Catcher In The Rye Phoebe Character Analysis

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger depicts the life of Holden Caulfield: a lonesome, depressed, and confused adolescent who has a jaded view of the adult world. Due to his mentally unstable character, Holden struggles to “find himself.” He walks aimlessly in the streets of New York, lacking purpose and unsure of his identity. All Holden knows is that every semblance of the adult world is phony. Hence, he tries to protect children before they are exposed to the adversities of adulthood, as he was exposed to this reality when his little brother, Allie, died from leukemia. One of the main children Holden tries to protect, and consequently the one he bonds with the most, is his little sister, Phoebe. Only after recognizing his true feelings and connecting with Phoebe does Holden fully find his identity as a protector of innocence. Holden, although lacking the necessary skills at first, eventually learns to discern his true feelings. Though subtly expressed, a recurring theme in the novel is Holden’s unstable psychological state. Provoked by Allie’s death, Holden is in a constant state of depression from that moment, but he seems to be in denial.
He erases an expletive written on the walls of Phoebe’s school, fearing “how Phoebe and all the other little kids will see it, and...wonder what the hell it meant” (201). He also gives Phoebe his red hunting hat, a symbol for innocence and youth, as red is the color of both Allie and Phoebe’s hair. Through Holden, Salinger successfully portrays the novel’s main theme, which also happens to be the title of the novel. Holden concludes his story in a rest home, and he never specifies what he plans to do with the rest of his life. But with the maturity and optimism Holden has attained from the beginning of the novel, and the new role he has discovered, Holden is destined to continuously seek meaning in life and protect