Catcher in the Rye

A detailed Summary of Catcher in the Rye

How Allie Helps Holden be the Catcher

The book Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, was a novel filled with many symbols and motifs. The many images that were put into the plot helped the reader understand the book in its entirety and helped convey the numerous views in the world of that time. Two of the most important motifs that were included in the book were:

"the fall ", and Holden's brother Allie. I believed that the motif of Allie played a large part in the idea of "the fall", but it didn't receive as much attention as it deserved.

Allie was Holden's little brother who was two years younger than Holden. On July 18, 1946, he died in Maine of leukemia. The thing that made him an interesting character was his left handed baseball mitt. He had taken the time to write poems over every inch of the glove in green ink. He decided to do this so that he always had something to read when he was playing in the field.

When Allie died, Holden went into the garage and shattered all the windows in the building with his right hand. He then proceeded to hit the car windows but they would not break. He tried numerous times until he could not take the pain any longer.

He still hasn't been able to make a fist or hav

What does the "fall mean"? Why does he keep talking about it? I believe that he thinks that "the fall" means that you lose your innocence or start to distinguish the world the way it actually is. He has decided he wants to stop children from starting "the fall". He doesn't know how right away but he finds a way. Could his name have any connection to holding children in from "the fall"? Holden, Hold-in? Caulfield, his last name, is awfully close to "Claw field".

Allie wasn't only Holden's kid brother who died of leukemia, he was a major influence on Holden's life and how he interacted with others. If Allie would not have died, Holden may not have been able to become as good of a catcher as he wanted. He had to learn many things before he could help people and Allie helped him with these things. This shows how Allie helped Holden to be The Catcher in the Rye.

If Holden wants to help save people from "the fall", he needs to comprehend and be able to explain death. After Holden busted up his right hand, everything went downward. He starred approaching the overhang, the cliff, to the fall. Allie's ball glove represents Allie helping Holden understand death and how it can affect people and the way they think of the world.

Holden was sleeping one night when he had a visualization. He was in the middle of a meadow of rye, watching children run around innocently. He then saw a child run over a cliff. He reached over and caught the youthful girl. This dream

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 996
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels