The Corrruption Of Innocence

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The Corruption of Innocence

It has struck some leaving a lasting impact while others just let it go by. Some would see it as corruption, and others see everyday life. I see it as the pure loss of innocence in a world of corruption. This new issue has risen in today's generation leaving no one free of it wrath. This has not been the first we have seen of this. The loss of innocence has been referred to over years by many authors, but now we come to see it in our lives a lot more frequently. According to authors like Emerson and Salinger, who although wrote their pieces so far apart, feel everyday in life the American Character is faced upon with the corruption of innocence that takes away from their unique American Character.
In his book, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger focuses on the theme of innocence for a large amount of time. Holden constantly refers to everyone as being a phony and that they had lost their innocence, which had been corrupted when they matured and were exposed to society. The society had exposed them to the real world and made them think in order to survive they must follow others. Holden goes in part of the book about jobs he likes and starts to describe job of a lawyer and says how they are sincere and try to save innocent lives, but then he goes on to think about how they are probably phonies and only doing it to be hot-shots and makes lots of money to impress society. (Salinger 172) The outcome of his thoughts was that everybody had conformed and followed each society's ideas, which upset Holden because no one was free of corruption accept the children of society, like Ally. Holden sees it as a major issue in the book and serves as a major role of Holden's throughout the book. The issue even leads to the title of the book in the sense that it is named after his supposed job he wishes to under take as a Catcher in the Rye. He wants to be a catcher in a field of rye and little children who catches children from falling off the cliff and being corrupted by society. (Salinger 173) Therefore, in fact the theme of innocence has a significant role in this book.
Another author who also uses the role of innocence and corruption as a major theme is Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay 'Self-Reliance';.

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