Holden Caulfield Siblings

The Catcher in the Rye: Essay

Over time, siblings who grow up together grow closer to each other. The older siblings look out for their younger brothers and sisters by teaching and protecting them, while the younger siblings learn from their older brothers and sisters and aspire to be like them. After years of living with each other, the death of a sibling can be devastating and seem nearly impossible to recover from. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield struggles to find purpose in his life while simultaneously recuperating from his younger brother Allie’s death. As the story progresses, Allie’s death torments Holden more and more. Holden starts to isolate himself from everything that

One possible explanation for Holden resorting to smoking and drinking is that he wants to find a way to alleviate himself from the stress that comes with dropping out of school and losing a brother. Some incidents that also indicate the decline of Holden’s emotional state are when he lies to the reader. “‘Thanks,’ I said. I took a cigarette from this box he offered me. ‘[I only smoke] once in a while. I’m a moderate smoker.’” (237) When Holden tries to convince Mr. Antolini that he quit smoking, it connects to the idea that he cares about his appearance to other people; he doesn’t want other people to truly know who he is and what he has experienced throughout his life. In reality, Holden admitted to the reader while at the Edmont hotel to having smoked about two packs of cigarettes in less than a day. Holden also lies about his age and maturity, which shows that he is insecure. Lying about himself to others could help him feel as if he belonged to a certain group of people, because he thinks of himself as an outcast. A more evident example of Holden being obsessed about other people’s thoughts about him is that when he considers the option of suicide, he imagines how he would look to the people on the street after having jumped out a window. After doing so, he decides against suicide, because he doesn’t want rubbernecks to stare at

When Holden is at Radio City with Sally, he goes from admiring Sally, to wanting to run away with her, to being angry at her, all in just a few minutes. At times, Holden gets overexcited about some things, and right after that, he goes back to being depressed. Mr. Antolini sensed that there was something wrong with Holden when they met, so while he was giving advice to Holden about trying to achieve success in school, he gave a few subtle hints to avoiding suicide. Holden reaches his lowest point towards the end of the story. He sneaks into his own house to meet Phoebe, his younger sister. She gets frustrated with him for not being able to accept Allie’s death and criticizes him for not enjoying anything in life. After Holden’s parents return and he and Phoebe are crouching in her room, in the dark, something happens that surprises both of them. “Then, all of a sudden, I started to cry. I couldn’t help it. I did it so nobody could hear me, but I did it. I scared the hell out of old Phoebe when I started doing it, and she came over and tried to make me stop, but once you get started, you can’t just stop.” (233). That happens as a result of all of the stress and feelings of sorrow and depression that have been accumulating in Holden ever since Allie’s death. It could also be that Holden is starting to feel sorry for himself, needing help from his younger sister. This is