Holden’s Happiness in The Catcher in the Rye Essay Example

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a novel about Holden Caulfield and his journey through life as he searches to protect youth, innocence, and purity. Throughout his journey, Holden lacks happiness in society, as the adult world stops him from doing what he believes is right. As a result, he often gets suicidal thoughts and constantly expresses his depression as it escalates minute by minute. However, as things get worse, he discovers and holds dear to people and things that help him cope with his negative thinking and that allow him to brighten up his spirit. Holden holds dear to Phoebe’s youthfulness and the symbolic protection of his red hunting hat. 

Holden holds dear to Phoebe’s youthfulness because he is content by the view of someone enjoying their youth and childhood. Holden always attempts to protect people’s youth, innocence, and purity, including his own. However, since he is growing out of his youth, he holds dear to Phoebe’s youth to help her have the best experience before she grows out of it. He takes Phoebe to certain places meant for the youth world and encourages her to live her youth. For instance, when taking Phoebe to the carousel, Holden encourages her to get on a horse even though she says she is too big. He knows the feeling of growing out of the youth world, therefore he holds on to her youth and attempts to make the best out of it by buying her a ticket to the carousel. Once Holden convinces Phoebe and the ride starts, Holden says “I felt so damn happy… It was just that she looked so damn nice… God, I wish you could’ve been there” (Salinger 275).  By seeing Phoebe ride the carousel, Holden is enlightened by the view of his little sister experiencing the youth he has started to lose. He is glad to have managed to make the best of Phoebe’s childhood, causing him to hold dear to her youthfulness in return for happiness. 

Furthermore, Holden holds dear to the symbolic protection of his red hunting hat because it provides him with an escape from the adult world, while also changing his identity to Allie. Since Allie’s death, Holden has always felt guilty of not being able to protect him, which is why he attempts to protect others throughout the novel. He wears his hat not only to protect himself but also to be converted into an innocent, pure person, such as Allie. By doing so, Holden can use the youth, innocence, and purity that Allie never got to experience to avoid further conflict and protect himself from the adult world. For example, when Holden gets into a fight with Stradlater, he immediately searches for his red hunting hat. Holden says, “Then I got up. I couldn't find my goddam hunting hat anywhere. Finally, I found it” (Salinger 59). By Holden immediately looking for his hunting hat, he expresses how he needs to hold dear to it to feel safe, allowing him to avoid further conflict and reset himself. He is able to use Allie’s unused youth and innocence to escape from the troubles found within the adult world. 

Holden holds dear to Phoebe’s youthfulness and the symbolic protection of his red hunting hat. As he starts to lose his youth, Holden realizes that he must hold on to the things he cares about and needs to use them to his advantage and the advantage of others. He learns that he can not live in the youth world forever and therefore helps his loved ones before they grow out of their youth as well. His red hunting hat was something Holden felt obligated to carry with him at all times, as it helped him deal with the struggles of being a teenager in between youth and adulthood. He knew that wearing the hat and symbolically representing Allie would help him feel comfortable, allowing him to reset himself when he needed to. He discovers that holding on to these things is what brings him to a state of happiness.