.... a character that hard-working, average, everyday people can relate to. He quickly becomes this sort of Black Everyman whose bunions hurt all the time and whose thoughts are relatively quite simple, yet he is a man who rises above these facts and has a perception that shows the man to have great wisdom and incredible insight. And although he maintains a seriousness for all his wisdom to come through; his presentation of the facts is given in a humorous manner. In Bop, "That's why so many white folks do not get their heads beat just for being white. But me --- a cop is liable to grab me almost anytime and beat my head- just for being co .....

.... Mr. Cudahy...had ever tried to get wise with her. ...I wouldn't have put it past that Cudahy bastard� (79). Throughout the book, Salinger emphasizes how much Holden wants to protect the innocence of children. One occurrence of this is when Holden went to Phoebe's school and found “fuck you� written on the wall. He was infuriated because he knew all the children would see it. He said, “ Somebody'd written ‘Fuck you' on the wall. It damn near drove me crazy� (201). Holden wiped it off because he wanted to protect the children form seeing it. In fact, the title of the book deals with Holden wanting to protect kids. Holden told Phoe .....

.... on the earth and the big trees were kings. An empty stream, a great silence, and impenetrable forest … ” (Conrad ?). The river, one which “resemble[s] an immense snake uncoiled … with its tail lost in the depths of the land” (Conrad ?), is “dangerous, dark, mysterious, treacherous, [and] concealed” (Karl 32). When the characters are unable to withstand the various temptations along this passage they helplessly sell their souls to corruption. In both the book and the movie, the various events along each individual journey help illustrate not only the physical deterioration of the environment and the characters .....