Tuesday, May 26, 2015

What are some things/people that Holden hungers for?

"Hunger" is a great verb to use when describing Holden's need for certain things and people. One thing Holden hungers for is a strong emotional response to certain situations; he seems frustrated at times when he doesn't feel something strongly. He exhibits an example of this frustration when he talks about leaving Pencey: "I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse."
Another thing Holden hungers for is a feeling of equal standing with others, and this feeling is sometimes symbolized by objects. He expresses this need for equal standing when he remembers rooming with Stradlater while in New York: "The thing is, it's really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs—if yours are really good ones and theirs aren't...It's one of the reasons why I roomed with a stupid bastard like Stradlater. At least his suitcases were as good as mine."
One person Holden hungers for is his brother Allie. Holden remembers going to visit Allie's grave with his parents, and his memories of this activity are painful because he misses his brother so much. Holden describes imagining the other visitors to the graveyard going to dinner after visiting their dead relative, and because Allie can't be with them to go to dinner, Holden says, "I can't stand it...I just wish he wasn't there."

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