Why Is Holden Sneaking Into His Own House

Topic 1-Holden loss of his younger brother Allie causes him to be in the grieving process.

"I'm just ready to get this over with", I said, "Mom and dad will cry

Returning back home from getting kicked out of Pencey, Holden meets the mother of Ernest Murrow, a classmate of his, on the train. They introduce themselves and start talking about Ernest and how he is like in school. Holden did not tell Mrs. Murrow

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

On page 61, in chapter 8, Holden just got in the taxi and heading to his hotel. He says in a desperate way, “would you care for a cocktail.” The diction choices can infer that his maturity level is higher than the people in his age group. The author has purposely crafted the narrator in this way to show that he had no other option but to grow up fast. He continues to develop as a character, on page 68, in chapter 9, Holden thinks to himself, “I didn’t care much i was too depressed to care whether I had a good view or not.” The reader can infer that the main character is starting to reveal his true self. The author craft in this way to make the reader have sympathy for the narrator. On page 68, in chapter 10, Holden thinks to himself, “ I danced with them all - the whole three of them-one at a time.”The diction choices can infer that the narrator treats the three women like trash by fooling around with them and have no respect for them. The author has purposely crafted in this way to show that he is isolated from the world because he has not been interacting with others in such a long time. On page 87, in chapter 11, the narrator flashback to his childhood, “anyway, I was telling you about that afternoon Jane and I came close to necking.”The diction choices can infer that he starts to reveal the other side of himself, the real him is someone who actually cares about people who he loves.

means to him. Suddenly, they hear their parents open the door the apartment. His mother checks on Phoebe. Phoebe loans Holden her Christmas money, which makes Holden cry. He gives her his red hunting cap and leaves the building.

How did Holden’s mood change when he saw Phoebe sleeping? How did Phoebe respond when Holden woke her? Why was her respond important to him?

After about three days of drifting, Holden gets very excited fantasizing about how he will go out west and start life anew. However, before he leaves, he must say goodbye to Phoebe. This shows how Holden prioritizes Phoebe over himself, valuing her innocence. Holden writes a note telling Phoebe to meet him at the museum because he is planning to run away. Then Phoebe arrives at the museum with a suitcase and begs to run away with him. Holden responds harshly that she cannot go with him and she begins to cry. Then after a few moments Holden says, “I’m not going away anywhere. I changed my mind. So stop crying and shut up” (Salinger 207). Presumably he told Phoebe that he would not leave to make her stop crying, but he notes that Phoebe was

When he met up with Sally, Holden was so excited. He got to the meeting place early and eagerly awaited her arrival. Instead of going to see a movie, as previously planned, they went ice skating. Sally and Holden have a wonderful time ice skating. After skating, and during dinner, Holden has this peculiar idea about moving away with Sally to Massachusetts or Vermont. She firmly rejects the idea. “Why not, why the hell not?” says Holden (132). Holden has a strong negative reaction to Sally, asking her why she won’t go with him. Holden acted in an irrational manner. After they argue Sally leaves him abruptly. Holden’s unrealistic request and overreaction to Sally’s response was induced by his depression.

1. In chapter ten, Holden narrates and introduces Phoebe as well as the three girls he dances with. How do their descriptions contrast and what can you infer about Holden from the differences?

Pg 195 Character Phoebe tends to behave a lot older than she is for her a child her age. She knows how to cover up for people when needed such as when her parents entered her room asking if she had been smoking a cigarette. As we know, it was actually Holden who was smoking in Phoebe’s room. She then proceeds to say, “I just took one puff,” as she was trying to protect her older brother. This shows she has an understanding of what people are trying to do -Holden is trying to hide from his parents- and knows what to say in order to cover up for certain

I didn’t even feel like I was getting pneumonia or anything anymore. I just felt good for a change”(Salinger 207). Holden was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and just being in Phoebe’s room made him feel better. Holden is still not truly happy here. He knows that he is in even more danger of being caught by his parents now that he is back at his home.

Since Holden got kicked out of Ossenburger hall because he is failing four out of his five classes, he cannot go home until Christmas break starts. He wonders into New York for a couple of days to hang out. Holden decides to go to a bar a get drunk to pass the time. Well, he does find

Not only does Holden feel great affection for Phoebe, Phoebe feels great affection for Holden as well. It isn't too hard to understand that she and Holden are especially close since one of their brothers is dead and the other lives miles from their home. It is also surprising on how quickly Phoebe realizes that Holden came home earlier than expected. It is obvious that Phoebe is much more mature and articulate for her age to realize something like that so quickly. It is as if she is Holden's older sister instead of the younger one.

These two have an extremely close relationship with each other. Holden, in many cases, puts his sister up on a pedestal by complimenting her looks, intelligence, and her maturity. Notwithstanding that, he really hangs out with his ten-year-old sister and brings her along to see movies. Whenever Holden is around his younger sister, he generally feels good with her because of the fact that she is entertaining and brightens him up as he experiences troublesome circumstances. In spite of the fact that it might be odd, Holden once demonstrated his affection to his younger sister by touching her butt. Another reason why Holden loves his sister is because Phoebe is straightforward and genuine with Holden, not "phony," a characteristic that he seriously dislikes in individuals. At the point when Holden discloses to Phoebe that he didn't care for anything that was occurring at the school, the place he had been kicked out from, Phoebe comments, "You don't like anything that's happening." In addition to this, she drives Holden to name something he enjoys, testing him. Phoebe does not pass judgment on Holden; rather, she just listens to what he has to say. Regardless of the fact that she is unsure of what Holden is saying, she continues to listen to him. While she admonishes her sibling about leaving school, saying "Dad's going to kill you," Phoebe still does not pass judgment on him and censure him for his absurd activity. She