J. D. Salinger, throughout his novels, succeeds in conveying themes such as growing up, pessimism, lying, the worth of an education, and family. However, there is one theme that stands out and can be tied in to all of these, and that theme is innocence. In The Catcher and the Rye and Franny and Zooey, the main characters have to deal with the loss of a loved one in their life. In both of these novels, the main characters realize that they should protect the ones they love, because they themselves have not always been protected, and in result have made some bad decisions. Due to this, they are trying to protect their siblings’ innocence. However, in the end, J.D Salinger shows that innocence cannot always be preserved and understanding and trust must be achieved, not only for the ones they love, but for themselves too.
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is the main character, and he has definitely lost his innocence. After failing out of his third school, he runs away temporarily to New York City. However, before all of this happened, when Holden was only thirteen, his brother Allie died from leukemia. When Holden talks about the night that Allie died, he said, “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddamn windows with my fist, just for the hell of it” (Salinger 50). As shown, Holden was very upset over Allie’s death, and so he tries to protect his younger sister Phoebe even more. Being young, kind, and oblivious to the dangers of the world, Phoebe represents “the innocent world of childhood” (Galloway). Holden tries to protect and preserve this innocence as much as he can. Holden has to try very hard to communicate with Phoebe, because he is not good at communicating with others. But Phoebe “is the only one who listens to him” (Sandock). Phoebe looks up to Holden, and this may be because she has already lost one brother, so she doesn’t want to lose Holden. Due to this, Holden yearns to protect Phoebe’s innocence because he already lost one sibling, and Phoebe’s innocence and “well-being” means a lot to him.
In Franny and Zooey, both Franny and Zooey have also lost ones close to them. In their family (the Glass family), there are seven children. Two of those seven died. Seymour committed suicide, and Boo Boo died in an explosion while in the army. Zooey and Franny are the only children of the Glass family that live at home still. Franny is confused in her ideology because she is still overwhelmed by the deaths of her brothers, and is confused in her religious beliefs. Zooey, although not the compassionate type, wants to make Franny feel better and preserve her innocence, just like Holden wanted to do with his sister Phoebe. Zooey demonstrates this feeling when he says, “No matter what I say, I sound as though I’m undermining your Jesus Prayer. And I’m not, God damn it. All I am is against why and how and where you’re using it” (Salinger 167). In this example, Zooey is trying to guide Franny with logical reasoning. As shown, both characters, Holden and Zooey, realize that they are no longer innocent, so they try and preserve their younger sisters’ innocence.
However, Salinger shows how you never can preserve someone’s innocence for them, and he uses imagery and weather to show how his characters come to this realization In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden realizes that he cannot protect Phoebe forever, and this happens when Phoebe is on a carousel. “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…” (Salinger 273). Holden realizes that Phoebe could easily fall off of the carousel, and that he can’t protect her or her innocence all of the time. During this period of sad realization, Salinger chooses to make the weather setting rainy, to describe the mood that Holden is in. Besides the setting in the carousel scene, the actual carousel itself has a representative meaning also. The carousel represents realization, perhaps of growing up. While Holden doesn’t want Phoebe to fall off of the carousel, he wants her to have fun and trusts her. This can compare to how Holden doesn’t want Phoebe to grow up, but he must let her do that and escape “the innocent world of childhood” (Galloway).
Also, in Franny and Zooey, Zooey realizes that once he can’t reason with Franny to snap out of her life confusion, she has been exposed to the real world and no longer has an innocence about her. Salinger chooses to have the setting in the Glass’s living room, because it is a dark, musty place that is memorable to the past with the pictures, yet the dust and lack of sunlight give it a dull, depressing feeling. Salinger uses imagery as a big part of showing the loss of innocence.
In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger uses imagery multiple times, but the most significant time occurs when Phoebe is on the carousel, and “Boy, it began to rain like a bastard. In buckets, I swear to God…I got pretty soaking wet, especially my neck and my pants” (Salinger 275). This can compare to Holden’s mood, and how it may feel like a bucket of water was splashed on his face; he is finally realizing that Phoebe will lose her innocence and he must trust her and let her go. However, the rain is not a sad rain, because there is no thunder or lightning. In fact, Holden goes on to say that, “[But] I felt so damn happy all of the sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going round and round” (Salinger 275). This imagery truly portrays the important significance of realization.
Both of the main characters cope with the harsh realization of their sibling’s loss of innocence in different ways. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden sadly recognizes that he cannot always protect Phoebe, and must let her go. So he convinces himself that he must try and show Phoebe that she should chose the right path for her life, unlike he did. Holden realizes that he can’t always be “The catcher in the rye.” Holden explains this by saying, “What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them” (Salinger 224-225). However, later Holden understands that he can’t always catch people when they fall because they must learn how to catch themselves. That falling could be compared to entering the adult world, and Holden can’t save anybody from that (Sandock). So by trying to always catch Phoebe, Holden realizes that he must also catch himself and get his life where he wants it to be. By realizing that major point, Holden also realizes that he must let Phoebe fall and get back up on her own in order to grow in life.
In Franny and Zooey, Zooey also realizes that Franny has lost her innocence. This is shown because she is entering the adult world and questioning what is truth and what are lies. And although Zooey feels that he must protect Franny and guide her, he also realizes that she must find her way on her own to get stronger in life, and says, “You don’t face any facts. This same damned attitude of not facing facts is what got you into this messy state of mind in the first place, and it can’t possibly get you out of it” (Salinger 168). Although Zooey phrases this a bit harshly, he is trying to help Franny discover answers on her own. Like Holden, Franny also realizes that she too must fid out who she truly is, but on her own. If someone else helps you find yourself, then it is not one hundred percent who you are.
In both The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey, the main characters realize that they cannot always protect or preserve the innocence of the ones they love, however that instinct is stronger than ever due to the death of a family member. Both Holden and Zooey come to realization of how they cannot protect their younger sibling, and that they must let go and let their sibling find her way on her own in order to grow in life. As Holden and Zooey realize this, they take in that it is also true for themselves. They then realize that they want to grasp their lives the way they want to for a better life, and want the same for their younger sister. Both Holden and Zooey learn a lot from coping with the loss of innocence of others.
Works Cited
French, Warren. "J. D. Salinger: Overview." Reference Guide to American Literature. Ed. Jim Kamp. 3rd ed. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Mar. 2010.
Galloway, David D. “The Love Ethic,” in his The Absurd Hero in American Fiction, revised edition. University of Texas Press, 1970. pp.140-169.
Salinger, J.D.. Franny and Zooey. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1955. Print.
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1945. Print.
Samuels, David. "Marginal Notes on Franny and Zooey." American Scholar 68.3 (Summer 1999): 128-133. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 65. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Mar. 2010.
Sandock, Mollie. "The Catcher in the Rye: Overview." Reference Guide to American Literature. Ed. Jim Kamp. 3rd ed. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Mar. 2010.
Takeuchi, Yasuhiro. "Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye." The Explicator 60.3 (2002): 164+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Mar. 2010.
Comments