Preview

Stevie Wonder's 'Isn T She Lovely'

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
197 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Stevie Wonder's 'Isn T She Lovely'
“Isn’t She Lovely” sung by Stevie Wonder is an example of how Holden’s younger sister, Phoebe, is an extremely important figure in his life. For instance, when Holden takes Phoebe to the zoo towards the end of the book he conveys just how much of a significant influence Phoebe is in his depressing life. He expresses this by saying, “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling”(Salinger 213), while watching Phoebe take her second ride on the carousel. The fact that his younger sister simply being in his presence almost brings him to tears shows that the two have a very strong relationship. In the lyrics of “Isn’t She Lovely” Stevie Wonder sings about a female figure who also
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Lion's Bride - Gwen Harwood
    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Lion's Bride - Gwen Harwood

    Gwen Harwood’s work frequently focuses on woman being demoralised by society’s practices that reduce her to a lesser being. A common worldwide value that Harwood rejects as the normality in life with her poems. Harwood battles against the traditions that she believes support this downgrading by continually returning to the issue. Due to Harwood’s existence in a time where women of Australia still fought to vote and for a pay check to match a man’s, Harwood too displays her support. “The Lions Bride” is centred on the subject of marriage and entails the ugliness of the situations that are specific to women. This remains relevant to the modern world because of the ongoing struggle for equality. By using a wedding as a platform to highlight societies imposed traditions on females she seeks to shock the conventional expectations by demonising the widely romantisied event. Harwood extends this and questions treatment of women in the world before any vows are made.…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Salinger's Purposes for Allie, Phoebe, and Jane Gallagher (Catcher in the Rye Essay Example
    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Salinger's Purposes for Allie, Phoebe, and Jane Gallagher (Catcher in the Rye Essay Example

    Allie was a character he spoke about with such a diffident manner, almost as if he was tormented by the sound of his name. Allie was Holden’s younger brother who died of leukemia. As Allie was brought up it seems to be some of his depression was caused by his death. Holden seemed to love Allie deeply and cannot seem to get through his brothers death. Almost as if its killing him inside as well. Holden carries around Allies glove as his souvenir for remembrance. “But it wasn’t just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest in lots of ways.” (Salinger 38). He just went on and on about how much good Allie did and how many smiles he put on peoples faces. He couldn’t get over how many people liked him, and to see him go be such a devastation, it caused him to anger out, and get more depressed. Phoebe on the other hand is Holden’s sister, who is very much alive. She is six years younger than Holden, and sometimes acts more maturely than he does. She’s not afraid to point it out either. She thinks that Holden is to hard on himself, and can be “his own worst enemy”. Meaning he hates himself, and hates what he’s doing, but doesn’t quite know it yet. Phoebe looks up to Holden, and Holden loves his little sister. He includes her for the reason that she’s another main family member who he loves deeply like he did Allie, and doesn’t want to lose her too. I think Holden keeps a sharp eye out for her cause she’s…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield Phoebe's Relationship
    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Holden Caulfield Phoebe's Relationship

    Holden Caulfield's relationship with his younger sister, Phoebe and his deceased brother, Allie impacted his identity the most. Throughout the book we quickly learn that Holden has a hard time connecting with adults, which makes it harder for him to develop a strong relationship with his parents, but this allows for him to focus on his current and past relationships with his younger siblings. Holden surprised Phoebe by coming to visit: “Holden! She said right away. She put her arms around my neck and all. She’s very affectionate” (Salinger 178). Her affectionate actions made Holden feel as if he is wanted and has someone he can talk to. This is important to his identity because instead of hiding all his lies from everyone he knows, he can tell…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Holden Caulfield Analysis Essay
    • 1153 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Holden Caulfield Analysis Essay

    He mentions to her her all the schools he has gotten kicked out of and she is disappointed in him. (Salinger 209) It seems to me that his little sister also means a lot to him and has a very large influence on him. He seems to care what she thinks of him quite a bit. After telling me about the time spent with his sister later in the session and taking her on the carousel he realizes that his sister’s innocence and childhood is running thin. Holden sees that she is growing up after noticing that she is reaching for the “gold ring” on the carousel. (Salinger 273) Holden confides to his sister about what he wants to be. He claims he wants to be “the catcher in the rye” stating that when children are playing in a field nearby he would catch them as they fall off a cliff and preserve their innocence. (Salinger 224) Children seem to bring Holden happiness and help him cope with his depression since he seems to not like change which also suggests why he likes museums so…

    • 1153 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Catcher In The Rye Similarities Between Holden And Phoebe
    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page

    Catcher In The Rye Similarities Between Holden And Phoebe

    As the reader, one can see many similarities between Holden and Phoebe, but one that changes a mass of thing is the way they each view one another. Holden does not view many people with an optimistic perspective. The reader can tell this when Holden expresses his feelings and says, "One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton was because I was surrounded by phonies... Mr. Haas, was the phoniest bastard, I have ever met in my life."(2.60) However he expresses to his readers how"pretty and smart" Phoebe is and gives more of optimistic feedback than he does with everyone else. Phoebe is more honest and candid with Holden rather than a "phony" like everyone else. Phoebe shows affection towards her brother when she challenges him when shoe forces…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of The Catcher In The Rye By J. D. Salinger
    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analysis Of The Catcher In The Rye By J. D. Salinger

    Gene Kahane writes, “We all need to be Phoebe and look out for those around us, our friends and family and especially all the children everywhere. We all need to be that “catcher in the rye”” (The Real Meaning). Holden’s sister, Phoebe, teaches how to care for one another. When he begins to tell Phoebe his plan to run away and start his life over she never attempts to act with the cliche “consider the consequences”, she wants to pack her suitcase and go with him. After hearing this, Phoebe knew he needed support at the moment, not someone to bring him back to reality. All around the world, people need to learn from Phoebe because occasionally people need someone to join them in their irrational behavior, not someone to make them come back to…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Holden's Depression In 'Catcher In The Rye'
    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Holden's Depression In 'Catcher In The Rye'

    There were recurring patterns Holden unconsciously fell into that contributed to his depression and then there were events that halted these depressions. The events that contributed to his depression were that he judged people, he judged himself and he did not take care of himself. Of course there were events that halted the depression such as the act of love shown by his sister Phoebe. Love is perceived as forgiveness, peace, living in the moment and happiness. His sister is the only person in the book who shows these characteristics. As for Holden he never doesn’t experience love at all, he is always depressed and is never really happy in the book. Except when he is with his sister, he feels happy and is in the moment.…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield Compare And Contrast
    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Holden Caulfield Compare And Contrast

    Holden Caulfield is a very sophisticated character created by J.D. Salinger, not comparable to many characters in other novels. One character he relates strongly with is Phoebe Caulfield. As Holden superior in age to Phoebe, she is clearly the more mature person in state of mind. Phoebe tries to be the best that she can be in school, achieving A’s on almost everything she does, while Holden doesn’t apply himself in anything but English class. One thing that they have in common is the knowledge to have a good conversation, something that most people don’t have. With their many differences, Holden still admires Phoebe and wishes to talk to her whenever he can, because she is about the only person that is willing to talk to a crazy person.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield Attitude Analysis
    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Holden Caulfield Attitude Analysis

    In The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist Holden Caulfield experiences myriad personal difficulties originating from the tragic event of his brother's death from cancer. Subsequently, his perspective towards the whole world has deteriorated into a pessimistic attitude, derived from his own personal sense of inferiority. As a result, Holden feels isolated and alone. In his desire to feel connected to someone, he travels home to visit his sister, Phoebe, hoping to receive emotional support. Instead, Phoebe criticizes his pessimistic attitude towards life, much to his own surprise. However, the criticism that Holden receives from his sister motivates him to improve his perspective towards life, by having become more optimistic, and leading to rapid and significant maturity within his personal development.…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Catcher In The Rye Innocence Quotes
    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Catcher In The Rye Innocence Quotes

    Throughout the book, it is shown that Holden really dislikes people who pretend to be something that they aren’t, or in his words, “phony”. These types of people were all over at his prep schools, so he really has to learn to focus more on the things that make him happy. It is shown throughout the book that he really likes people who are honest or genuine, as well as small children who still had their innocence. This is portrayed in the quote, “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I was so damn happy if you want to know the truth. It was just she looked so damn nice going around and around in her blue coat.”(213). This shows that he really likes how nice and innocent his sister looked while she was going around the carousel; he liked that she was feeling the happiness of childhood. He also really disliked when people were mistreated in his schools. This all shows that the theme of this book was the loss of innocence in adolescence and the importance of being genuine and not mistreating…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Holden Self Quotes
    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Holden Self Quotes

    Holden also has an unstable sense of self. His unstable sense of self is depicted in a few ways. First is his relationship with his little sister Phoebe. He says “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab the gold ring you have to let them do it, and not say anything” (273). In this quote in a way he saying let them be adventurous they will learn from their mistakes. He acts this way towards his little sister because he is trying to give her the childhood he didn’t get to experience. You can tell that kids have a certain place in his heart. For example anything that was said about his younger brother Allie was positive, also how he took Phoebe to the carousel and finally when he helped a little girl at the park tie her skates and the 2…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of Don Henley's 'End Of Innocence'
    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Summary Of Don Henley's 'End Of Innocence'

    “End of Innocence” by Don Henley depicts Holden’s biggest fear, entering the corrupt adult world. This song would match the scene where Holden’s “Little Shirley Beans” record for his kid sister, devastatingly shatters. It symbolizes the end of innocence for Holden and how no matter how hard you try, innocence is something that cannot be preserved. Despite him “[offering] up [his] best defense” by encasing it in a big envelope, it still “broke into about fifty pieces” (Salinger 154). Holden “damn near [sic] [cries], it made [him] feel so terrible, but all [he] did was… [take] the pieces… and put them in [his] coat pocket (Salinger 154). Holden cannot accept the fact that even his best efforts cannot preserve innocence. Similarly as the end of…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    All I Want Catcher In The Rye Analysis
    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages

    All I Want Catcher In The Rye Analysis

    The song “All I Want” by Kodaline refers to Holden’s feelings toward Phoebe near the end of the book. For example, when Holden is delusional, he thinks he is going to die of pneumonia and says, “...so finally what I figured I’d do, I figured I’d better sneak home and see her, in case I died and all” (Salinger 156). Holden’s one wish before he dies (or so he thinks) was to go see his kid sister Phoebe. Holden has a very close relationship with his sister, and they are both very fond of the other. This mindset is displayed by the members of Kodaline when they sing “‘cause if I could see your face once more/ I could die a happy man I’m sure” (Kodaline). While “All I Want” is admittedly about a romantic relationship and not one of a sibling nature,…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    ssssaasss haiku
    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages

    ssssaasss haiku

    In the song, Gary sings “all around me are familiar faces; worn out places, worn out faces.” This line can relate to Holden because Holden knew many people in his home town, New York, although he was not necessarily friends with them. For example, when Holden goes to Ernie’s bar he sees his brother’s friend (familiar face,) Lillian. Holden greets her kindly and speaks to her as if they’re friends but in reality he thinks she is a phony and states, “And I didn't like her much. Nobody did. You had to feel sort of sorry for her, in a way.” Mad World also relates to Holden because in the song, “And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad, the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had.” Holden states numerous times throughout the novel that he feels ‘depressed and lousy’ ad he once said “depressed and all. I almost wished I was dead.”…

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Coming Of Age In Catcher In The Rye
    • 2337 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Coming Of Age In Catcher In The Rye

    Keeping that in mind, Holden was dealing with the realities of growing up, and becoming "phony". He was slowly realizing that he could never censor the world from profanities, and that he could never rub off all the "****-Yous" on the walls. At the end when Phoebe is on the Merry-Go-Round, he says that he has to let her grab the ring, which his way of letting her grow up, and have her own experiences. He knows that he cant protect her anymore.…

    • 2337 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More