The World of Change and Letting Go

On the journey to find yourself, there is no set in stone path to follow. As people and
places become nothing more than memories, the shaping of a person begins. In The Catcher in
the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden is a sixteen-year-old boy attending the prestigious Pencey
School until one day he decides to escape life's claws for a few days. As Holden embarks on his
journey of self-discovery, the name Jane Gallagher is never far from his mind. She was a girl that
Holden befriended, even possibly loved, before the traumatic death of his beloved little brother,
Allie. Jane Gallagher acts as the foreboding memory of who Holden was, and she symbolizes his
eternal battle to return to the man he was once upon a time.
Jane Gallagher was Holdens friend before his life was turned upside down, and she is
now the thread of hope that Holden desperately clings to while he tries to go back to the man he
was with her. When Jane is first mentioned by his roommate, Stradlater, Holden seems very
excited to hear that she is nearby,Jane Gallagher. Jesus. I couldnt get her off my mind. I really
couldnt. I oughta go down and say hello to her, at least (32). Despite the longing to go and
see Jane again, he never actually visits her. He is afraid for her to discover that he has become a
depressed, uncaring, ticking time bomb. Also, a part of him fears that over the years it has been
since he last saw her, she will have changed too, henceforth tarnishing the fond memories he has
of her. Throughout the duration of the story, personality changes in Holden can be identified, and
they reach their peak when he comes extremely close to doing something that would kill his
familys good name - Holden hires a prostitute. Just as Holden didnt want to wreck his good
memory of Jane, he does not want to destroy the good name she has for him. Holden does not
want Jane to remember him as the boy who could not cope with life's troubles, but as the boy
that comforted her as she cried on his shoulder and kissed away her pain, Then she really started

to cry, and the next thing I knew, I was kissing her all over -anywhere- her eyes, her nose, her
forehead, her eyebrows and all, her ears - her whole face except her mouth and all. She sorta
wouldnt let me get to her mouth (79). Holden was compassionate when he knew Jane. Since
hes left Jane behind, though, he has moved from place to place and gone from school to school,
making him alienated from the world around him and increasingly depressed and suicidal.
Holden has become someone who seems to not care about anything or anyone, which is very
different from the boy who held Jane while she cried. In reality, though, Holden does care,
although it would take a trained eye to tell. As Holden undertakes his journey, he tries to become
the kind and considerate boy he was, almost as a last ditch effort to better himself before he
finally calls upon Jane. Through his experiences, he hopes to unravel what really makes him
happy again. Holden hopes that if he can find happiness once more, he can find it in him to better
himself enough to call Jane. From the beginning to the story to the very end, Jane acts as the
underlying motivation for Holden to get better and come back from the insanity that plagues his
mind constantly in the form of depression and suicidal thoughts.
Often as humans age and mature, they lose their innocence, unjudging personalities, and
their endless supply of kindness. As the reality of the world becomes clearer, they must adapt.
Holden's inability to complete this fundamental requirement of growing up caused him to change
for the worse and sent him on an endless journey to find a part of him that was long gone. Jane
Gallagher was the underlying reason he was trying to learn to adapt to the world around him,
though. Once he has fixed himself, Holden can finally call upon her as he so desperately wants
to. Along the journey of self-discovery, people change for the sake of conforming and often lose
the best versions of themselves along the way. Perhaps the true meaning of life isnt who is the

best or having whichever item is most coveted, but instead never losing oneself in the uphill
battle.