Comparing Teenager
It has been proven that the environment that one grows up with will affect that person's life forever. People, especially, help to mold the life of another person. The novels Ordinary People, by Judith Guest, and The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, explore periods of time in the lives of two teenage boys who are both changing because of the people around them. Ordinary People looks into the life of Conrad Jarret, a seventeen year old boy who lives with his mother and father. The Catcher in the Rye deals with Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old boy who is returning home from school to his parents and younger sister. These two characters have similar and different situations with which to deal. Conrad's and Holden's thoughts and actions are influenced greatly by the deaths of their brothers, by their parents, and by the female figures in their lives. Conrad and Holden have a very similar factor in their lives; they each lost a brother to death. Their brothers, however, affected them differently. Conrad's brother, Jordan, died in the same boating accident which Conrad survived. Holden's brother Allie died of leukemia. Conrad feels guilty about Jordan's death because Conrad survived the accident. Conrad feels t
The people in the novels Ordinary People and The Catcher in the Rye change the thoughts and actions of the main characters, Conrad and Holden, dramatically. Without their brothers, their parents, and their female friends, the main characters would never have changed into better people. Conrad and Holden each have important females in their lives. The important female in Conrad's life is his new girlfriend, Jeannine, while in Holden's, it is his ten-year-old sister, Phoebe. Jeannine provides a rebuilding step in Conrad's life. In Conrad's list of rebuilding goals, item number seven is girls. Phoebe plays a completely opposite role in Holden's life. While Jeannine is helping to rebuild Conrad's life, Phoebe is helping Holden discover some of his problems. Phoebe is the one person Holden could trust in his life. Although she is only ten years old, she is strong enough to tell that her brother needed her. Jeannine gives Conrad the confidence needed to tackle many problems. She lets him solve his problems independently and does not get involved where she is not needed. Phoebe, however, protects her brother as though she is responsible for him. When Holden's parents come home, Phoebe stows Holden in the closet so that their parents do not discover him. The girls have one similar effect on the boys; Jeannine and Phoebe make the boys feel needed. When Jeannine is crying about her mother's new relationship, Conrad says he has "never felt so strong, so needed.aE? Phoebe refuses to let Holden leave for
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Approximate Word count = 1024
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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