Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Dealing with the loss of a family member can be very distressing and in some cases, life altering by changing a person’s outlook upon their own existence and upon society. Some people may have a religious reawakening while others fall into a deep depression, which can disrupt their ability to do normal, everyday chores. The person’s entire personality can also change. In the case of Holden Caulfield, the protagonist within the novel The Catcher in the Rye, the death of his brother Allie brought upon him much pain and grief but it also caused him to lose sense of who he was. Holden comes from a well to do family from Manhattan. However, Holden has been falling since the death of his brother. His teacher, Mr. Antolini, mentioned this plunge to Holden, “This fall I think you’re riding for- it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind”(pg. 187, ch. 24). The fall that Holden is experiencing stems from his brother’s death, his loneliness, and his inability to find who he is and what his role is in life. Allie was Holden’s younger brother by two years, but Holden thought had a lot of respect for him. He knew that his little brother was by far the smartest and most compassionate and understanding member of the fam