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Holden Caulfield Grief

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The Catcher in The Rye by, J.D. Salinger is about a boy named Holden Caulfield. Holden drops out of schools and faces hardships while away from home. Throughout the novel, it is shown that Holden refuses to grow up as he reminisces about his childhood life. He also faces many struggles and hardships. The death of his younger brother Allie seemed to take the greatest toll on him. His death had also much grief to him. Holden and Allie shared a special relationship that couldn’t really be replaced. His death affected Holden to such a great extent that he has difficulty forming new relationships throughout the story.
Holden’s brother Allie was eleven years old when he passed away from leukemia. When Allie died, Holden went to his garage and broke …show more content…
After Allie dies, his only two siblings are his older brother D.B. and Phoebe. Holden sees D.B. as a phony, therefore Phoebe is who he can really turn to. One part in the novel where Phoebe’s influence is shown is when he thinks about the Museum of Natural History in New York. He says, “I kept thinking about old Phoebe going to that museum on Saturdays the way I used to see, I thought how she’d see the same stuff I used to see, and how she’d be different every time she saw it.” By Holden discussing about the artifacts in the museum, he shows his fear of change. Throughout the story, Holden demonstrates that he’s afraid of growing up. He wants to be an adolescent and go back in time to the days when his brother Allie was alive. At the end of the novel when Holden and Phoebe go on a carousel, he says, “All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she'd fall off the goddam horse, but I didn't say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them.” Holden lets Phoebe ride the carousel alone, even though she is only ten years old. He wants her to feel the independence that he was never given at her age. At the same time, Holden reveals how he feels towards Allie as he learns to become more

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