What does the carousel represent in The Catcher in the Rye?

Holden Caulfield struggles to come to terms with the knowledge that the loss of innocence is an inexorable aspect of our lives. He would like to make it his mission to protect the innocence of children and in some way postpone his own fall into the adult world. He is drawn to the carousel because it represents a place of blissful, childish pleasure with music, lights, movement, and safety in the familiar.  

The nature of carousels is circular. Symbolically, that means that one can only go on repeating the same path until one steps—or falls—off the carousel. Forward momentum is necessary to lead a successful life, and in the novel's moving final carousel scene, Holden experiences an epiphany. He declines Phoebe's invitation to ride with her and understands his place in the world and his own maturation. The scene ends with an uplifting tone as Holden recalls, "I felt so damn happy all of sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around." Phoebe still has years to live in the suspension of childhood and is safe on the carousel—for now.