Catcher in the Rye: Phoebe

        Holden’s love for Phoebe is demonstrated throughout the novel, and she is one of the few people Holden doesn’t criticize. Holden especially liked kids and in the novel, he never called a kid “phony.” When he saw the “fuck you” signs on the school wall, he immediately accused anybody except for children. He thought that children would never write that, and thought that they were pure. Holden enjoyed listening to Phoebe talking about random things and liked her for her innocence. When he watched Phoebe sleeping, he says, “You take adults, they look lousy when they’re asleep and they have their mouths way open, but kids don’t. Kids look all right.” (159) Holden seemed to dislike adults and thought they were evil. Although kids also had spit all over their pillow, Holden thought that it was okay for kids. Phoebe was always an exception for him. Also, he enjoyed talking to Phoebe about anything because she always listened to him. Phoebe didn’t judge Holden for anything, and understood everything he said. Although Phoebe is child-like, she was also mature at times. When Holden was about to leave, Phoebe gave him her money even though it was her “Christmas dough.” Also, when Holden was about to leave, she wanted to leave with him to take care of him. Phoebe was probably the reason why Holden didn’t leave New York. In the last scene, Holden takes Phoebe to ride the carrousel. This scene had significance because the carrousel represented something that would never change. He watched Phoebe ride it, and started to cry. He was touched by her child-like innocence. Phoebe was exactly the sort of child he wanted to “catch in the rye.” Phoebe was also the only one that knew about Holden’s dream of wanting to be a catcher in the rye. This shows the trust he had in Phoebe. 

Catcher in the Rye Cover

This is the cover I drew for the “Catcher in the Rye.” I drew Holden standing and looking outside the window with a baseball glove in his hand. I drew the baseball glove because it had a big significance in the novel. This was the baseball glove from Allie that Holden always kept. Allie was one of the few people Holden loved. In remembrance of Allie, Holden kept it safe. The death of Allie had a great impact on Holden and that was one of the main reasons Holden went into depression. After Allie’s death, he felt lonely and thought that the world was corrupted. The baseball mitt is in his right hand, because it is the hand that Holden hurt while punching a window. His right hand was ineffective because he broke it by punching windows after Allie’s death, and he could never make a tight fist again. In the cover I drew, the Allie’s baseball mitt covers Holden’s right hand, and this symbolizes how Allie looks over him and protects him. Also, I outlined the glove in red because that color was important to Holden. Both Allie and Phoebe had red hair, and those were the only two people he really loved and connected with. IT was also the color of his red hunting hat. In the drawing, Holden is looking outside the window where the rye is. While Holden is holding the glove, he gazes out the window and dreams about wanting to become “a catcher in the rye.” Holden imagined children playing outside the rye. He wanted to catch all the children before they fell off a cliff into a corrupted world. He thought that children were innocent and pure and wanted to protect them from the evilness of the outside world they didn’t experience yet.  This was  also the title of the novel.

Why do you think Holden cries before he leaves Pencey?

        In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden leaves Pencey Prep to go to New York. In my perspective, I think Holden cries because he feels lost and doesn’t know what to do. Holden was in a terrible situation where he couldn’t find the right path in his life because he got kicked out of school.  Also, he felt bad for his family for letting them down and disappointing them. He definitely didn’t want to tell his mom and siblings that he was kicked out. His brother, Allie, and his sister, Phoebe, were smart and got all A’s on their report cards. But, Holden failed in three out of four classes, except for English. When Holden starts packing and took the skates his mom sent him, he said, “She bought me the wrong kind of skates-I wanted racing skates and she bought hockey” (52). Holden mentions his mom and suddenly feels depressed. The racing skates and the hockey skates symbolized the differences between the personality of Holden and his mom. Racing skates symbolized individualism and running away, and hockey skates symbolized companionship and team effort to achieve a goal. His mom could’ve not bought the hockey skates because she wanted Holden to fit in and make new friends, instead of running away from difficult situations. In addition, I think Holden cried because he felt that there was no one who cared for him. He felt alone and wanted to find companionship, but instead he felt lonely when he was with others. When Holden talks about packing, he suddenly mentioned, “Old Stradlater didn’t even wake up” (51). Holden seemed upset because his own roommate didn’t even notice him leaving and didn’t have any interest at all. Holden wanted people to give him attention and at least care if he was leaving. When he shouted, “Sleep tight, ya morons!” on page 52, Holden wanted to get attention and wanted everyone to know that he would be gone. Holden wanted to receive love and affection from others, so he felt neglected and deserted.