Holden Caulfield and the idea of innocence
Holden Caulfield dislikes a lot of people, and deeply likes a select few. But how does he choose which people make it into which group? I believe he judges people based on their perceived innocence. For example, he dislikes Stradlater because he knows that guy sucks, he's a real piece of work, and believes he can do anything he wants to any woman he wants. He doesn't like that at all, especially when it involves Jane. He perceives her as one of the more innocent people he knows, even though he hasn't actually interacted with her in a while. He wants her to be like how she was back in Maine at their vacation homes, but he doesn't even know if that is what she's actually like now. He is preserving the memory of her innocence, the little things about her that make him actually like her, like keeping her kings in the back row in checkers. The same can be said about the kids he meets after leaving Pencey. The kid singing that he sees is an example of innocence he sees a