In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, Holden Caulfield has a deeply rooted desire to prevent himself and the world around him from changing. In fact the novel was partially banned "based on the perception that Holden is an unregenerate and unchanged person". However there is evidence that Holden changes towards the end of the novel. It is incorrect to say that Holden remains unchanged from beginning to end, because at the end of the novel he tries to shed his defensive nature and accept change as a positive thing. Holden has no desire to let himself or others change, however through his experiences and looking back at what has happened, Holden realizes that change is inevitable and to grow as a human being he can only accept what he must happen. novel Holden alienates himself from society by ignoring helpful advice and clinging to his desire for everything in the world to remain unchanged. In the second chapter of the novel Holden purposely ignores Mr. Spencer's advice that "life is a game played by the rules" (Catcher 8) by thinking to himself "Game, my ass" (Catcher 8). Holden disagrees with Mr. Spencer's statement that life is a game that should be played by the rules because if Holden played by the rules then he should be like everyone else, and Holden considers everyone else, for the most, like "The fakes." Holden's strong desire to prevent change is reflected in his talk with Phoebe later in the novel. She asks Holden to "name one thing" (Catcher 169) that he likes to do, and Holden tells her he would be "just the catcher in the rye and all that," catching "everyone if they start falling off the cliff" (Catcher 173) . We see Holden's desire to maintain an unchanged environment. Holden would be happy if he could prevent those children playing on the cliff from changing. By alienating himself, Holden creates a resistance to change, because when no one can influence his decisions or how he acts, he becomes numb to change. However, as the novel progresses, Holden discovers that trying to prevent change is a far-fetched dream. As the novel reaches the final chapters, Holden slowly begins the process of internal change..