has not felt this sense of protection from anyone in his life, and he cannot deal with his own loss of innocence.  Holden has been struggling with this conflict throughout the novel, and it becomes apparent in the concluding chapters.

Chapters 9-12 in The Catcher in the Rye reveal three leitmotifs that Holden echo throughout the book (see below).  Taken together, they reveal Holden's unwillingness to progress emotionally into adulthood after his brother's death.  Rather, they show his desire to remain a lost child, a lonely martyr in a corrupt adult world:

1.  Fascination with Innocence and Things Frozen in Time:

• Frozen pond in Central Park
• Fish trapped underneath
• Ducks forced to be moved elsewhere
• Jane keeping her kings in the back row (checkers)

2.  Wanting both to Rescue and to be Rescued:

• Ducks in the lagoon: wants someone to rescue them
• Wants to rescue Jane from Stradlater
• Wants to rescue Phoebe (from corrupt adult world)
• Wants Pheobe to rescue him (be a moral compass)

3.  Sorting out Phonies from Non-Phonies:

• Over-sexed teens are phony (Stradlater)
• Celebrity-obsessed girls are phonies (in Lavender room)
• Materialistic artists (D.B.) are phonies
• All kids are non-phonies: Phoebe

To me, there are a couple of conflicts going on in these chapters and they are really just the same conflicts that dominate the book as a whole.  I think there is an internal conflict within Holden and I think there is a conflict between Holden and society.

All of the conflict that appears to be between Holden and people in these chapters is really Holden vs. society in my opinion.  When he tries to talk to Faith, the women from Seattle, and the taxi driver, he is trying to act in ways that he finds interesting.  But the other people don't really approve.

At the same time, it seems like there's a conflict inside of Holden about whether he really rejects society or not.  Otherwise, why would he keep looking for these "phony" interactions instead of just calling Jane?

The primary conflict that takes place in chapters 11–15 is man vs. self, as Holden continues to struggle with his extreme isolation and loneliness. In these chapters, Holden is in New York City alone and desperately seeks companionship and assurance from someone who genuinely cares about him.

He continually thinks about calling his longtime friend, Jane Gallagher, but hesitates to do so and instead seeks companionship from strangers. Instead of calling Jane and opening up about his feelings of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty, Holden attempts to hang out with a cab driver named Horwitz, solicits a sex worker named Sunny, and sets up a date with Sally Hayes. Holden is desperately seeking someone to talk to but refuses to acknowledge his own fears about opening up.

Horwitz immediately dismisses Holden's request to have a drink and Sunny simply wants to be paid for her time with Holden, which is relatively uneventful. Unfortunately, Holden gets strong-armed by Maurice, and he feels as lonely as ever by the end of chapter 14. Once again, Holden is reluctant to call Jane and ends up asking Sally Hayes on a date.

Overall, Holden's primary conflict concerns his isolation and loneliness in chapters 11–15. Instead of speaking to Jane or Phoebe, Holden attempts to find companionship from strangers, which does not benefit his emotional well-being and leads him deeper into depression.