The Catcher in the Rye Blog 10

In this blog, I will be writing about another one of Holden Caulfield’s siblings named Allie.  Allie was two years younger than Holden, but died of leukemia three years before the novel takes place.  Holden’s loss of his brother proved to be an emotional and even physical loss.  He lost a best friend and dear brother that he could confide anything in.  Holden states that he did everything with Allie, except for one time, which continued to haunt him for years to come.  Holden made Allie into a saint in his own head.  “Holden's rendering of this information also tells us a lot of about the way he thinks about Allie: he idealizes him. We don't doubt that Allie was a great kid, but according to Holden, he's the most intelligent, nicest, sweetest, most endearing kid with the best sense of humor you'll ever meet. In Holden's love for his brother and in his pain over Allie's death, Holden has glorified Allie into something of a saint.” (Shmoop 10).   This dangerous way of thinking has stopped Holden from getting over the grieving process and being able to accept the loss of his brother.  Throughout the book, it becomes apparent that if Holden brings up Allie, he is in a depressed mood.  Holden characterized his brother as being the smartest, funniest, and nicest kid he knew.  His thinking could have been blinded by his loss, but there is no way of knowing since Allie’s only descriptions are through Holden’s eyes.  He is also a very unique child and shares many similarities with Phoebe.  He has red hair, was left handed, and wrote poems in green ink on a baseball glove.  All this boils down to Allie being an individual free from the world’s pain, which is the opposite of Holden.  In Holden’s dream job of being a catcher in the rye, Allie seems to be the person that he wants to save.  Even though he died years ago, Allie continued to influence Holden’s life. 

"The Catcher in the Rye." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2012. http://www.shmoop.com/catcher-in-the-rye/.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.