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Comparison and Contrast of Female Characters in Catcher In The Rye
Towards the end of the novel Holden compassionately refers to his sister as ‘old Phoebe’ and it is clear from this affectionate tone he cares about her. Holden is protective of Phoebe’s innocence as he sees himself in her from a time not too long ago. As growing up for Holden has required him to recognise the world around him for what it really is and not the artificial way, he believes he was raised (i.e through movies) the constant use of the word phonies refers that world and the new one in which he is far too uncomfortable which has left him to feel isolated and cynical about the future.
Holden views Phoebe as a person untainted by the harsh reality of life. He assumes that if he can spare his sister the pain in which he now finds himself, and catch’ her before she falls into the rye, then he will have accomplished something important and greater than himself. This is the only presentation of Holden as a contemporaneous protective caring man and brother and even then, his ideals are something he has no control over and it is Phoebe that is able to help him, unknowingly, discover that adulthood isn’t as bad. As Holden misquotes a poem by Robert Burns- ‘Comin’ Thro’ the Rye’ thinking: ‘If a body catch a body comin’ through the rye’ Holden says what he wants to be the catcher in the rye and he thinks he is responsible for catching children in the field before they start to go over the cliff. The fantastic field Holden envisions is free of adult ideas and artificiality from his initial perceived world.
The field Holden imagines is reminiscent of Peter Pans Neverland or the Garden of Eden, of which, both are realms that protect innocence from the corrupting influence of experience and life. The fall from the cliff represents the fall into adulthood that is symbolic of: lust, greed, ambition, and phoniness. The language calls to mind the Biblical fall of Adam and Eve, who were exiled from the Garden of Eden after their awakening to sin and there is shame of sexuality which is a shame that Holden also feels. A typical male would want a woman to stay young in the aspect of beauty as like age, for Holden, it disappears but Holden defies this logic and instead wishes to freeze time so Phoebe can maintain her youth and innocence like in the History museum, this is one of ways Holden attempts to care and protect his sister from the world.
Jane never actually appears in the novel, but Holden frequently thinks about her. She seems to be the one person – of his own age whom he genuinely likes. He remembers her as a quiet and caring kind of person, who has also suffered from a ‘lousy childhood’ which is one of the things that probably makes him more protective of her as demonstrated by him physically attacking Stradlater after he was on a date with her. Holden is appalled at the very thought of Stradlater being with her, but we cannot be entirely sure if Stradlater is really as immoral as he fears or whether his overreaction is more indicative of his own desire for her, which he doesnt seem to want to think about too much. Holden, regards Jane as a close friend and is arguably deeply attracted to her. Holden can never bring himself to phone her, as this may be because she functions as an idealised female figure for him to some extent, and he cant cope with actually meeting her which Lingdi Chen supports stating that Holden ‘longs for the meaningful connection he once had with Jane Gallagher, but he is too frightened to make any real effort to contact her.’ Jane is not ideal as Holden makes her to be as he recalls Jane once dating Al Pike, ‘a terrible guy’, ‘a show-off bastard’ and sticking up for him stating ‘She acted like she felt sorry for him … She meant it.’
Holden seems astounded that ‘even smart girls’ like Jane inaccurately judge conceited guys like Al Pike unlike Phoebe who doesn’t judge at all and ‘sits and listens’. Perhaps Holden is saying that Jane doesnt appreciate him quite as much as she ought to, and that is why he puts off meeting up with her throughout the novel.
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