1. Innocence
1.1. “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling.”
1.1.1. This shows how Holden doesn't need a lot to be happy. For example he was watching Phoebe go around on the ride and it made him happy.
1.2. “If you do something too good, then, after a while, if you don't watch it, you start showing off. And then you're not as good any more.”
1.2.1. This show Holden's innocence by he is explaining how he usually did stuff and nobody saw what he did, so then when he tries to show what he did it ends up failing or not working out how he wanted it to work out.
1.3. "If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn’t rub out even half the f-u signs in the world."
1.3.1. This shows how Holden is a good person in the inside which shows his innocence because "fu" written on the wall got him mad even though it doesn't affect him. This shows how he actually cares.
2. Success
2.1. “ ‘Oh I feel some concern for my future, all right. Sure. Sure, I do.’ ”
2.1.1. Although Holden seems a little sarcastic in this quote, he does truly care for his future. You start to notice this later in the book.
2.2. "What I think is, you're supposed to leave somebody alone if he's at least being interesting and he's getting all excited about something. I like it when somebody gets excited about something. It's nice."
2.2.1. Holden feels that the only way for him to be successful is by people leaving him alone. Although Holden doesn't show it throughout the story he feels like that the only way for him to be succesful
2.3. “. . .if I’m going to apply myself when I go back to school. . . I think I am”
2.3.1. Holden has the motivation to be successful he just needs to apply it.
2.4. “I’d just be the in the rye and all.”
2.4.1. Holden technically aspires to be something: there is actually something that he would want to be successful in doing.
3. Failures
3.1. “"Well. . . they'll be pretty irritated about it," I said. "They really will. This is about the fourth school I've gone to." I shook my head. I shake my head quite a lot. "Boy!" I said. I also say "Boy!" quite a lot.”
3.1.1. This is when Holden gets kicked out of his fourth school, which is a huge failure to him because he wanted to stay in the school.
3.2. “. . . I guess it hasn't really hit me yet. All I'm doing right now is thinking about going home Wednesday. I’m a moron”
3.2.1. Holden is thinking about the school he just got kicked out of he feels as if he just failed by getting kicked out of this school.
4. http://www.newliteraryhistory.com/catcherintherye.html
5. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-catcher-in-the-rye/character-analysis/holden-caulfield-2
6. http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/fifties/essays/catcher-rye-voice-alienation
7. Thesis: Holden wants to be successful, but is unable so he ends up acting like he doesn't care even though he actually does.
8. Family
8.1. “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling.
8.1.1. Holden was successful in realizing/finding something that really made him happy
8.2. “As a matter of fact, I’m the only dumb one in the family.”
8.2.1. Holden explaining how much of a disgrace he is to his family. This gives him motivation to try and succeed.