Holden sneaks up to his family's apartment and since it is the middle of the night, thinks he can sneak in without waking his parents. He finds Phoebe sleeping in D.B's room and he sits at the desk and goes through her books. He finally wakes Phoebe and she is excited to see him. She informs him that the parents are away at a party tonight. They talk for a while.

Holden nicely describes Phoebe when he walks in the room. "She was laying there asleep, with her face sort of on the side of the pillow. She had her mouth way open. It's funny. You take adults , they look lousy when they're asleep, but kids don't. Kids look alright. They can even have spit all over the pillow and they still look all right." (Salinger 207).

This moment is important because it is the beginning of us seeing that Holden really has a special appreciation and love for children. Phoebe is one of the only characters in the whole book that Holden only has nice things to say about. Throughout this interaction Holden adores Phoebe and her innocence. He thinks she pure and good while, like he said, adults never are as good as children. This idea is sustained through the rest of the novel but it starts with this moment between him and Phoebe.

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Moment #5: Asking Sally to Run Away with Him

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Moment #5: Asking Sally to Run Away with Him

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When Holden is still in the city, avoiding going home, he sets up a date with Sally Hayes, a girl he used to know. They go to the theater and then go ice skating. After they are finished skating, Holden rants about people he hates and then bursts out into the idea that Sally should run away with him and they can live off the grid.

" 'Look,' I said 'Here's my idea. How would you like to get the hell out of here?...I could get a job somewhere and we could live somewhere with a brook and all and, later on, we could get married or something. I could chop all our wood in the wintertime and all. Honest to god, we could have a terrific time! Waddaya say? C'mon! Waddaya say? Will you do it with me? Please!' " (Salinger 171). This is spoken in a hushed but excited tone by Holden and freaks Sally out a bit.

This is a telling moment because it is the first real sign we see of the emotional instability of Holden. Before this, it just seems like he is depressed and alone, but this outburst shows a darker, more unstable side of Holden emotionally.

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Moment #4: Holden's Interaction with the Prostitute

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Moment #4: Holden's Interaction with the Prostitute

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When Holden gets back to his hotel from the bar, he meets a pimp, Maurice, who offers him a prostitute, Sunny, and he accepts.

Once Sunny comes up to his room, he is visibly uncomfortable and refuses to have sex with her, claiming he is recovering from an injury, instead just asking her to talk for a while. Holden then pays her and she leaves.

" I know you're supposed to feel pretty sexy when somebody gets up and pulls their dress over their head, but I didn't. Sexy was the last thing I was feeling. I felt much more depressed than sexy." (Salinger 123)

This event is so crucial to the understanding of Holden's character because it is where we see that Holden has an uncomfortable idea of sex and intimacy, and it seems like he is scared of it. This could be a result from his depression or the lack of confidence he has and this helps us understand Holden better overall. This scene can also be interpreted in relation to the scene with Mr. Antolini later in the book, which is explored further down.

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After his fight with Stradlater, Holden decides to leave Pencey Prep earlier than he planned but he can't quite go home yet. Instead, he takes a train to New York City and stays at a hotel. He goes down to the hotel's nightclub and tries to hang out with some older women who don't fall for his facade of being older than he is. The bartender also doesn't and refuses to get him a drink. After, he goes to another club in and drinks but doesn't stay there long.

This night and Holden's actions begin to reveal how lonely and depressed he is. He is a 16-year old and he is smoking and drinking alone at nightclubs in New York City. He tries to make conversation with people but he always becomes annoyed with the way they act.

" 'Bring me a coke.' He started to go away, but I called him back. 'Can'tcha stick a little rum in it or something?' I asked him. I asked him very nicely and all. 'I can't sit in a corny place like this cold sober'." (Salinger 91). This shows that he isn't having all that great a time where he is but we know he has nowhere else to be and he keeps trying to take his mind off his life. These scenes show that Holden is depressed and not like most people his age.

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It's not inherently important that he fought Stradlater, it is important because of WHY he fought Stradlater. He fought him over Jane Gallagher. Stradlater was Holden's roommate while at Pencey Prep and one night, he is talking to him and finds out he is going on a date with Jane. We learn that Holden knows Jane and has feelings for her.

When Stradlater gets back from his date with Jane, Holden asks him about it " 'What'd you do?' I said 'Give her the time in Ed Banky's goddam car?' My voice was shaking something awful." (Salinger 56).
This shows that Holden was really worried about Jane and if Stradlater had hurt her in anyway. The next moment, Holden fights him. "This next part I don't remember so hot. All I know is a got up from the bed...and then I tried to sock him, with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it would split his goddam throat open. Only, I missed." (Salinger 56).

Holden's strong response to what he thought Stradlater did to Jane not only shows how much he cares for Jane, but also his paranoia. It wasn't even confirmed that anything had happened between the two but he still freaked out. This also opens up the idea that Jane really is one of the most important people to Holden and it is shown more throughout the novel.

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Moment #1: Holden getting kicked out of Pencey Prep. 

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Moment #1: Holden getting kicked out of Pencey Prep. 

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This moment is really what sets off the novel. We meet Holden right after he gets kicked out and even though we never see him at Pencey, we get a good idea of his life there because it serves as a setting for many flashbacks and memories Holden shares with us.

"Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep." (Salinger 4). We get this statement from Holden and then he goes right into telling us about Pencey Prep as if he was still there. "Anyway, it was the Saturday of the football game with Saxon Hall." (Salinger 4)

The Pencey Prep-Holden is the first layer of character we understand about Holden and it is our first impression of him. Also, many of the other sides we see of Holden's character are from memories of Pencey Prep.