At the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, we are introduced to Holden's relentless criticism of "phonies", and it progresses excessively. The first person that Holden speaks fondly of is his sister, Phoebe. But what makes her so special to him? Phoebe is a smart, stubborn, and brutally honest girl who always listens to Holden. While Holden's judgement of older characters prevents him from taking their advice, Phoebe has credibility to him. To the reader, she obviously seems more mature than Holden on many levels. She is more practical, and holds much better connections with others. This complicates our understandings of Holden, as he is drawn to the innocence and purity of childhood. And when he reunites with his sister, she is not impressed by his behavior.
In Holden's life, Phoebe is one of his only constants. He feels wildly out of place and longs to run away from the complexity of the world. So when she refuses to let Holden "fall" by himself, he is forced to reconsider his emotions. In class we discussed the image of Phoebe running after Holden wearing his red hunting hat. It is almost like a mirror image of Holden, and it seems to impact him enough to snap out of his bout. I was struck by the scene of Phoebe on the carousel in particular. Holden has realized that his little sister is growing up, but has remained her authentic self. Watching her ride the carousel, Holden feels happy for the first time in a while. This could be interpreted as him recognizing that growing older doesn't mean losing yourself. He will always be able to return to his memories and find joy. Although the last chapter doesn't reveal much of his current thoughts, I like to imagine that he finds hope for his future and the future of those around him.
Good post! I definitely agree in the sense that Phoebe is portrayed as being more mature than Holden, but I think that this is work on Salinger's part to push the idea that those who are more innocent are necessarily better than those who are "phony." Phoebe contributes profoundly to Holden's view of the world and I honestly appreciate the fact that she "intervened" when she did. Perhaps Holden can "look up" to Phoebe as he continues to pursue a more authentic version of himself.
ReplyDeleteI love the comparison between Holden and Pheobe, and I think you do a good job describing her character. Some of the scenes you mentioned almost make me think that Pheobe is perhaps the catcher in the Rye. As you mentioned, she did not let Holden "fall" and runaway. Furthermore, she was there when he needed someone to talk to, lied to their mother so that Holden could get away, and tried to give him money to help him. Thus, I believe that time and time again, she has shown to be his protector of sorts. In addition, as you mentioned she is a reminder of childhood and innocence. Thus, if the rye is supposed to represent youth and innocence, just like the catcher who does not let the kids fall and lose sight of the rye, Phoebes makes sure that Holden does not forget about childhood or lose sight of the innocence in the world.
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I like your point about the scene where Phoebe is a reflection of Holden when she is wearing his hunting hat. Holden has this dream of being the “catcher in the rye,” and we see some of his attempts throughout the book (like with Jane Gallagher, Allie, and James Castle), although they are not really successful. In this passage, Phoebe wants to run away, so he tries to remind Phoebe that she was excited about the play and to get her to go back to school. Especially since this is towards the end of the book, maybe this is like his final and most successful attempt at becoming the “catcher in the rye,” and at the same time, he is also “catching” himself as well. I liked your blog post! :)
ReplyDeleteI like how you mention hope for Holden's future. Holden watching the carousel, realizing it will always be there for him to come back to is a moment that I didn't note the significance of.
ReplyDeleteHolden is pushed to come of age in a responsible way by Phoebe. In the sense that she is following in his footsteps, he leads both of them away from the edge of the cliff.
Good Post! I like how you make a point about Phoebe being Holdens reflection. I think Phoebe is one of the most important characters in the book and Holden and she probably have the most important relationship. Phoebe is someone Holden wants to look up to and they are very similar but also different at the same time. They went through the same things with Allie's death so their siblings bond is really strong. Phoebe is probably the only person who has influence on Holden.
ReplyDeletePhoebe seems to be the only one really tethering Holden to that childhood innocence he once had. She’s almost like his own catcher in the rye, keeping him from completely descending into that corrupt, adult world. I really like your interpretation of the carousel scene. It portrays Holden as gaining hope rather than just reminiscing on something that he can never have. Great post!
ReplyDeleteComment above was Arya btw.
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