In this chapter, Holden decides to sneak into his apartment to see Phoebe, his little sister. He sneaks in, and once he gets to D.B's room, he wakes her up so they could talk. As we all know, Holden has been thinking about talking to Phoebe for a very long time now. This proves that he actually missed her, even more than he misses his own parents. Before he wakes her up, we learn a lot more about Phoebe. We learn that she sleeps in D.B's room because she likes the space, we learn that she's a very organized person, she's really smart, she's in a school play called
The Christmas Pageant, and we also learn that she constantly changes her middle names when she writes them down. When Holden wakes her up, she's very happy to see him, and she immediately tells him about many things that happened while he was gone. But later, she figures out that Holden was kicked out of school, even though he never really said it. How do you think she knew this? And why do you think she got so upset when she learned this, saying "Daddy's gonna kill you."(pg. 165) over and over again? Try to think from Phoebe's point of view. Do you think she feels sorry for Holden? How would you describe her relationship with her siblings, especially Holden?
I feel like Phoebe knew that he had gotten kicked out of Pency, because she knows him very well. She knows when he is lying, she knows that he doesn't like one single thing in life, she knows that he either fails out of school or does something to get kicked out, and she also knows how to communicate with his complicated personality. I believe that she knows how to do this because she is a lot like Holden herself. She always gets off topic, and she yells/ talks really loud when she gets upset or excited about something, just like Holden. She is a little over dramatic and she exaggerates a lot. She says "Dad is going to kill you!" over and over again, because I think she is sad that Holden can't ever stay in one place and be happy. It seems like when Holden does something wrong, his parents just get mad and yell and fight with him. I think that this affects Phoebe because she loves Holden, and she doesn't want there to be any fighting between the people she loves. I feel like she is very affectionate, just like Holden said, and she wants to be close to all her siblings. She wants to sleep in D.B.'s bed, because it probably makes her feel closer to him. And she doesn't want Holden to get yelled at by their dad, because she doesn't want him to go away again. Mostly she probably wants everyone to get along and be happy together.
ReplyDeleteMost people would say that little girls have a skewed view of the world, and much to Holden's dismay, Phoebe is not the all-knowing source of aid that he wants her to be. Not to say Phoebe couldn't be truly intelligent, but there is very little chance that she really understands how Holden feels about phonies, Allie, and adulthood. I imagine she feels like Holden isn't trying hard and is probably disappointed. At the same time, I doubt she has given up on Holden, or she wouldn't have asked him about what he does like. Considering that Phoebe was the daughter of a wealthy lawyer, who seems rather distant from the family, I'm assuming that Phoebe and her dad are not very close, so she could easily think that he would kick Holden out. However, I have no doubts when it comes to her exaggerating that, "Dad is going to kill you!". Her relationship to Holden would be one of admiration and love. Even though she doesn't like that Holden keeps failing, she still has faith in him as her brother, someone who goes out of their way to make her feel loved.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough Phoebe is young, I think she is probably very mature. I think that is why Holden wants to reach out and talk to her so badly. I feel like maybe because she had to witness the death of Allie at such a young age she may be exceptionally mature for her age. This is probably how she knows that Holden was kicked out of school. I think Phoebe repeating, “Daddy is going to kill you.” may be a hint at Holden’s relationship with his father and how his father dealt with Holden the last time he got suspended. I think she probably has a very good relationship with Holden. She gets very excited when she sees Holden and becomes distraught when she learns that he got kicked out of school. I believe that Phoebe and Holden must be very close because she is able to catch on that something is not right with Holden very quickly, which leads her to believe that he got kicked out of Pencey.
ReplyDeletePhoebe is a very mature girl for her age, and it seems like this is the reason that Holden admires her so much. I think that Phoebe probably guessed that Holden had gotten kicked out of school, the second she saw that he got home early. In fact, I think that Phoebe would have gotten mad at Holden much earlier in the conversation if she wasn't so excited to see him. I think that Phoebe became so upset when she learned that Holden had been kicked out because she simply didn't want her dad to get mad at him. Also, I think that Phoebe really loves and cares for Holden so she wants him to do well, and she was probably disappointed in him to figure out he had been expelled. I think that Phoebe definitely feels sorry for Holden. She wants him to do well, because she hates to see her dad yelling at him. Phoebe seems to have a really good relationship with all of her siblings, especially Holden. All of her sibling's admire her greatly, and she doesn't seem to argue much with them. Overall, Phoebe seems to be a very calm and steady thinking girl.
ReplyDeleteI believe you could refer to it as "sister's intuition". Not only her suspicions regarding his early return from Pencey, but also his actions and body language and even his facial expressions could have clued her in to the fact that he had been kicked out of school. It is clear, even though it is not stated from her point of view, that she loves Holden a great deal. I think it would be tiring to maintain trust in your brother after having your hopes for him let down whenever he gets kicked out of school. She is probably loosing faith in her brother, and that is something that would scare a little kid; to have a brother you looked up and adored behaving foolishly. Her only way to react is to cover her head with her pillow, hiding the fact that she is feeling so let down and sad for Holden. She is probably wanting to ask him other questions, but she just keeps repeating how "daddy'll kill you!". This would probably be a reaction that proves her disbelief at his being kicked out of school again; she just can't find anything else to say, and she can't face Holden, so she just hides her face until Holden leaves the room to get a box of cigarettes, which ends the chapter. In Ch. 22, she eventually finds the will to face him, but her actions until that point just prove that no matter how mature and loving she is, she is disappointed and saddened by Holden's lack of motivation and direction in his life.
ReplyDeleteIn 'Catcher in the Rye' Holden is closest to his little sister, Phoebe. Phoebe knows Holden really well and has a good relationship with him. That is how Phoebe knows that Holden got kicked out of Pency, even before he said anything. I think Phoebe got so upset because she really cares about Holden. She wants the best for him and does not want to see anything hurt him. She really looks out for him a lot. I think she does feel sorry for Holden. I also think she wants Holden to stop getting into trouble. That is also another reason why she keeps tell Holden "Daddys going to kill you" over and over again. Phoebe has good relationships with everyone. Holden describes her as a fun loving girl, someone who is always happy. Her relationship with Holden is very good and she cares about him a lot.
ReplyDeleteI think Phoebe knew that Holden got kicked out, because of his evasiveness and fear of running into this parents. I think she also knew because she knows Holden better than anyone. I think she got upset, because she wants the best for Holden. I think he has let his father down before and Phoebe is worried how Holden might be punished. I don't necessarily think she feels sorry for him, but just wants what is best for him. Phoebe is a great student and I think she wishes Holden to apply himself and help everyone else see him the way she does. I think Phoebe loves all of her siblings dearly, especially Holden. She misses D.B. so much that she sleeps in his room. She misses Allie, but she is mature enough to scold Holden for talking about him like he is alive. Phoebe seems like the epitome of purity, which could be why Holden loves her so dearly, which seems like a difficult thing for Holden to do. She is kind, loving, and forgiving. Her relationship with Holden is especially dear, because he is the only brother she has left around her. She wants him to succeed and she looks up to him. I think Phoebe is a kind, loving sister that Holden is lucky to have.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't the first time Holden's been kicked out of a school, and Phoebe seems to know exactly the process goes when she thinks about it carefully. She first asks him why he isn't home on Wednesday, the day he promises to come home, and she then realizes immediately after that he has gotten the axe. Of course she is exaggerating when she tells him that his dad will "kill him", but seeing as to how many times this has happened, Holden's father may as well be at the boiling point. She most likely wants the family to get along together, and the fact that Holden getting kicked out of school again will not be a means to that end makes her quite upset, causing her to ignore him for some time. She definitely cares for Holden, and she is angry at him because she is worried about him, a childish thing to do. But childishness is the trait that defines Phoebe, and Salinger does a good job of bringing that out in this scene.
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