The end. (Samantha Lantz)

In the last few chapters of The Catcher in the Rye, most all of our suspicions are confirmed. For instance, when Phoebe accuses Holden of not like anything, and Holden replies that he likes Allie. Even Phoebe recognizes that this is not a healthy response. Holden is just so stuck in the pain of his childhood lose. Then, in the same conversation, Holden reveals that if he could hold any job in the world it would be to have the job of standing at the edge of the cliff at the edge of the rye field where children play and catch, or save anyone that gets too close to the edge. This is again not a very stable thing for a sixteen year old boy to say, given that the rye field he is referring to is from a song, but it along with his severe hate towards whoever wrote “fuck you” on the walls of Phoebe’s school confirms his deep concern for others and his high regard for the innocence of children that we discussed in class on Tuesday.

When Holden goes to visit one of his old teachers, his teacher sort of predicts the future. He warns Holden that he thinks he is in for a very big fall, which is seen when at the very end, Holden is writing to the reader from a mental hospital.

At first I was pretty disappointed with the ending of this book but the more I think about it the more I think that maybe this is the only way for such a story to end. A “to be continued” sort of thing for the reader to figure out. Holden clearly had some confusions and misinterpretations throughout the book, form talking to his dead brother while crossing the street, to the many character analysis he made of those around him, to thinking on multiple occasions that he was going to die, and perhaps the mental hospital could be seen as a fresh start for Holden.

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2 Responses to The end. (Samantha Lantz)

  1. Sean Quinn says:

    After reading about Holden and Phoebe reuniting, I had the same exact thoughts as you. Everyone that knows Holden is likely wondering what he plans to do with his life, and the fact that the only person who can seemingly talk with finally asks him, he seems unable to come up with a response. When she further pries to see if he can come up with something he likes, he seems to blurt out his dead brother. This signifies the very deep, inner feelings that Holden has locked away and for the longest time seems unwilling to release. Even when his past teacher Mr. Antolini tries to address the problem, and makes some type of gesture towards him, Holden is so insecure and unstable that he takes it only as a sexual move, and at this he leaves him hastily.

    During my presentation on Tuesday, my main underlying message was that Holden may be perceived as bitter in a shallow analysis of his personality, but in my opinion, towards the later chapters, I think he is trying to prove his beliefs about the fakes and phonies of the world wrong by reaching out to the only people he has left to reach out to. It seems that the very last of those people is his sister Phoebe, but maybe hope for reconciliation of Holden’s soul is not lost. Maybe Phoebe’s innocence and demonstration of love and genuine, selfless kindness (seen when they are at the park/zoo) is all that Holden needed to break free from his own confinement. Although this may never have been proven in the book, it is somewhat insinuated that Holden turned his perspectives around, and is more willing to look at the world and himself in a different, more positive light.

  2. Tim Burgoyne says:

    I also had similar final thoughts, confirming our beliefs about Holden. When he described that he would like to save little kids from falling off a cliff, it totally confirmed his incredible burden that he carries. Most of my problem with analyzing literature, is that I always think were looking a little bit too in depth into the authors words, but this example proved me wrong. It’s way too arbitrary of a job that Holden wants to do for it not to mean anything, plus there is more than sufficient evidence shown in the text.

    One other thing that struck me about this book, which didn’t the first time around, was the amount of emotion that it invoked. I could really empathize with Holden, and I think this book in general is a great depiction of the struggles of adolescence. Especially because of that nature of Holden’s conflict, it is all internal. We’ve all read books and seen movies of kids getting bullied and all those cliche struggles which are still very real and prevalent, but J.D. Salinger went a different route with Holden’s struggles. I think it must’ve been a very hard book to write, and I dig it.

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