the catcher in the rye?

I don't think he's exactly selfish as there are reasons in his life that made him the way he is. He thoroughly believes in the hypocrisy of the adult world, which if you look at the people that surround him is completely justifiable (Stradlater, Ackley, Mr. Spencer, etc.). He simply wants to revert to childhood where hypocrisy was absent. By being the catcher in the rye, he wants to preserve the innocence of children, particularly Phoebe, whom he obviously adores. Holden doesn't want her to grow up to be like Stradlater and Ackley. However, as adulthood is inevitable, he is unrealistic.

The novel explores the conflict between youthful honesty and adult hypocrisy. Holden feels he is surrounded by people who are 'phony', trapped in a conformist society where people don't have the courage to be true, honest or different. Holden is just a solitary rebel who cannot conform. The metaphor of the catcher in the rye clarifies Holden's desire to protect children's innocence. He can see himself saving them as they stumble off the cliff of childhood into the very world Holden himself loathes. However, his state of mind is questionable.

I didn't like the book but I did like that scene. As he's sitting there with his sister, after all the stuff he's putting himself through, I think he's just saying he wants to prevent kids from losing their innocence. He's coming to a point in his life where he's angsty and sees how horrible life is (and, unfortunately, nothing else) and he doesn't want his sister to have to see that. The rye is like childhood, where you're hopefully innocent and know nothing of the pain waiting you. The drop off is where they fall and lose innocence and realize that they can and will be hurt. By being a "Catcher in the Rye" it means he wants to save them from that pain for as long as possible. He is immature by assuming he can do it forever, but it's also amiable in a way.

I thought he was pretty selfish and stuff too, but the book was really boring anyway