The CAtcher in the Rye Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The CAtcher in the Rye - Essay Example Holden, as narrator, treats the events of the book as separate from the rest of his life, not feeling it worth getting into â€Å"all that David Copperfield kind of crap† (1). He is attempting to treat his life separate from his psychological condition; however, without intending to do so, he illustrates how very connected it really is. Without the brief bits of information we receive about his younger brother Allie, it would be difficult to understand the events of the book and Holden’s motivations. Through a psychological examination of Holden’s breakdown, we can see that many of the attitudes expressed by Holden and his irrational behavior can all be traced back to the death of his younger brother when he was thirteen. It is significant that the traumatic death of Holden’s brother Allie took place at thirteen. This is the age that is generally considered the be the end of childhood and the beginning of the teenager years. This is often a difficult time for people as they are beginning to experience sexuality and find that the world is not what they were led to believe when they were children. James Bryan states that Holden â€Å"is hypersensitive to the exploitations and insensitivity of the post-pubescent world and to the fragile innocence of children† (1065). He is forced to accept the unfairness of the adult world when Allie died, which he did not handle well by any means: â€Å"I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage† (38-39). Unable to handle his emotions, he acts out in a destructive manner, which becomes a pattern for him for the rest of the book. His brother Allie for him represented inno cence and the way people should act: â€Å"He was always the nicest, in a lot of ways. He never got mad at anybody† (38). Allie’s death represented the adult