What is the main theme of The Catcher in the Rye?

The main theme of J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951) is the loss of innocence. Holden Caulfield, the book’s teenage narrator, wants to be the “catcher in the rye” (a reference to a poem by Robert Burns that Holden misquotes), saving children from falling into adulthood. Other themes in the novel include youthful alienation and grief. Notably, the story takes place a few years after Holden’s younger brother, Allie, has died from leukemia.