Catcher in the Rye & The Fall essays

Catcher in the Rye & The Fall essays In Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield struggles to accept the idea that a Fall is inevitable until he experiences one of his own. The Fall is the loss of innocence and the first encounter with "deceit, duplicity, and evil" in the world. It is a process necessary to "psychological growth" that must be experienced by everyone. Holden is unable to accept this idea and responds by retreating into his own oversimplified view of the world. Holden separates his environment into two groups of people: the innocent, the children, those who have not fallen, and the adults, the superficial, the "phonies," those who have experienced a fall. The turning point for this is adolescence. Holden desires to protect children and himself from going through a Fall, and is willing to do anything to achieve his goal. He fantasizes of becoming the "Catcher in the Rye," protecting innocent children from falling off an imaginary cliff. Holden wants to shield these children from the cruelties of change and the adult world. He wants his world to stay the same, just like the world in the museum, but does not realize that with the Fall comes maturity and an inevitable sense of ones life being lived. Holdens view of the Fall involves the loss of purity for corruption and evil while it is actually the gain of knowledge through experience. In order to have a Fall, one must first go through an Encounter. Holden experiences this when he passes out in the museum. After he rises, he says that he feels better. Even though the Fall involves pain, it is necessary and creates a new condition, the condition of being Fallen. Holden leaves the tomb in this state, and begins to let go of his idea of the world as a "timeless world where the sunrise is always the same. Holden has an Encounter, experiences a Fall, and gains knowledge from it. Like the Adam figure, the g...