Holden Caulfield's conflict with life stems from many different areas, including his family. Most importantly, Holden's brother Allie, who passed away before the novel begins, leads Holden to experience a tremendous amount of grief and depression. Holden says of Allie,
it wasn’t just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest . . . God, he was a nice kid (38).
Holden has an inability to fully let go of his grief and mourning for Allie. Young children frequently remind him of Allie, and Holden feels the need to protect them due to his inability to save Allie from leukemia. Part of Holden's contempt for adults stems from his inability to let go of childhood.
Phoebe, Holden's sister, also serves an important role, particularly at the end of the novel. Just like with Allie, Holden holds Phoebe dear to his heart. He feels the need to protect her from the cruel and perverse world of adulthood. After visiting her before planning to leave the city, he is convinced by her innocence and beauty to stay. Holden and Phoebe spend the day together, and when he takes her to the zoo, she happily rides the carousel in the rain. Watching his sister's innocent joy, Holden feels happy for the first time in the novel:
I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling (213).
Holden's parents are the anxious type, the kind that would have "two hemorrhages a piece" if Holden were to tell anything personal about them. They are a driving force in the novel, and he is partially convinced not to return home after leaving school by the thought of encountering his hysterical mother. The novel reads:
I didn't want to go home or anything till they got it and thoroughly digested it and all. I didn't want to be around when they first got it. My mother gets very hysterical (51).
Holden's mother and father are still scarred by Allie's death, perhaps even more than he is, and as a consequence, they aren't able to be proper parents to Holden or Phoebe. Holden's relationship with them becomes strained; he is afraid to break their hearts with more bad news, but he is distant from them and unable to properly communicate his issues.
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Can someone please help me with the role of Holden's family? With quotes and page numbers or chapters please.
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