Catcher In The Rye Compare And Contrast The Relationship Between Holden And Phoebe

In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, the narrator, Holden Caulfield writes his life story in a rest home, where he was sent for therapy at the age of sixteen. Throughout the novel Holden clearly demonstrates a close relationship with his ten year old sister Phoebe. Holden and Phoebe are constantly exhibiting the same qualities throughout the novel, in doing, so they also display many differences as well. From start to finish Holden’s character is frequently changing due to his relationship with his sister, it affects his actions in the novel because towards the end, he realizes that he should not take things for granted. Through Holden's actions and words the readers see how close Holden and Phoebe really are, it reveals their similarities and differences, and their relationship helps readers to realize Holden’s character growth in many ways.
Phoebe is the only one Holden can really relate to because she understands Holden's frustrations and he truly adores her. After the death of Allie, Holden’s younger brother, who died of leukemia at the age of eleven; Holden had no one to turn to but Phoebe. The relationship between the two is very complicated, with Phoebe only being ten and very mature for her age. Holden loves Phoebe very much, so much that he drops his …show more content…
Without the closeness of their relationship Holden would have nobody to relate to and he would have nobody to love and adore. Throughout the novel you get to see how similar and different Holden and Phoebe are, the way they complete each other by their special personalities and the was the frustrate one another because of their differences. Their relationship reveals that Holden’s character is full of growth and all because his ten year old sister has a huge impacted on him. Therefore, I do believe Holden’s relationship with Phoebe is very strong and completes his overall attitude towards