Catcher In The Rye Sibling Rivalry

Earlier in his life, Holden’s brother Allie dies from leukemia. Holden describes his brother Allie, “He's dead now. He got leukemia and died when we were up in Maine, on July 18, 1946. You'd have liked him. He was two years younger than I was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent. He was terrifically intelligent. His teachers were always writing letters to my mother, telling her what a pleasure it was having a boy like Allie in their class. And they weren't just shooting the crap. They really meant it. But it wasn't just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in lots of ways. He never got mad at anybody. People with red hair are supposed to get mad very easily, but Allie never did, and he had very red hair. I'll tell you what kind of red hair he had…” (Salinger 21). But Holden gets very upset and punches all the windows in the garage the night Allie dies, and damages himself so badly he has to go to the hospital. Doing that, he causes himself to miss Allie’s funeral. So holden never gets a chance to get any foreclosure with Allie. And he feels so much regret and guilt that he does not even know it. Having this guilt on his shoulders makes him feel depressed. Something that he does not realize he has. He does know that he misses Allie, but he can not process why he feels like something is wrong with his connection to Allie. Holden is affected by this everyday. It

How would the death of a loved one affect you? Coming to terms is a difficult process for everyone, especially for Holden Caulfield, in The Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caulfield, 13, lost his brother, Allie, at 11 to leukemia in Maine in July 18 of 1946. Holden now 17 finds himself coming to terms to young Allie’s death, along with his own problems. After analyzing J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s characterization matures and develops after acknowledging Allie’s death through reflection and this affects the plot by helping Holden come to terms with his own emotional problems.

Through Holden’s characterization, Salinger makes his readers question Holden’s every thought and action. Throughout the book, Holden mentions his severe depression but he puts it into perspective when he says, “The thing is, if you get very depressed about something, it’s hard as hell to swallow”(Salinger 216). Despite numerous mentions of his depression, this quote allows us to see its interference with basic life functions. This lets his readers see his depression in a personal way. Salinger lets the reader see the effects of his depression exemplified when his brother died. Holden describes the incident when he says, “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it”(Salinger 44) allowing the readers to see his crazy behavior of Holden Caulfield in a result of his depression. This all builds up to his lowest

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden, the protagonist of the story seems to be all sorts of messed up. One word recurrent theme surrounding Holden’s character is abandonment. He is dealing with a lot of issues, which leave him feeling isolated and alone. Holden has suffered the death of his youngest brother Allie, his oldest brother D.B. relocating away from the family, even a prostitute who shows no interest in talking to him.

Times with little hope in our lives can throw us into a range of emotion. One of the most famous novels, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger portrays one of life’s most important range of emotion that human beings can feel, the five stages of grief. The main character within this classic novel, Holden Caulfield, is trapped within these five stages of grief after his brother, Allie, dies of leukemia. Holden is then stuck in the five stages of grief after not being able to obtain closure. Holden’s process of going through the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) play a major part in the character of Holden and the novel itself, making the Character vs. Self the main plotline.

Holden Caulfield has recently been showing various signs of depression. A girl named Phoebe Caulfield, Holden’s sister, showed concern about her brother. One night she said to him, “You don’t like anything that’s happening” (Salinger, 169), and when he responded, “Yes I do. Sure I do” (Salinger, 169), she challenged him. She told him, “Name one thing” (Salinger, 169), and was concerned when he answered, after a long pause, “I like Allie” (Salinger, 169). Allie is Holden’s late brother, and Phoebe was worried to hear that the only thing her brother likes about this world is something that isn’t even there anymore.

When a family member passes away it causes hardship, not only immediate, but also in the long term. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, The main character, Holden Caulfield, experiences the loss of his brother. He is distanced from his family and friends emotionally, and at boarding school, is separated physically. Out of fear, he begins to shield himself from the world around him. Because of the death of Allie, Holden pushes away any new relationships that could lead to him getting hurt and clings onto those he already had.

Re- reading The Catcher in the Rye, the readers learn in fifty pages in that Holden Caulfield’s revered younger brother, Allie Caulfield, has died of leukemia. To worsen this tragedy, Holden saw Allie as the smartest, happiest kid alive. Holden not only lost the brother he loved but he saw Allie be in every way the better of the two. What a burden for an adolescent. We don’t have to look beyond this to understand Holden’s

Everyone has lost someone dear to them, often during their happiest stage- childhood. It feels like a ceiling crashing down, and affects everyone differently. Holden from J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye took the death of his brother, Allie, terribly and broke all of the windows in his family’s garage. Even his various addictions are likely related to Allie’s death. Through this and other experiences, all of his innocence is lost, and he became extremely aware of the world’s hardship much too soon. Because of this, Holden Caulfield is very protective of the purity of children, especially his sister Phoebe’s, because his was gone much too quickly.

When observing other generations, all one can do is find the negatives. Our generation is technology reliant, spoiled and our problems are a product of the entitled according to previous generations. When broadening the spectrum of our vision, we can see causes of our issues and effects of the world that we live in. In 1950, it was the duty of a man to support his family while his wife stayed at home and cared for the children. A young boy like Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger who does not conform to society’s standards does not belong in the unforgiving closed-minded time of that generation. Today, cities are built upon the idea that all people, gay or straight, transexual or bisexual,

But that one day, I didn't. He didn't get sore about it--he never got sore about anything-- but I keep thinking about it anyway, when I get very depressed” (Salinger 99). Holden feels guilty about his past and regrets not giving his brother the childhood that he deserves. Holden still has a deep connection with his younger sibling Allie despite him being dead.

J.D. Salinger is best known for his character Holden Caulfield, who is recognized as a symbol for rebellion and anguish. He is rebellious because he wants to fit in but always ends up doing the opposite thing. He also in anguish because of his emotional distress. Holden really liked this girl named Jane who was going on date with his roommate Stradlater. When Stradlater comes back from the date he tells Holden all about it. This brings out the first sign of anger that Holden has. He try’s to punch him in the face but Stradlater dodges it and gives Holden a bloody nose. This makes Holden depressed even more. Holden is a very emotional person and being bullied at school is not helping him. He does not want to be like the preppy phony kids at his school. He wants

One of the reasons why this book is chosen as teaching other people about teenagers’ problems is through, “ J. D. Salinger’s fashioned voice for Holden that enabled him to channel an alienated 16-year-old’s thoughts and anxieties and frustrations and being a voice that skeptically appraised the world and denounced its phonies and hypocrites and bores.” (Kakutani). The author makes it easy for teenagers to learn through the novel. “…My parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. They’re quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father.”

J. D. Salinger shows that Holden didn't get to properly get over the death of his brother Allie. By being sent to boarding school and not being able to go through the 5 stages of grief properly and process the death of Allie with his family and

Though Holden’s digressions may seem senseless, J.D. Salinger uses them as a tool for the readers of his novel, Catcher in the Rye, to examine and understand Holden more deeply. To begin, the main character of the film, whom Holden describes as “Alec something,” loses his memory after a war, which leaves him “carrying a cane and limping all over the place” (Salinger 179). This corresponds to Holden’s “war,” or his battle against depression and society. This struggle is what leaves him in need of support from his peers and family to “limp away from his bad times, although they will always leave an impression on his life. Holden also identifies with the protagonist of the movie because in the way that the movie character lost all memory, Holden