Holden Caulfield is the protagonist in the novel the Catcher in the Rye. The 16 year old boy writes of his journey through a personal period in his life. He is alone and desperate for relationships. He feels as if everyone despises him and he fears the idea of growing up and becoming a “phony.” He is also afraid of death, mainly because of his experience with the death of his little brother Allie. Through his journey he goes from a lonely secluded boy who has nothing figured out to a young adult who has learned to accept others and has a small chance of hope in life. Holden thinks of himself as a sophisticated person who sees and understands all around him, but his not. Really he is just a kid at heart and wishes to stay a kid forever. He has a theory that children are pure and the epitome of innocence and once they grow up and become adults they become impure and corrupt, and for that reason Holden wishes to stay a kid forever. This causes Holden to be slightly distant from others and not very friendly. This isolation hurts him and tries to find way to communicate with others but can’t. With all of the personal problems his dealing with his school life suffers. He had dropped out of prep school and had no apparent plans for the future. Some of his old teachers like Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini try to help Holden and give him advice. Mr. Antolini criticizes Holden and Holden is forced to see the problem. Holden is afraid of the adult world and doesn’t want to be a part of it, and this makes him even more distant. Eventually Holden becomes completely isolated and he realizes that he needs to get out of this isolation. Holden reaches out to past lovers and friends trying to break his isolation. He contacts Jane Gallagher his past lover, and also Sally Hayes, an ex-girlfriend. But in the end it was Phoebe, Holden’s sister, who gets through to Holden. Phoebe is angry with Holden and she has a serious conversation with him. She asks him of his future plans and what he will do now that he has dropped out of school. Holden replies saying he wants to be “the catcher in the rye.” He wanted to help kids and prevent them from being sucked into the adult world. Holden’s transformation was not sudden and took several influences to get him to change. In the end it was Mr. Antolini and Phoebe who got through to him. He doesn’t change completely and become the perfect young adult. Instead he has a realization and shows hope of change, which for him is a good start. Holden eventually decides to accept life for what it is and not try to preserve the innocence of children, and that was the biggest transformation in Holden.