Even the smallest moment in someone's life can change them forever. Holden Caulfield, the main character of JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, is the infamous personification of teenage angst. Although Holden is similar to the average teenager in many ways; he has mood swings, doesn't like his parents, and doesn't know what he wants to do with the rest of his life. However, unlike normal teenagers, Holden is also struggling to deal with the death of his younger brother Allie, even though the death itself occurred years ago. Due to inadequate coping methods, Holden has lost the ability to function properly. He remains stuck in the past, frustrated that the world keeps turning and things keep changing, no matter how much he wants everything to stay the same. He has difficulty talking to people, often making up relationships in his head. This strange habit of his often leads to more frustration when a person he believes to be his friend acts differently and is seen throughout the novel in many of the encounters he has with others. Holden also has a habit of briefly obsessing over seemingly pointless things, such as where the ducks go in the winter and the way his little sister writes. These little obsessions are scattered throughout the novel and show how he has difficulty dealing with unanswered questions and changes. They also relate to the death of his brother Allie as he has difficulty being in a world where Allie is not, constantly wishing his life would go back to when Allie was alive instead of moving forward, the world refuses to stop spin. Holden Caulfield is permanently damaged by the traumatic, yet long-gone, death of his beloved younger brother Allie and thus has unusual tendencies as a way of dealing with his grief. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In a group of people who have experienced something that induces feelings of pain, one person is the affectee, meaning they carry the pain for the group. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield carries the pain of his brother's death to his family. Filling this role took a toll on Holden. Although Holden's downward spiral has already occurred before the novel begins, the remnants of his demise can be seen. By analyzing the way Holden relates to people, one can see the effects of said disappearance. It is important to note that although Holden took a hard fall, he did not hit rock bottom. After all, he is still able to function and have relationships with others, however poor and perhaps imaginary they may be. However, Holden is broken and unable to put himself back together properly. Like anything broken, it can no longer function properly. He has developed strange habits and a twisted way of dealing with the world. You can see this when he interacts with other people, he has a tendency to invent relationships. Holden has a tendency to “…rather than seek complicated judgment for various people, Holden makes hasty categorical judgments about them” (Enotes). For example, when he talks about Ackley, the boy who lives in a dormitory next to him at the school he attends at the beginning of the novel, he first describes him as a disgusting boy who annoys him immensely. “He started talking in this very monotone voice and picking at his pimples” (Salinger 37). Yet, after several more instances of interacting with Ackley, she begins to see him in a more positive light, speaking of him fondly. “'You're a prince, Ackley boy...'” (Salinger 47). Holden often believes that Ackley can read his mind and understand the strange things he does, but the answers ofAckley prove otherwise. The same goes for his relationship with Jane, a girl who lived near him during the summer. He thinks of her as a sweet, sad girl, imagining that she felt about him the same way he felt about her, refusing to believe that she has changed since he last saw her. When he learns that she is dating her pompous roommate Stradlater, he feels betrayed and confused, unable to understand that she would date someone who, in Holden's opinion, would treat her badly and not make her happy. When she talks to Stradlater about it, Holden seems indifferent towards her at first, but as he continues talking he reveals the true feelings he has for her. The only problem is that Jane has no idea about Holden's feelings for her, even though he pretends so. The fact that someone else is dating Jane shatters the illusion she had of their romance. She fights Stradlater when he returns from the date, angry that Stradlater even went out with her when in Holden's head, Holden clearly didn't want him to. “If you had known Stradlater, you too would have been worried” (Salinger 40). Although Holden never speaks directly to Jane throughout the novel, he feels strangely protective of her, almost maniacally believing that she is his and his alone. This demonstrates the fact that Holden, damaged by his brother's death long ago, is unable to function properly. Another way Holden reveals how damaged he is is by becoming almost manic when he fixates on a person or object that has affected him in some way. . These obsessions are usually about something small, seemingly unimportant, and serve no purpose other than to convey how unstable Holden is and show his almost childish behavior as a remnant of Allie's death. When in a cab in New York City in the winter, Holden asks the cab driver where the ducks go when the pond freezes. The driver is annoyed by this and doesn't really answer him, but Holden can't move on from the question until he gets an answer. In this scenario, the disappearance of the duck symbolizes Allie's death. She desperately wants to know where Allie went, refusing to believe he's gone forever. This shows that Holden is so close to falling over the edge of total madness, only hanging on by a few threads. Another little obsession of his is Jane. He brings up random, detailed memories of her throughout the novel, such as her appearance or the way she plays checkers. It always seems to be in the back of his mind. Unlike the ducks, Holden is never able to completely walk away from Jane; it had a huge impact on him. He was the only person he showed Allie's baseball glove to, proving that it held an important place in his heart. The glove is precious to Holden because Allie had written poems on it while playing baseball in the outfield. The most important thing about Jane is that she made Holden happy. “You were never even worried, with Jane… [all] you knew was that you were happy” (Salinger 79). It is one of the cases, if not the only one, in which Holden describes himself as happy. He recounts his memories with Jane in an affectionate manner, describing her sweet and down-to-earth personality, saying that he never worried when he was with her. As depressed as Holden is, it's no wonder that someone who made him happy means so much to him. Unfortunately, the only way he can deal with his feelings for Jane is by obsessing over her, refusing to forget the moments they shared, no matter how long ago. Jane isn't the only person Holden is fixated on. Phoebe, Holden's little sister, is shown to play an important role in his life as she is continually referenced throughout.