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Rebecca Bussa
12 AP Literature
Mrs. Smit
14 October 2014
Undying Brotherly Love:
A Close Reading of The Catcher in the Rye
Holden Caulfield dislikes many things. He does not like when people repeat things more
than once. He disdains the idea of the loss of innocence. He detests movies. Most of all, he hates
phonies. But above all that hate, Holden holds a great love for his deceased brother, Allie.
Throughout the novel, Allie is the one constant topic for which Holden will declare his love.
Holdens love for Allie is not only displayed when Holden speaks of him, but may even be
demonstrated symbolically throughout the novel. One interpretation of the scene where Holden
discusses Romeo and Juliet with the nuns, involves underlying symbolism of the characters of
Shakespeares famous tragedy. During this conversation, Salinger uses diction, selection of
detail, parallelism, and symbolism to illuminate the idea that Holden may view himself as
Romeo and his brother, Allie, as Mercutio.
Salinger utilizes diction, selection of detail, and parallelism to show possible parallels
between the characters of Romeo and Juliet and the people of Holdens life. First of all, Holden
proclaims, [Mercutios death] was all Romeos fault when speaking about his dislikes of the
play (Salinger 111). The word fault here could be a connotation of guilt. Because Mercutios
death is Romeos fault, he would have feelings of guilt after the death of his best friend. This is a
parallel to Holdens feelings towards his brother. While Allies death may not be his fault,
Holden still feels guilty telling Allie that he was too young to ride bikes with Bobby Fallan and
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himself. When Holden feels very depressed he speaks to his deceased brother saying, Go
home and get your bike, (111). Holdens inability to let this incident go indicates his feelings of
guilt for his actions. Therefore, Holden can identify with Romeo and his guilty feelings
surrounding Mercutios death. Finally, the parallelism between Romeo and Holden reveal other
possible ways Holden is able to identify with him. It is possible that both characters can be
considered tragic ones. In Romeo and Juliet, everything that could go wrong does. He begins his
journey into the Capulets party by musing, I fear too early, for my misgives/Some consequence
yet hanging in the stars/Shall bitterly begin his fearful date/With this nights reveals and expire
the term which translates to that Romeo believes that something bad will begin tonight and it
will end in his death (Shakespeare I.IV.7-10). From the beginning, he was fated to die and
Romeo had that feeling before he even met the girl that would eventually drive him to his death.
Thus, the whole world was more or less against Romeo from the beginning. Congruously,
Holden may consider himself a tragic figure in his life. Holdens views about childhood are very
different from the way society feels. Everybody wants to grow up and go away to lead their own
life, however Holden only wants to savor childhood and be innocent because world is a place full
of terrible things that Holden wishes he was never exposed to. In a sense, the world Holden was
placed in is against him in every point of view. Like Romeo, Holden is ill-fated from the
beginning when the readers learn his views because they seem so obscure to a society that wants
everything at a fast-paced level. Hence, the fact that Romeos world was against him and his ill-
fate from the beginning helps Holden identify with Romeo.
Holden also relates Mercutio to his brother, Allie. The description, [Mercutio] was very
smart and entertaining and all, could show a possible parallel between the two characters (111).
Salinger uses the aforementioned phrase twice in this passage to emphasize the importance of
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these characteristics of Mercutio. Salinger could have described Mercutio as kind, funny, and a
good friend, but he could have also chosen these adjectives to be parallel with Holdens feelings
toward Allie. Numerous times, Holden refers to Allie as very intelligent and tells stories where
Allie acts as the source of entertainment. The selection of detail in the adjectives that describe
Mercutio could be interpreted to describe not only Mercutio, but also to characterize Allie.
Next, one could interpret the characters of Romeo and Juliet as a symbol for the people in
Holdens life and his reaction to his brothers death. As mentioned, Romeo could represent
Holden, while Mercutio could represent Allie. Because Romeo received a death threat from
Tybalt, Mercutio challenges Tybalt to a duel. Despite Romeos attempts to help, Mercutio was
killedRomeo could not protect him. Then, when Benvolio reveals the news of Mercutios
death to Romeo, Romeo is encompassed with anger. Immediately after, Tybalt enters the scene
and Romeo comments, And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now which translates to anger will
guide my actions now (Shakespeare III.I.86). Romeo lets his new found anger take control over
his actions to whatever happens with Tybalt. Through this rage from the death of his best friend,
Romeo fights with Tybalt. Similarly, at the end of his life, Allie was fighting Leukemia and even
though Holden wanted to save him because Allie did not deserve to die, Holden could not fight
Leukemia for his brother. So when Allie died, it literally drove [Holden] crazy, just like
Romeos encompassment in anger, resulting in Holding smashing all of the windows in the
garage (breaking his hands in the process) while grieving for this unnecessary death (111). This
is parallel to Romeos outburst at Tybalt, which resulted in Tybalts death. Holden does not want
anyone, especially his loving brother, to die because its somebody elses fault, somebody
being the cancer (111). Furthermore, Holdens identification with the characters in Romeo and
Juliet could be a symbol of the feelings Holden has for the unnecessary death of his brother due
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to cancer, a battle in which Holden could not participate. This part in the novel reveals Holdens
disappointment that he could not save his brother and his guilty feeling for not taking all the
opportunities he could have had to spend time with his brother.
Holden idolizes his brother throughout the novel. Allie is the most holy and powerful
thought in Holdens life. The reader cannot find one bad characteristic of Allie and can only see
the innocence and perfection that Holden describes. So, the death of Allie left Holden
heartbroken because he could do nothing to prevent it. Much like Romeo, Holden also has a love
for Mercutio because in many ways he could be considered much like his brother, Allie. To
Holden, Mercutio is the only redeemable character in the play and he is disappointed that Romeo
could not save Mercutio from death despite his efforts. This mimics Holdens love of his brother,
Allie, and his grief that he could not save Allie from the cancer that took is life. The undying
love of the two brothers, Holden and Allie, and the two friends, Romeo and Mercutio, reminds
Holden that despite ones best efforts, the battle cannot always be won.
Words Cited
Salinger, J.D. Catcher in the Rye. New York City: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Woodbury, N.Y: Barron's, 1985. Print.