How Does Holden Introduce Phoebe

One interesting aspect of the books is each major event that occurs is an example of a problem Holden faces due to his condition. The first major event in the novel is his expulsion from Pencey Preparatory School due to his lack of determination and effort, as he believes it is not worth his time. In this is the first example of a problem he faces as a clinically depressed persons, quite frequently those who are depressed will take a less cautious foresighted outlook on life causing them to miss many potential opportunities. The second major event is when Holden decides to hire a prostitute named Sunny, however his interest is only because he wants someone to talk to. In this comes our second problem faced by Holden, loneliness. While there are countless examples of Holden's loneliness throughout the book, I chose this because I believed it speaks to the societal and physical ramifications this condition can have. Due to Holden's extreme desecration for company and his short sighted actions, ends up being robbed because Sunny does not think she was paid in full. The third major event I chose was Holden's interaction with Sally Hayes after going ice skating. In this scene Holden acting on his compulsive nature resorts to being harsh and cynical around Sally, and because of this loses a friend. This shows the

Holden has this problem big time with Jane. He fights mentally with Jane almost everyday. Thinking about calling her, remembering old times, and thinking about going to see her. After leaving the lavender room Holden states “I got old Jane Gallagher on the brain again. I got her on, and I couldn’t get her off “(85). Getting into fights with girls he does not even like is another problem of his. Sally a girl he has seen a few times is one. He calls up sally to see a movie but when she does not want to run away with him he decides he does not like her anymore. When he wants to run away he tells sally” ‘Look here’s my plan. How would you like to get the hell out of here?’” (146). Fighting with sisters is normal but Holden fights mentally with the love for his sister phoebe. Holden loves his baby sister phoebe, he thinks she is almost perfect. Her innocence reminds him of his childhood which he greatly

Throughout the novel Phoebe has redefined the female stereotypes by being intelligent. Even though Holden and Phoebe are siblings it is quite remarkable the impact she has had on him. Phoebe is a 10 year old young lady who is portrayed as an overly emotional and unintelligent woman by society. In chapter 10 while getting ready to go to the Lavender Room at the Edmont’s nightclub Holden contemplates calling Phoebe but he thinks other wise, he goes on to describe her characteristics. Holden says, “the only trouble is, she’s a little too affectionate sometimes, she’s very emotional, for a child. She really is” (Salinger 76). Anti Feminists would say that women have too many emotions compared to men, and it is these emotions that make them perceive

The relationship between Holden and Phoebe forms a major theme that the novel aims to deliver. The fact that he is having this conversation with Phoebe, a child who is anything but simple and innocent, reveals the oversimplification of his worldview. Holden himself realizes this to a degree when he acknowledges that his idea is “crazy”, yet he cannot come up with anything more pragmatic; he has trouble seeing the world in any other way. His “catcher in the rye” fantasy reflects his innocence, his belief in pure, uncorrupted youth, and his desire to protect that spirit. On the other hand, it represents his extreme disconnection from reality and his naïve view of the world. Phoebe exposes to Holden a living embodiment of childhood. And it is a scene with her where she exposes to Holden the illogical nature of his supervisory actions, indicating that his desire to preserve her innocence will only halt her own inevitable development. Phoebe is the Greek word for “protector of children” (Bloom 2009, p185). Within the novel she is Holden’s protector. She comforts him, provides him with financial security, and protects him from getting in trouble with their mother. Reiff describes this reversal of roles between Holden and Phoebe as “Now, instead of saving the world by protecting the children, Holden wants to reject the world and shut himself off from evil by becoming a ‘deaf-mute’ in the West. It is Phoebe who rescues him from this total withdrawal” (Reiff 2008, p71). Phoebe forces Holden to view her as a human—living and progressing— rather than as a forever preserved child, and it is this humanization that causes Holden to accept her eventual progression into

Holden looks fairly mature and, as stated in the novel, can usually get drinks due to his height and gray hair. However, Phoebe is and looks like a child. She represents childhood innocence. Holden looks older than he is and is becoming an adult. He struggles with this as he misses being a child, but he also seems to enjoy some of the benefits of his independence as an “adult.” These similarities and differences are not only external, but internal as well.

In the course of the story, Holden is suspended between adulthood and childhood. Several of his actions and words show evidence of his confusion between adults and children. Admitting to his immaturity, Holden says, “I was sixteen then, and I’m seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I’m about thirteen.” (p. 9) Sunny, the prostitute is an example of Holden’s attempt to be an adult, but realizing he is stuck in childhood. Another example is when he asks his cab driver where the ducks in Central Park go during the Winter when the ice is

2. The reason why Holden didn’t do anything with Sunny was because he is feeling very depressed. Holden tells her that he had changed his mind and then he said “I felt more depressed than sexy” (Salinger 107). This quote shows how Holden was depressed. Holden wasn’t in the mood, and when he isn’t in the mood to do something,

The only person that understands him and can give advice is his sister, Phoebe. A Tpassage were we can see that connexion between Phoebe and Holden is when he buys a gift for her and he uses a time to think about her “The first record store I went into had a copy of “Little Shirley Beans” (p.128).

9. You learn a lot about Phoebe and Holden’s tender feelings for her from the flashback on page 68. Using that passage as a model, describe someone you know. As Holden does, begin your

him some type of emotional security. Holden is not comfortable showing a vulnerable side to others and sometimes goes to extreme measures, like alienating himself, to avoid becoming hurt. This idea becomes apparent when Holden decides to hire a prostitute. When Sunny first arrives, Holden lies to her about his name and age, building up Holden’s disguise that he creates with his , sex. In “the scene with sunny [it] reveals that Holden is not ready for sexual relationships-- he is a “sex maniac” only in his head…” (Miller).

Holden is very fond of Phoebe and also very protective of her, when Holden goes to her school his protective attribute is very relevant. When Holden gets into Phoebe’s school Holden is surprised with extreme profanity on the walls in the school, during his time in the school he sees the words “Fuck You” written on the walls thought the school. The first time Holden saw the words he instantly began to think of how Phoebe and the other kids would feel if they were to see it. It upset Holden so much that he thought, “I kept wanting to kill whoever’d written it… I’d smash his head on the stone steps till he was good and goddamn dead and bloody. (p.201)” His obsession with innocence was so strong that Holden felt compelled to kill the “perverty bum (p.201)” Though he could never act on his feelings he decided to make an effort to clean the graffiti off the walls, once again protecting and preserving innocence. A more personal and compelling occasion where Holden was the protector of Phoebe’s innocence is when they went to the carrousel near the zoo. While approaching the carrousel Holden thought of his past when D.B, Allie, Phoebe and himself use to go to the carrousel all the time and how Phoebe couldn’t get enough of it. After remembering how happy it made her Holden told her she should go on, Phoebe declined claiming she was too big to ride even though she really wanted to but after insisting, she got on. Holden then watched her go around in circles while he sat on one of the benches. “[Holden thought to himself] I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn

Holden is trying to protect children from losing their innocence, but how he is doing that is by trying to help his little sister. He is trying to help his sister by showing her fun, but he needs to take care of himself more. Because if he doesn’t he will slowly lose his mind, by having a mental breakdown. When Holden is hanging out in the city, he is thinking about how much his life sucks. For most of the book Holden is trying not to think about his life, because he doesn’t want to think about the consequences. Holden is pretty batty throughout the book, he is always thinking of a hundred things at one time. Holden is stressed out during the whole book, because he was kicked out of his school and is worried his parents will find out. So he hides in New York during the book, where he is doing stupid things.

After Phoebe tries getting Holden to figure out the movie that she saw with one of her friends, Holden says, ” I don’t know-Listen. Didn’t they say what time they’d--”. This quote shows that Holden does not care about what Phoebe has to say about the movie that she saw. Also, in Chapter 3, page 21, Holden says, “What I did was, I pulled the old peak of my hunting hat around to the front, then pulled it way down over my eyes.” This shows Holden is a different and playful person when his hat is involved. Holden switches his whole mood and begins joking around with Ackley, even though he just said a lot of bad things about him. Holden says in Chapter 3, that he and Ackley are the only two guys not at the football game. This shows that Holden and Ackley are similar, because the both are not liked very much because of their horrible personality, lack of communication, and their dislike in being around other people. In Ackley especially, readers can see how people treat him and how he treats himself, by not taking care of his

When asked what Holden’s demeanor is, most would say cocky, confident, and close-minded. However, when Holden starts to talk about an old friend and minor character Jane Gallagher, his feelings and attitude change entirely. His tough exterior expeditiously melts into a sensitive side that is rarely seen. In most instances when discussing girls, Holden has something negative to say. Despite that, while in a club in New York, he comes across three girls who interest him. Suddenly, his thoughts about them change when he says, “They started giggling some more, I’m not kidding, they were three real morons” (Salinger 70). Although he is interested in talking to them, Holden is pessimistic about them and their behaviors. Nonetheless, when Jane Gallagher is brought up, Holden transforms into a different person. He becomes very invested in his descriptions of her and her good qualities. “You never even worried, with Jane, whether your hand was sweaty or not, All you knew was, you were happy. You really were” (Salinger 79). Throughout his course of discussing her, he doesn’t mention a single negative word about Jane. Even when talking about how his hand gets sweaty when holding hers, he also mentions that this doesn’t matter, and he is happy with her no matter what. In the movie ‘Stand By Me’, this same event happens with the Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern. These four boys are on a search to find the dead body of Ray Brower, who is believed to be hit by a train. Throughout the movie, their main concern is finding the body and proving to the town how tough and brave they are for finding him on their own. However, when they see the body, a wave of guilt floods over them. They feel bad that this tragic event happened to Ray. In fact, they don’t do not take the ownership of finding his body, and instead anonymously call the police. In both The Catcher in the Rye and Stand By Me, the situations with subtle, minor characters bring out

Rather, he is saddened by her sitting in his room in her slip. He imagines her buying the dress she has just taken off and realizes that she is a real person and not just a toy to be used for his pleasure. Holden's desire to understand and feel for other people stops him. Holden also admits to being a coward, but the reader realizes he is just a scared boy trying to act like a man in an adult world. Even so, he doesn't flinch in the face of danger when threatened by bullies, such as his roommate Stradlater or the pimp, Maurice. Much more important than his physical courage is the moral tenacity with which he clings to his beliefs in the face of a hostile society. (Lettis, 5)