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The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger published in 1951, follows the story of 16-year old Holden Caulfield. He has a nonchalant personality and is constantly failing out of school. I think, as much as he says the world is "phony" and adults are fake, some part of him does care because he's hurting. During his conversation with his little sister Pheobe when he comes home early, we see part of where his mind is at. Specifically when he mentions how his favorite thing is Allie, to which Pheobe retaliates. It's clear that Holden is still holding onto emotional trauma from the death of his brother. This could very well be the reason why the idea of adults/growing up is so off-putting to him because he lost his brother when he was young. And the older he get's the more time goes past without Allie. Other than Pheobe, he seems to be the person that Holden has connected the most with. 

His relationship with Pheobe is interesting in the sense that although she is younger than him, she has a clear understanding of the world and of Holdens world. She is able to get inside of his mind in a way that his old teacher couldn't. The whole scene the night Holden snuck home told us a lot about Holden that we may not have gotten without Pheobe playing a role. It is also clear that Pheobe cares deeply about Holden and wants the best for him. The way Holden leans on and views Pheobe and Allie makes me wonder sometimes what his life would be like if he was an only child or didn't have Pheobe in his life. 


Comments

  1. MitchellMarch 10, 2023 at 2:20 PM

    Maybe Phoebe can "get inside Holden's mind" better than Mr. Spencer can, but it is interesting that, if anything, she pushes back on Holden's BS even *harder* than Spencer does, and her complaints are pretty close to Spencer's--Holden doesn't care about anything, doesn't like anything that's happening, needs to start applying himself in school, etc. She listens, but she also pushes back, which he clearly doesn't anticipate. And now that he's spent so many words telling us how smart and perceptive she is, he can't dismiss her as a moron the way he can with Spencer.

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