Quest for Love. About Holden Caulfield's starving to allocate his love in "Catcher in the Rye" by Salinger

Essay by Anonymous UserHigh School, 10th gradeA+, January 1997

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In many novels in J.D. Salinger's library of books, there is a recurring theme of the loss of innocence of children, the falling and the confusions of childhood, and many other ideas that apply to the ideas of adolescence and the life of the average teenager growing up. Many of his themes occur in a short period of time in a child's life that affects him/her in a very profound and significant way. The idea of love is also a major theme that arises in many of his characters and that indicates the character of the individual. He uses love in the context of being a device that is used to protect and to care for people who need protecting and caring. In the novel, Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, love is used by a character, Holden Caulfield, who struggles desperately to find a certain somebody or anyone to allocate his love to, but realizes finally, that this love is not necessarily expressed through saving "the children in the rye" from the time of trial, but actually caring for them and being their friends, during the time of trial.

The quest of finding the true love of people is an ongoing dilemma in the lives of many people all throughout the world. The constant need for love is overwhelming, and the tragedy of this great world is the fact that some people do not find the proper love that they deserve. Holden Caulfield is a perfect example of the striving to acquire a love sought all throughout his life. According to this quote, "He is simply expressing an innocence incapable of genuine hatred. Holden does not suffer from the inability to love, but does despair of finding a place to bestow his love" (Heiserman and...