Devines Catcher in the Rye
Devine’s Catcher in the RyeCatcher in the Rye
In the novel Catcher in the Rye there are a few characters that play a large part in Holden’s life but are very rarely seen. Even though some of these characters have a big effect on Holden and his decisions the author chooses not to mention them much in the story.
One of the characters in the story that is never seen but plays a very large part in Holden’s life is his younger brother Allie. Since Allie died of leukemia before the story starts he is not actually seen, but is talked about. Allie has a lot of effect on Holden, since Holden is only 16 years old the death of his younger brother changes his views of life and his emotional feelings. Holden say’s ” God, he was a nice kid though.” (38)
Another character that plays a large part in Holden’s life but is rarely seen is his father. Since Holden is only 16 years old and goes through so much, he should have more of a relationship with his father. If he and his father don’t get along or don’t even talk, Holden could have a bad view of older adults and not respect them as much.
A pretty important character that isn’t seen much in the story and has a large impact on Holden’s life is James Castle, the student at Elkton Hills who committed suicide. James would have a large impact on Holden’s life because he might give Holden the idea that suicide is the easy way out. Holden also admires James though for standing up for himself. Holden says “It was Antolini who finally picked up that boy that jumped out of the window… He didn’t even give a damn if his coat got all bloody.”
There are many reasons that the author probably chose not to include some of these characters so much but he does show that they could play a very important role in Holden’s life.