RE: The Catcher in the Rye help with homework Chapter 22
Chapter 22
- What new insight about Holden’s school failure does Holden’s explanation to Phoebe about his expulsion give the reader?
- In what way is Phoebe’s discussion with Holden (beginning on page 168) mature and adult-like?
- How does Phoebe psychoanalyze Holden?
- Who is more in touch with reality, Holden or Phoebe? Defend your view.
- What disgusts Holden about his own vision of his future?
How does Phoebe psychoanalyze Holden?
Phoebe realizes the extent of her brother’s misanthropy and unhappiness. Holden treats Phoebe with more respect and kindness than he treats any other character in the story. Phoebe, for her part, recognizes how tenuous Holden’s grasp on reality is. Unlike her parents, she knows he is struggling, and she simply wants to be there for him. In the end, it is her willingness to go to the ends of the earth with him that wakes Holden up to the impossibility of his self-destructive impulses. He succumbs to this reality because he cannot bear to see Phoebe suffer.
