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catcher in the rye

oddam horse, but I didn't say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them. In the above passage from the novel, Holden hits the final breakdown. Being "the catcher" becomes obviously unrealistic. The gold rings are ironically not gold but really brass-plated iron. The gold rings are symbols of the corrupted world which always "wears" a shiny surface to hide its evil. It is at this point that Holden sees that he can not stop children from growing up and therefore losing their innocence. This example also relates to the high school massacre. Most of the students at the school all reached and grabbed the gold rings, but the two gunmen fell of their horses. This symbolizes the jealousy that was possessed by the two individuals. They wanted to be like the rest of the children and grab the corruption, but they fell off. This fall made them outsiders, so they had to find another route to the gold rings of the carousel. This route led them to a dead end path of evil. Society today is filled with evil and wrongdoing. No matter what is done to stop it, it will still exist and intensify. Holdens attitude reflects on todays issues. He realized that nothing can be done to put out the flame of corruption. Intervening with it is like adding lighter fluid. The two gunmen at the high school were not as fortunate as Holden. They thought that it can be stopped, but it only engulfed them and their surroundings. This led to a pattern of school massacres around the country. Shortly after this point Holden has his nervous breakdown. His breakdown is due to this depressing realization that the world is corrupt and filled with evil. He knows now with a sickening certainty that he is powerless to stop both evil and maturation. As a matter of fact, it is "bad" to do so....

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