My thoughts on who the Catcher in the Rye is in the novel by Aruna Pillai

 My thoughts on who the Catcher in the Rye is in the novel

In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger I think the main character’s sister, Phoebe is the true catcher in the rye. The meaning of her name solidifies this, Phoebe is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family, she is a catcher.  According to Holden, the catcher is a person who saves people from falling when they can not save themselves. Phoebe does this for her brother Holden. It is clear to me that at least to Holden Phoebe is the only one that cares about him and while Holden has poor mental health and a history of being depressed, seeing Phoebe made him feel genuinely happy. She makes him feel happy when he is not able to do that for himself. I especially like how their relationship is written in the novel and how she is the only one able to help her brother when he needs it. I think the way Holden was written as protective of his sister while she is also helping him makes their relationship strong. His mental state is spiraling and only getting worse and he is desperately trying to help himself but it is not enough. When Holden was preparing to leave Phoebe told him that she would go with him, she brought a suitcase and refused to let him go alone. Holden tries placating her but Phoebe stops him from leaving his life behind. She prevents him from spiraling completely and later goes on to make him happy despite his mental state when she found him. I appreciate that the main relationship to me in this novel was one between siblings because I feel like I don’t see that a lot in books. Overall, I liked the way the book ended even if it left some questions unanswered and thoroughly enjoyed reading it even though I was a bit skeptical at first.