Growing up and becoming mature can be an intimidating experience; It's hard to let go of your childhood and embrace the adult world. For some people, the transition from youth to adulthood can be much more difficult than for others. These people often try to hold on to their childhood as long as possible. Unfortunately, life is not that simple. You cannot spend your whole life running away from the responsibilities and difficulties of adulthood because eventually you will have to accept the fact that you have a role in society that you must play as a responsible and mature individual. The novel "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger follows the exploits of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenager who faces a point in his life where he must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In an attempt to preserve his childhood, he begins to hope that he will prevent other young children from growing up and losing their innocence too. As indicated by the title, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a book that explores a theme involving the preservation of innocence, especially of children. It's the story of a boy who is too hesitant to grow up and feels the need to make sure that no one else around him has to grow up. His own fear of maturity and growth is what leads Holden to want to become a "dream catcher" so he can save innocent children from becoming part of the "falseness" of the adult world. the innocence and purity of childhood makes him very reluctant to move on to adult life. In general, he finds children simple, easy-going and simply pure in every sense. That's because they always say what they think and never try to create a false facade for... middle of paper... childhood. Additionally, his concern with how things are constantly changing also communicates his desire to simply freeze everything and keep it as it is. That way, neither he nor any other child would have to go through the pain of growing up. For all of Holden's thoughts about preventing "loss of innocence" and change, he is ultimately helpless because change is inevitable and everyone has to grow up and do their part in life, whether they want to or not. Becoming an adult, no matter how difficult it may be for an individual, is an important part of his or her life cycle. All in all, the preservation of innocence is a worthy cause, but it is not entirely realistic because it is not within the reach of human beings to change the way their minds develop. Works Cited Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.