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How Does The Song Relate To The Catcher In The Rye

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”I Know It's Over” Holden's nihilistic view of the world becomes apparent almost immediately in the book. This continues throughout the book and even worsens when he even contemplates killing himself more than once. Holden lives his life like he is already dead, which perfectly reflects the song “I know its over” by the Smiths. Both the song and the book mention loneliness and desperation along with feeling like one is already dead or that one is close to death. The song also reflects Holdens story by the repeated mention of “Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head” (The Smiths) which is reminiscent of somebody being buried after they die. The beckoning of the mother in the song is very intentional as it feels almost childlike, like someone who wants to die but is …show more content…

He has allowed the fable that “nobody understands him” to strain the relationship between him and his parents. He pushes everyone away but gets scared when he is alone, as he does not have anyone to talk to. Not only is Holden alone, but his mind is working against him, as stated in the book: “What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would've done it, too” He can not get suicide out of his mind, which can also be reminiscent of the lyric: “See, the sea wants to take me The knife wants to slit me Do you think you can help me?”(The Smiths) The speaker is admitting that something like the sea or a knife is enough to tempt them to take their own life, much like Holden, they are constantly one step away from ending it all. If it were not for his sister, Holden would have ended his life a long time before he came to Pency. It is apparent that Holden cares very deeply about his sister. He cares for her in a way that a parent or guardian would for their child. Many times, he goes out of his way to protect his sister’s

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