Why is phoebe upset with holden

Holden starts to feel grateful for all the kindness that Mr. Antaloni showed to him. For example, the fact that Mr. Antaloni invited him over and wasn't the least bit angry at Holden for calling at such a late hour. Holden tells us even if Mr. Antaloni is a homosexual; it does not negate all the concern and effort he gave to help Holden. As Holden is walking to find a place to eat some breakfast, he sees two men unloading a Christmas tree and fighting about how to do it.

Holden thinks this is very funny and starts to laugh, but when he laughs, he feels like he might throw up. He also still has a terrible headache. While he is walking, Holden suddenly feels that he will never make it across the street.

Every time he makes it to the other side of a street, he thanks Allie for saving him. After walking more than twenty blocks, Holden starts thinking of a new life out west. He would like to be a deaf-mute so nobody would bother to try and talk to him. He imagines working in a gas station and getting a cabin just outside the woods. Not in the woods, "because I want it to be sunny as hell, all the time" , Holden tells us.

Holden says that if he decided to get married he would marry a deaf-mute, so both of them would not have to bother talking with each other. If his wife wanted to ask him a question, she could just write it on a note. This life he imagines for himself becomes so enticing that he decides to make it a reality, that day. He tells us he does not care that much about the deaf-mute thing, but he can see a new life for himself. Holden decides he will hitchhike his way out west that afternoon.

What is a catcher in the rye and why does Holden want to be one? Does Mr. Antolini really make a pass at Holden? Why does Holden run away from Pencey? Does Holden have sex with Sunny, the prostitute? What happens to Holden after his date with Sally Hayes and his meeting with Carl Luce both end badly?

What is the setting for The Catcher in the Rye? He says he likes talking with her , but Phoebe answers, "That isn't anything real ly. After some consideration, he says he would like to be the catcher in the rye and explains to her what that means to him. In this crucial chapter, Salinger uses Phoebe's concern to elicit, from Holden, the dominating metaphor of the novel as well as its title. He sets this up with the tragic, moving story of a courageous innocent, James Castle. Holden is confused throughout the novel.

His thoughts drift. He tends to digress. Some of the most effective parts of the novel are Holden's digressions. An excellent example is the James Castle memory. Castle was a skinny, quiet, weak-looking schoolmate of Holden's at Elkton Hills.

He had amazing resolve. One day, James voiced an opinion that an arrogant ruffian named Phil Stabile was "conceited," which he was. When word got back to Stabile, he and several cohorts locked Castle in his room and did unspeakable things to him, trying to get James to take back his comment, but James refused. To escape, he jumped out the window to his death.

This serves to show Holden's thought processes. Holden's choice of Mr. Antolini seems a more desperate move once he relates it to James Castle, as if that story was more than a momentary reminder of any person who can give Holden a place to stay that night. Holden's gift of the hunting hat to Phoebe is a significant event, for it is one of Holden's few meaningful possessions.

He gives her the hunting hat as a sign that he may never see Phoebe again, whether because he has run away to Colorado or because of impending tragedy. He sets off for Mr. Antolini's, as if fully aware - even hopeful - that he may suffer the same fate as James Castle. He wants a glorious death that will end with his body taken in loving arms to a funeral where people he doesn't know will mourn him. In Chapter 24, Mr. Antolini is the third consecutive person whom Holden encounters who forces him to confront his difficulties.

Like both Carl Luce and Phoebe, Mr. Antolini senses that Holden suffers from serious problems, and definitively tells him that he is headed for a fall. However, where Mr.

Antolini departs from the previous two confrontations is that he grasps the seriousness of the situation. His observation that Holden will end up having contempt for nearly everyone he meets has been made in different forms by others, yet only Mr. Antolini senses the mortal seriousness of the situation. When he quotes Wilhelm Stekel, he implies that he expects Holden to commit suicide as a form of foolish martyrdom. However, like all other adults in the story, Holden feels that Mr. Antolini betrays his trust.

When Holden awakens to find Mr. Antolini touching his head, he immediately concludes the worst, suspecting him of "flitty" behavior. However, Holden is a notoriously unreliable narrator, coming to Mr. Antolini's apartment inherently suspicious of all adults and perhaps still drunk from the evening's escapades. It seems questionable that Mr. Antolini had any malicious intent, yet Holden suspects the worst. Here is Holden's 'last adult refuge in a disintegrating world,' and yet once again Holden must escape from a situation to avoid any sort of difficult confrontation Graham Holden can now dismiss Mr.

Antolini's advice to him, for he can now perceive this once-respected teacher as a predator. At the same time, if Mr. Antolini was making advances on Holden, then it's clear that perhaps Holden is right about the world - that it's incapable of offering true love, only phony attempts at connection coupled with arbitrary pain.

Holden becomes increasingly paranoid and delusional throughout Chapter 25, the last one in which he recounts his tale. Throughout this chapter he operates under the assumption that he will not survive much longer, as when he is convinced that he will not get to the other side of the street.

Holden's observations become increasingly random and disjointed, as when he obsesses over profane graffiti on the school.

Holden's obsession with the profanity is notable, for it shows his distaste for anything that may corrupt the innocence of children. Holden wishes to shelter children from any adult experiences, revealing his own fear of maturity. Salinger bolsters this aspect of Holden's character by concluding the chapter with Holden watching Phoebe on the carousel. Although Holden decides to leave New York after seeing Phoebe for once last time, he has no definitive plan of action.

His behavior in this chapter demonstrates a tenuous grip on sanity. Holden wishes to reject society altogether, proposing extreme ideas such as pretending to be a deaf-mute, and appears barely in control of himself throughout the chapter. His physical health begins to mirror his emotional state; he suffers from illness that renders him less than lucid and even loses consciousness.