... title's theme (Downey). The catcher in the rye has to do with a childhood fable in which the catcher catches children from falling off the cliff. Since the rye in the field is so high, the children cannot see over it. This elucidates the novel's metaphoric title, as the children ... cannot see beyond the boundaries of childhood and out of innocence. "Standing on the precipice that separates the rye field of childhood from the cliff of adulthood, Holden wants to protect childhood innocence from the fall into disillusionment that necessarily accompanies childhood" (Phillips). Holden's preo...

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• Grade Level: High School

... right next to the curb. He was making out like he was walking a very straight line, the way kids do, and the whole time he kept singing and humming." Holden notes that the child's parents pay no attention to him. The little boy is in the road singing and his parents pay no attention to him? To Holden this child represents ... and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. 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 loo...

• Word Count: 658
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• Grade Level: High School

Devotion to the Protection of innocence Innocence, Compassion, and some Crazy' Cliff A novel, which has gained literary recognition worldwide, scrutiny to the point of censorship and has established a following among adolescents, The Catcher ... and squalor in the grasps of society. The bridge that lies between these contrasting themes are personified through the novel's protagonist, Holden Caulfield and his visualization of a cliff, which depicts a dividing point between the evident beginning and end. The connection, which binds this gap in reality, was made clear through a new found compass...

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... catching a body in the rye. Later when Holden sneaks into his parent's apartment to speak to Phoebe, he defines his desire to "catch" children from falling off a metaphorical cliff into the corruption of adulthood. At the conclusion of the novel, Holden realizes the true nature of innocence while watching Phoebe reach for the golden ring on the carousel. Walking ... rye and all. Thousand of little kids, and nobody's around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...I ha...

• Word Count: 987
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... , and it symbolizes how he would save kids from growing up and becoming fake sanctimonious adults. He would be "standing on the edge of some crazy cliff [catching] everybody if they [started] to go over the cliff That's all [he'd] do all day. [He'd] just be the catcher in the rye. "(Salinger, 224-225). Holden would stop the kids from falling over ... the cliff into adulthood. To Holden, becoming an adult is the ultimate downfall (no pun intended), and his idealistic view of stopping the innocent kids from falling off ... the cliff is displaying of his oversimplified perception of the wo...

• Word Count: 982
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... grown up is a phony because their behavior and advice are all false. The title of this book is based on an old game where someone catches children from falling off a cliff. This symbolizes that Holden wants to be the catcher in the rye because he wants to protect the vulnerable, especially to prevent small children from losing their innocence and becoming ... and all. Thousands of little kids, nobodys around- nobody big, I mean- except me. And Im standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if theyre ru...

• Word Count: 859
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• Grade Level: High School

... all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all 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 don't look where they"re going I have to come out of somewhere and catch them." (p. 224) The rye is a symbol of childhood because children ... grows so high that small children cannot see over it, just as children are unable to see over the borders of childhood. Holden stands on the cliff that separates the field of youth from the cliff of adulthood. Trapped in his own conscience and with his innocence in...

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• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. 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. That ... the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be" (173). He wishes to save the children from falling off the cliff into adulthood. Therefore, he wants very badly to rescue them from the harsh world of ma...

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• Grade Level: High School

... and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around--nobody big, I mean--except me. And I"m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. 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. That ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... -up with "all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all." He'll stand on the edge of a cliff and catch anybody who starts to fall off the edge of the cliff. He got this image from his misinterpretation of a line from the Robert Burns poem, " if a body catch a body comin' through the rye." When situations ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... . Haden replies that he wants to be the "catcher" in the rye. Thinking that the poem by Robert Burns was about a person on a cliff that caught children that were playing in a rye field before they fell of the cliff. Which was a completely wrong interpretation. Coming Through The Rye by, Robert Burns was actually about meeting a girl and if he should kiss her ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... novel he told Phoebe that he wants to be the catcher in the rye, he would stand at the edge of a cliff as children play around with him, and he would catch them before they ran too close to the cliff. Holden does not wan to see children go through what he has been through, or what he will come across, he ... ...

• Word Count: 277
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... destroy Phoebe's innocence, and that his erratic behavior would prove harmful to her. He makes the decision to stay to comfort Phoebe and to keep her from falling over the cliff by the rye field before her time. Phoebe is the light countering Holden's overwhelming dark depression. Her name is a species of bird known for flicking its tail and hopping about ... else possibly can. As the moon orbits the earth, Phoebe is always in Holden's thoughts, affecting his decisions for the better, subconsciously holding him back from blindly stumbling off the cliff of the rye field. From the etymolo...

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• Grade Level: High School

... , the drinking, etc.. This in turn forces Holden's character to be protective of children and innocence. "I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the ... ...

• Word Count: 1143
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... adults and he as the only "big" person. His job is to stand at the end of this great field of rye at the edge of a cliff keeping little children from falling off. The cliff represents the adulthood that he is so disillusioned with and wants to avoid. He is also trying to stop everyone else from going on without him. Ironically ... ...

• Word Count: 704
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... "the catcher in the rye", and protect the innocent children. In on of Holden's dreams he sees himself standing at the edge of a cliff watching little children running around care free. As the children run towards the cliff they are so involved in their running around, that they don't even see it, so Holden picks up the kids and turns them in ... ...

• Word Count: 612
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• Grade Level: High School

... "all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye"(173), and he would be "standing on the edge of some crazy cliff"(173) and "catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff"(173). Holden just wants to be the protector of children or innocence from the cruel adult world, a place everyone has to face. Holden believes ... ...

• Word Count: 575
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• Grade Level: High School

... the children's innocence, particularly his younger sister's, Phoebe. That is why he wants to be a catcher in the rye, so that he can prevent children from falling abruptly off the cliff of adulthood. He wants to catch those who are innocent before they grow up into corruption and adulthood. Holden only wishes to find trust and love, but every time he ... not ready to enter that adult world but "to "cure" Holden, he must be given the contagious, almost universal disease of phony adultism; he must be pushed over that "crazy cliff"" (Heiserman and Miller 205). ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around nobody big, I mean, except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go off the cliff" (Salinger 173). Holden's love for children is centered on his admiration of their non-conformist attitudes and does not want to change them ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... I feel he would excel at this job without a doubt. He"ll be successful because as he said, "I see a field of rye in which many children are playing near a cliff I stand by the cliff and catch anyone before they fall off." Holden Caulfield will be the "Catcher in the Rye!" In my thirty-two years in the psychology, I have never met or seen ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... himself. The other dreams he talks about is that he wants to be "the catcher in the rye", meaning while the kids play in the rye, he'll stand off a cliff and save them from falling off which symbolically means reaching adulthood. Holden doesnt have too many problems, but the problems he does have play a major role in his life and ... ...

• Word Count: 474
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• Grade Level: High School

... or no way at all. Holden only wishes to accomplish one thing in his life. "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 175-6). Holden is fixated on this ... ...

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... of the world. Holden tells Phoebe about a dream of wanting to be the catcher in the rye. This means that he wants to be there when children fall off the cliff of innocence. He wants to be there to catch them and push them back into a place where they are innocent. Holden needs to give up on his dream of preserving ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... me damn near crazy....I kept wanting to kill whoever"d written it." (201) Holden Caulfield the protector of the youth. Holden always saw himself catching these children who were playing on cliff above a field of rye. That's what he told his sister he wanted to do. Holden Caulfield the catcher in the rye. Holden Caulfield is sane in a sane world because although ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... becomes mature. The signs of maturity shown in Holden come out when he says, "What I have to do is I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff... I"d just be the catcher in the rye"(173). This shows that Holden starts to care about others and wants to help people before it is too late for them. Another ... ...

• Word Count: 786
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School