The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger is the story of Holden Caulfield's growth as a person. Some see Holden as a static character and say that by the end of the novel he has not changed. I would say that on the contrary Holden is an extremely dynamic character throughout the story. Holden changes and grows as a character because he lets go of the desire to protect innocence in the world, we see Holden begin to grow into what Erik Erikson believes is the developmental stage for teenagers, and begins to be willing to apply himself. Throughout the novel we see that Holden wants to be able to protect innocence in the world, however at the end of the story he lets go of that desire. This is a growth point for Holden. He finds it impossible and unnecessary to maintain all the innocence in the world. While with Phoebe Holden he says, “I keep imagining all these kids playing some game in this big rye field… they're standing on the edge of this crazy cliff. What I have to do is catch everyone if they start falling off the cliff... That's all I would do all day. I would just be the catcher in the rye” (173). At this moment Holden wants to be able to preserve all the youth and innocence in the world. He doesn't accept that kids have to grow and change and that they can't remain innocent forever. Later in the story, when Holden is with Phoebe at the carousel again, he thinks, “The trouble with children is, if they want to get the gold ring, you have to let them and not say anything. If they fall, they fall, but it's bad if you say something to them." At the end of the novel Holden realizes and comes to terms with the fact that children grow up and lose their innocence. He goes from his desire to be the “catcher in the rye” to… middle of paper… talk to Phoebe who says, “‘Were you sincere in what you said? Are you really not going anywhere? Are you really going home afterwards?' he asked me. “Yes,” I said. I say so too” (212). Holden goes from wanting to do crazy things with his life to realizing that he can improve it even without making such drastic changes. Over the course of the book Holden definitely grows and changes as a character and for the better. He is not a static character, but a dynamic one. He goes from wanting to protect innocence, not even trying to commit to school and wanting to make drastic and crazy changes in his life, to realizing that he can't protect innocence, thinking he will commit to school next year and not trying. make crazy changes to his life. Holden Caulfield is certainly a dynamic character as he grows and changes over the course of The Catcher in the Rye.