What is this book saying about life?

The Catcher in the Rye is a Bildungsroman novel, so the main purpose is a young boy going through the phases to become a man. The story shows the struggles that come with growing up, that it is not easy, but it is inevitable and it must be dealt with. Holden spends his day critiquing the people around him calling them “stupid” or “phonies”, but then proceeds to make conversation and act as though they’re the best of friends. The book tells the reader that the world is full of phonies, a point that Holden makes very clear, but recognizing the fact that there are phonies doesn’t make you any less of one. The harsh fact of life is that you do not always get what you want.

“What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they’re running and don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.” (224-225)

If Holden could be one thing he would want to preserve children’s innocence, save them from the cliff which symbolizes adulthood. What Holden has to learn is that it is not his responsibility to save children from growing up and he needs to accept the fact the growing up is impossible to stop.