The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is about a boy named Holden Caulfield and his view on the world. Holden Caulfield is 17 years old and is constantly moving from place to place on account of his frequent expulsions from school for, as he and his teachers put it, “not applying himself” (Salinger, 2). He hates the world and feels that all adults are phonies, including his older brother D.B., who “prostitutes” (Salinger, 4) himself out as a movie writer instead writing the stories he loves. Holden seems only to find comfort in his younger siblings Allie and Phoebe as they represent the innocence and truthfulness left in the world. Throughout the novel, Holden wanders through New York City, reveling in the idiocy of people and their phoniness
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Specifically Phoebe, Holden’s 9 year old sister whom he trusts and cares for. Salinger demonstrates throughout the novel the importance of Holden’s siblings in his life and how they shape his view of the world.
Phoebe further instills the idea of a child’s incorruptibility into Holden and shows him that though the world has negatives there is also good. Phoebe shows Holden that he is not alone, and that he can count on others. Holden Caulfield feels alone after his expulsion, and often seeks out solitude. After going into a bar and leaving by himself he says “I was crying and all. I don't know why, but I was. I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome.” (Salinger, 32) Holden feels lonely because the strangers he talks to dismiss him his friends don’t understand him. Phoebe helps him with this. She, as his sister, understands him and always attempts to listen to him as well as reason. Others, such as Mr. Spencer, try to make him feel guilty about something that he does not care about. They blindly say things the Holden without realizing that’s he is not even paying attention. Phoebe, on the other hand listens to Holden when he has a problem and “she knows exactly what the heck you’re
Specifically Phoebe, Holden’s 9 year old sister whom he trusts and cares for. Salinger demonstrates throughout the novel the importance of Holden’s siblings in his life and how they shape his view of the world.
Phoebe further instills the idea of a child’s incorruptibility into Holden and shows him that though the world has negatives there is also good. Phoebe shows Holden that he is not alone, and that he can count on others. Holden Caulfield feels alone after his expulsion, and often seeks out solitude. After going into a bar and leaving by himself he says “I was crying and all. I don't know why, but I was. I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome.” (Salinger, 32) Holden feels lonely because the strangers he talks to dismiss him his friends don’t understand him. Phoebe helps him with this. She, as his sister, understands him and always attempts to listen to him as well as reason. Others, such as Mr. Spencer, try to make him feel guilty about something that he does not care about. They blindly say things the Holden without realizing that’s he is not even paying attention. Phoebe, on the other hand listens to Holden when he has a problem and “she knows exactly what the heck you’re