Even his body is telling him that he has to become an adult. The world around him is constantly telling him to grow up and act more mature, but he will not. Holden is not willing to accept the inevitability of change. Holden is unable to accept change in any form or fashion. The second stage that Holden experiences is denial. This is evident through his various “conversations” he has with Allie’s spirit. This plays a meaningful role in the novel because funerals represent closure and acceptance that one is dead, because of Holden not attending the funeral, he has not accepted Allie’s death. The result of this was a broken hand and the inability to attend Allie’s funeral.
Allie the catcher in the rye windows#
After Allie died, Holden went into his family’s garage and broke all the windows except for one with his bare hands. The first stage Holden goes through is anger. These two deaths created a fear of death within Holden. Holden had never experienced death before these events and has to face them and go through stages of grief to ultimately come to terms with the deaths. Holden knew James well enough for the death to leave a mark on him. The second death was that of James Castle, Holden’s Classmate at Elkton Hills School. Allie died of leukemia three years before the events of the novel. The most significant death was the death of his younger brother, Allie. Holden experiences two deaths prior to the events in the novel that impact him profoundly. Death is an over-arching theme throughout The Catcher in the Rye.