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Premium Content The Unanswered Question: Holden Caulfield, John Yossarian and the Fate of Innocence

By Joseph Anthony Anistranski, Jr. - April 17, 2005

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J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye and Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22 reveal a concern for innocence within each protagonist. Salinger and Heller center their novels on questions relating to innocence: Holden Caulfield’s “where did the ducks go” (Salinger, 13) and John Yossarian’s “Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?” (Heller, 35). Both…

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