If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them. 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. All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she’d fall off the goddam horse, but I didn’t say anything or do anything. The final break-down comes near the end of the book when he is watching Phoebe on the carousel.
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“You can’t ever find a place that is nice and peaceful, because there isn’t any. As he is telling Phoebe that she can not run away, he discovers that he too can not run away. It is Phoebe who challenges his plan to escape out west. 6 Ironically enough, it is one of the “innocent” children that he is trying to protect who helps him come to terms with this realization. ” This incident is the beginning of Holden’s realization that his dreams are infeasible. He discovers that he can’t efface this one.Įven in the timeless peace of the Egyptian tomb room at the museum there is an un-erasable “fuck-you. Later on he finds “fuck-you” scratched into the surface with a knife. Holden careful rubs this off with his hand so as to protect the innocent children from reading it. He encounters a “fuck-you” written on the wall. One good example is when Holden is delivering the note to his sister. Holden takes awhile to comprehend these concepts. Finally, he realizes that not only is there nothing that he can do, but there is nowhere he can go to hide from it. It takes most of the book before Holden begins to realize that he is helpless to stop this corruption. He blames the world’s corruption on adults and believes that when he stops the children from growing up he will preserve heir innocence and save the world. Although Holden describes the situation in a very picturesque and symbolic manner he essentially tells Phoebe that he wants to prevent children from growing up. It is finally to his younger sister Phoebe that Holden reveals his ultimate plan. At another point Holden proposes to Sally to escape this world with him.
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Holden at one point contemplates heading out west where he will pretend to be a deaf-mute and live a quiet life. “Did you ever get fed up?… I mean did you ever get scared that everything was going to go lousy unless you did something… Holden goes through several plans. On his date with Sally, Holden reveals his feelings. The one conviction that does change during the novel is Holden’s belief that he can change the world. His perception of the world remains the same. “4 The sun of course is a reference to decency through the common association of light and goodness. As Holden himself says, “It’s not too bad when the sun’s out, but the sun only comes out when it feels like coming out. This event does not constitute a significant change. This is really the only time in the novel where Holden actually considers positive side. Maybe he just like patting guys heads as they sleep. Antolini, Holden finally concludes that maybe he wasn’t making a “flitty” pass at him. This is the only time during the novel where Holden thinks twice about considering someone as a pervert. Antolini patted Holden on the head while he was sleeping, Holden jumped up and ran out thinking that Mr. These convictions which Holden holds waver very momentarily during only one particular scene in the book. “3 Holden is surrounded by what he views as drunks, perverts, morons and screwballs. The city is decked with decorations and holiday splendor, yet, much to Holden’s despair “seldom yields any occasions of peace, charity or even genuine merriment. The three days we learn of from the novel place a distressed Holden in the vicinity of Manhattan. He looks out on a world which appears completely immoral and unscrupulous.
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“2 His situation only deteriorates from this point on as the more he looks around this world, the more depressing life seems. There were) screwballs all over the place.