Loss of Innocence: The Catcher in the Rye and Rebel Without a Cause Sierra Mai Summers 11th Grade

Each day, someone loses his or her innocence due to a seminal moment that changes his or her life forever. This concept of lost innocence is represented in both the novel The Catcher in the Rye and the film Rebel Without a Cause. Protagonists Holden Caulfield and Jim Stark strive to preserve the innocence of others in order to protect them from the turmoil they see every day in the real world. Similarly, both highly developed characters take on the role of protecting someone they care for immensely.

In Rebel Without a Cause, Jim befriends a boy named Plato who has trouble fitting in with the other teenagers at their school. When the two friends and Judy go to an abandoned mansion late at night, Plato opens up and shares his belief that his parents have completely cast him aside. It is apparent to Jim that his friend is beginning to see the true colors of the world, so he steps in to try to preserve his friend’s innocence as long as he can. He and Judy pretend to be a couple who are looking at the mansion in hopes of a new home for them and their kids. Plato starts off by pretending to be the real estate broker, but quickly switches to portraying their son when Jim starts acting as a parental figure to him. By acting like a...