Holden And Allie Character Analysis

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The people Holden meets throughout The Catcher in Rye by J.D. Salinger have large impacts on Holden’s ideas and mental state. But then again the people the reader does not get to see, have an equal if not greater impact on Holden’s life. Holden’s story starts when he is once again is kicked out of school and has to face his parents with the news. Instead Holden decides to take a detour into New York City. Holden does many strange things as his depression and mental illness deteriorate. He hired a prostitute only to pay her to leave, stumbles drunk and cold around central park looking for duck, and decides to run away and pretend to be a deaf-mute. The people Holden meets are equally as strange and interesting. Characters such as Sunny, Lillian,…show more content…
Holden has positive thoughts of Allie because “[Allie] was also the nicest, in lots of ways. He never got mad at anybody” (38). and Allie probably was but, Holden’s mind twists pleasant thoughts into representations of innocence unconsciously. Children being kind, like Allie, gives Holden the sense that kindness come from innocence. So much so that he beings to resent adults and adulthood. Holden does not want to grow up and change to become what he fears most, however there is another reason for Holden’s seemingly immature behavior. “[Holden] was only thirteen,” (38). when Allie died. Holden was only just beginning to be introduced into adulthood, but on July 18, 1946 he was forced to grow up too early. Holden didn’t have time to learn how to be a child so he is always a step behind in maturity, trying to make up for the years of childhood that he lost. Holden’s immaturity and inability to handle adult situations goes hand in hand with his depression and mental issues. When “[Holden] felt so depressed, you can’t imagine. What [he] did, [he] started talking, sort of out loud, to Allie” (98). because Allie represents good concepts in Holden’s mind, even if those notions prove not to be so beneficial in the long run. Holden uses Allie as a coping mechanism for depression. What Holden is unaware of is that his coping mechanism also doubles as a cause for his ailment.…show more content…
As Holden tries to describe his parents, “touchy as hell” (1). is the first thought that comes to mind. Holden immediately shows a disconnection from arguably the most important adults in his life and maintains the impression that Holden is not very decent at connecting with others. Holden’s parents don’t necessarily reciprocate Holden’s negativity, nevertheless they definitely could try harder to give Holden the attention he deserves. Holden gets upset when, “[Holden’s mother] bought [him] the wrong kind of skates” (52). The family members’ undesirable relationship is one of the whole reasons for the trials Holden goes through. He goes to New York because he does not want his parents to find out that he got kicked out of another school. Holden goes through drastic measures to ensure he stays away from his parents as long as possible. What Holden probably believes is that because his parents are in fact adults, they will not understand why Holden let himself get kicked out and punish him for it. It is true that Holden’s parents do not understand him but. Holden doesn’t give them a chance to learn how to understand him. However Holden does show that “[He] felt sorry as hell for [his] mother and father. Especially [his] mother, because she still isn’t over [his] brother Allie yet” (155). Holden recognizes that his parents have issues and struggles too but, in Holden’s
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