Catcher In The Rye, Sibling Relationships
Essay by 24 • November 12, 2010 • 606 Words (3 Pages) • 3,620 Views
The Sibling Connection
Within 'catcher', Holden's siblings Phoebe, DB and Allie play key roles in developing our perceptions of the books themes. Throughout the novel there is a sense of delaying adulthood, Holden's inability to stay in focus in education, the inability to form relationships or stay in the same place all seem to tie to the idea of avoiding adult notions, such as responsibility.
DB, Allie and Phoebe seem to represent parts of the notion of innocence. Allie, due to his untimely demise will always be innocent to Holden, having never had the chance to grow up, DB, holdens older brother Represents the undesirable adult, 'selling himself out' to please others in hollywood and Phoebe is representative as the transitional stage, with Holden doing all that he can to preserve her innocence.
The Notion of the character of 'Allie' is an unusual one, although dead and a 'silent' character, the direction of the plot seems strongly influenced by him. Allie and Holden's relationship was so strong, his death caused holden to go off the rails, self harming.
'You can't even think of one thing.' 'Yes, I can. Yes, I can.' 'Well, do it, then.' 'I like Allie,' I said. (Salinger 171).
Holden said that Allie was
"terrifically intelligent" and the "nicest" person. Because Allie died so young, Holden felt
that his innocence was taken away from him, exposure to the idea of mortality at an early age seems to have shaped Holden's future in a way he wishes to prevent other children from experiencing
this notion shapes the theme of Catcher in the Rye was greatly influenced by Allie. Because of his
early death, Holden felt his innocence had been stolen. In reaction to this Holden felt it
was his responsibility to protect the innocence of all children. As a result he developed a
job that he would like to have "a catcher in the rye." He would stand at the edge of a
cliff and catch the kids who were about to fall off. This meant that if someone was about
to lose their innocence, Holden would save them. If it weren't for Allie, Holden would
not feel obligated
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