by Xuan Hang Trieu

Created on: November 01, 2007

Growing up is difficult for teenagers who are as confused as Holden Caulfield. Assuming that the adult world is full of pain and disappointment, Holden protects himself through isolation. Although he isolates himself he still craves the warmth of another person. Being six years younger than Holden, Phoebe, his younger sister, symbolizes his innocent childhood. Phoebe Caulfield plays an important role in the Catcher of the Rye. This novel gives the reader a glimpse into Holden's life through his point-of-view. J.D. Salinger, the author, wrote this novel around the 1950s. The Catcher in the Rye illuminates an adolescence's struggle to find his identity while he is stuck between adulthood and the sweet innocence of childhood. The three concepts in this novel are Phoebe's maturity, reality v. a fantasized world, and her guidance to Holden.

Throughout this novel, the readers only receive Holden's side of the story and we must take him by his words. He claims to be the only normal person in a corrupted world of phony adults. This is the reason why he refuses to grow up and mature. "Phoniness" for Holden is his way of describing the hypocrisy and shallowness that he encounters so that he can have a reason to withdraw from social life. Unfortunately for the main character, his younger sister complicates his narrative simply by her maturity. In the novel, for example, Holden comes home after being expelled from Pencey Prep, to find Phoebe's room neat. He states, "She's very neat for a child. I mean she doesn't just throw her stuff around, like some kids. She's no slob"(159). Children are known to be childish, and for their inexperience in life. When compared to Holden, readers can see that Phoebe exhibits great maturity and chastises Holden's for his immaturity. This is because of Holden's stunted emotional maturity and stubborn outlook that is more foolish than reasonable, but Phoebe proves to be more complex and wise rather than simple-minded and foolish. Her maturity let readers know her understanding that growing up is a necessary process in life. Even though she is only ten years old, "She sounds like a schoolteacher sometimes, and she's only a little child" (167). The story lets the audience believe that Phoebe understands Holden more than he understands himself. She sees that he is a deeply sad, insecure young man who needs love and support.
In The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist is stuck in limbo between reality and a dream world. Instead of acknowledging

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