To the casual reader, there may be only one theme to Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. However, to the scrutinizing reader, another more important theme is realized by the last two sentences in the novel, when he goes through the acceptance stage of grief. Because of the death of his brother Allie at an early age, Holden is traumatized to the point that he fears change, resents adults, and glorifies innocence. Throughout the book, he lives out the following sequence: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally Acceptance. Holden Caulfield has the obvious psychological difficulty of accepting the fact that everyone's innocence must be lost at some point, and a "phoniness" must take its place. But, it can be said that the true theme of the novel is more complex than that. The entire book is Holden's grieving process, and is an in-depth look at the...