Perhaps The Catcher in the Rye's strongest theme is main character Holden Caulfield's fascination and even obsession with the ideal of true innocence; a greater innocence in the face of the superficiality and hypocrisy that he considers to be a scourge on American society. Added to this ideal is a distrust of adults and an alienation towards his peers. His interest in purity ultimately leads to his nervous breakdown, as everywhere he turns, someone else has lost their innocence. Holden, like most teenagers, embarks on a journey of self-discovery as depicted throughout the novel. However, this transition to adulthood becomes particularly turbulent for Holden. He feels like he doesn't belong anywhere, certainly not in the "dirty little cliques" (The Catcher in the Rye 131) that fill his boys' schools, and not with his distant and rarely mentioned parents either. . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Holden's peers represent the degeneration that slowly transforms them into full-fledged adults. He sees that one by one, all the people his age are becoming “false”; that is, to grow. Stradlater, Holden's roommate at Pencey Prep, is the embodiment of what Holden despises in his generation. Stradlater is a hypocrite; he goes “crazy when we (break) rules” (41) while at the same time he arrives late for his appointment for his nine-thirty curfew, because “who the hell signs for nine-thirty one Saturday evening” (42)? Her date happens to be Holden's dear friend, Jane Gallagher, whom Holden respects and holds in the highest form of admiration and affection. Holden can't bear to think that sexually "impure" Stradlater might jeopardize his innocence, leading him to lash out violently. Holden later finds his sweetheart, Sally Hayes, and opens up completely to her. He tells her all his problems and complaints about society, and is even more depressed to find that she is just as jaded as Stradlater and on her way to becoming a shallow adult. She meets his extravagant plan to run away with rejection and a dispiriting dose of reality, exclaiming that they were "both practically children" (132). Holden's isolation from his peers is the result of his anger against his generation and himself; he views adults as jaded and fears that everyone his age is slowly turning in the same direction. “He's afraid of growing up because he's afraid of becoming like the people he despises” (Bean), and he's already seeing this change in his age group. Growing up, for Holden, only denotes negative thoughts, which all adults worry about. it's "how many miles they go for a gallon" (131) on their cars, and other equally superficial things. Adults can't even participate in charity work, at least "(they can't) walk around with a basket collecting dough... (unless) everyone kisses (their) ass for (them) ) when they have made a contribution" (114). The adults are "impostors" of the highest order to Holden; they lack all the intense emotion, impetuosity, and other human qualities often exhibited in young people. They are absorbed in their own superficial hobbies, "making it appear that they care whether the football team wins or loses" (131), and in every way they are self-centered Holden observes this in his own parents. and in all the other old people, and can't bear to think that he could become something like that..