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Rebecca Bussa
12 AP Literature
Mrs. Smit
14 October 2014
Undying Brotherly Love
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, and symbolism to illuminate the idea that Holden may view himself as Romeo and his
brother, Allie, as Mercutio.
Salinger utilizes diction and selection of detail 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
himself. When Holden feels very depressed he speaks to his deceased brother saying, Go
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home and get your bike, (111). Holdens instability 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. Similarly, Holden also relates Mercutio to his brother, Allie,
through selection of detail. Salingers words, [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 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 due. Despite Romeos attempts to help, Mercutio was
killedRomeo could not protect him. 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 resulting in Holding smashing all of the windows in the garage (breaking his hands in the
process) while grieving for this unnecessary death (111). 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 to cancer, a
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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.