The Carousel in Central Park is a location Holden visits in the last chapter in the novel with his sister. It is yet another symbol for Holden's childhood, but his thoughts while watching his sister ride it transform it into something more. As he watches Phoebe dangerously reach out and try to grab a gold ring, he finally accepts that you can't protect children and their innocence from the "Adult" world- it's simply a natural part of life. After coming to this realization, Holden feels so happy that he was "damn near bawling."
“Then the carousel started, and I watched her go round and round...All the kids tried to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she'd fall off the goddam horse, but I didn't say or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it is bad to say anything to them.”
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