Prompt: Identify how childhood events of two characters (Holden and Ruth) impacted their personality, behavior, psychological states, etc.
While Holden's bad childhood experiences embitter him and his views of the world, Ruth uses her negative experiences to become more mature, proving that childhood events can help develop a strong personality if the individual is resolute, an attestation from which Holden could learn.
One important event that both Holden and Ruth experience is the death of a loved one. Holden is deeply disturbed by the death of his brother Allie. This becomes evident when he gets irritated at his friend Stradlater for criticizing the paper he wrote about Allie's baseball glove, an obviously valued possession of Holden's. As a result of Allie's death, Holden later becomes isolated from society. He does not allow himself to get too close to anyone, such as Jane Gallagher, because he wants to protect himself from change, which, to him, comes to signify growing up and, thus, not being like Allie, whose image remains young and innocent in Holden's perception. This event alters Holden's psychological state, as it leads Holden to becoming a sociopath, evident by his ensuing antisocial and rebellious behavior. His isolation also indicates depression, which contributes to his stagnant, vagrant behavior, as he generally migrates from point to point aimlessly throughout the novel. Holden also seems to be affected by the death of his former classmate James Castle, who committed suicide. This is shown by Holden's constant contemplation of the subject, such as when he thinks about Castle when talking to Phoebe and when he praises Mr. Antolini for being the only one brave enough to go up to James's body after his death. Facing both of these deaths while Holden was only a child seem to have had an impact by instilling in him an obsession with death and mortality and a disturbed psychological state . (quote about mortality) Similarly, Ruth is also forced to face the death of her brother, Sam, who dies in World War II after running away from home when she is a young adolescent; however, she does not dwell on this episode. Instead, she uses it to learn about the defiant attitudes of children and takes this lesson into effect when her own daughter runs away from home, encouraging her to come home instead of turning her back to her, like her parents would have done. This probably also affects her response to death because as an adult, when Ruth's husbands Dennis and Hunter Jordan die, she is able to deal with these deaths more easily. Instead of fearing death, like Holden, Ruth learns how to move on in life and concentrates her efforts on providing for her children when her husbands Dennis and Hunter Jordan die. protector isolation stagnant phonies (rebel against authority) obsession with death depression change, innocence
Holden and Ruth also both face tough family environments when they are children. Holden resents his parents because he believes that they had sent him off to private school because they do not love him very much and disregard him because they think he is worthless. This contributes to Holden's low self-esteem and contempt for his mother and father and explains his reluctance to come home after being expelled from Pencey. Holden mentions that "...[his] parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if [he] told anything personal about them. They're quite touchy about anything like that, especially [his] father. They're nice and all - [he's] not saying that - but they're also touchy as hell" (Salinger 1). (doesn't like his brother) He considers all of his older family members to be phonies. He also suggests that his mother's congeniality is a façade, behind which she can hide her insincerity. When Holden wakes up to Mr. Antolini stroking his head, Holden seems mortified and runs out of the house. Holden's rash reaction to this suggests that Holden has had some traumatic experience with his family as a child that have caused his homophobia and resistance to closeness with others. While it is uncertain whether Holden experienced such an event, this, along with Holden's contempt for most of his family, seem to contribute to his dislike of authority figures in general, as Holden generally has a rebellious attitude towards authorities, such as his school officials. Ruth, faces a much harsher family environment. Ruth has extremely poor, strict, and conservative parents and is sexually abused by her father when she is a child. Her parents had racist attitudes and did not approve of her boyfriend, who she loved very much. Ruth, like Holden, does become depressed and isolated, even almost resorting to prostitution in order to escape her family problems, but she learns from her parents' mistakes and later uses these experiences to learn what kind of a mother she should not be. Her parenting style reflects the complete opposite of her own parents', as Ruth always encourages her children to do great things instead of acting selfishly. Ruth's observations of the hurtful effects of her parents' racist attitudes lead her to be accepting and forgiving when she becomes an adult. Her impoverished origins shape her view of her own situation later when she has many kids but no money. Instead of feeling defeated, she has a more persistent attitude, and she understands how she should save her money. The fact that Ruth goes through depression and isolation from her family just like Holden does but later overcomes these negative events suggests that Holden could also improve his life by rejecting his cynic, defeatist attitudes and putting effort into learning from his experiences.
Another experience common to the lives of both Holden and Ruth is some form of betrayal. In the beginning of the novel, Holden faces betrayal from his friend Stradlater...
While Holden's bad childhood experiences embitter him and his views of the world, Ruth uses her negative experiences to become more mature, proving that childhood events can help develop a strong personality if the individual is resolute, an attestation from which Holden could learn.
One important event that both Holden and Ruth experience is the death of a loved one. Holden is deeply disturbed by the death of his brother Allie. This becomes evident when he gets irritated at his friend Stradlater for criticizing the paper he wrote about Allie's baseball glove, an obviously valued possession of Holden's. As a result of Allie's death, Holden later becomes isolated from society. He does not allow himself to get too close to anyone, such as Jane Gallagher, because he wants to protect himself from change, which, to him, comes to signify growing up and, thus, not being like Allie, whose image remains young and innocent in Holden's perception. This event alters Holden's psychological state, as it leads Holden to becoming a sociopath, evident by his ensuing antisocial and rebellious behavior. His isolation also indicates depression, which contributes to his stagnant, vagrant behavior, as he generally migrates from point to point aimlessly throughout the novel. Holden also seems to be affected by the death of his former classmate James Castle, who committed suicide. This is shown by Holden's constant contemplation of the subject, such as when he thinks about Castle when talking to Phoebe and when he praises Mr. Antolini for being the only one brave enough to go up to James's body after his death. Facing both of these deaths while Holden was only a child seem to have had an impact by instilling in him an obsession with death and mortality and a disturbed psychological state . (quote about mortality) Similarly, Ruth is also forced to face the death of her brother, Sam, who dies in World War II after running away from home when she is a young adolescent; however, she does not dwell on this episode. Instead, she uses it to learn about the defiant attitudes of children and takes this lesson into effect when her own daughter runs away from home, encouraging her to come home instead of turning her back to her, like her parents would have done. This probably also affects her response to death because as an adult, when Ruth's husbands Dennis and Hunter Jordan die, she is able to deal with these deaths more easily. Instead of fearing death, like Holden, Ruth learns how to move on in life and concentrates her efforts on providing for her children when her husbands Dennis and Hunter Jordan die. protector isolation stagnant phonies (rebel against authority) obsession with death depression change, innocence
Holden and Ruth also both face tough family environments when they are children. Holden resents his parents because he believes that they had sent him off to private school because they do not love him very much and disregard him because they think he is worthless. This contributes to Holden's low self-esteem and contempt for his mother and father and explains his reluctance to come home after being expelled from Pencey. Holden mentions that "...[his] parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if [he] told anything personal about them. They're quite touchy about anything like that, especially [his] father. They're nice and all - [he's] not saying that - but they're also touchy as hell" (Salinger 1). (doesn't like his brother) He considers all of his older family members to be phonies. He also suggests that his mother's congeniality is a façade, behind which she can hide her insincerity. When Holden wakes up to Mr. Antolini stroking his head, Holden seems mortified and runs out of the house. Holden's rash reaction to this suggests that Holden has had some traumatic experience with his family as a child that have caused his homophobia and resistance to closeness with others. While it is uncertain whether Holden experienced such an event, this, along with Holden's contempt for most of his family, seem to contribute to his dislike of authority figures in general, as Holden generally has a rebellious attitude towards authorities, such as his school officials. Ruth, faces a much harsher family environment. Ruth has extremely poor, strict, and conservative parents and is sexually abused by her father when she is a child. Her parents had racist attitudes and did not approve of her boyfriend, who she loved very much. Ruth, like Holden, does become depressed and isolated, even almost resorting to prostitution in order to escape her family problems, but she learns from her parents' mistakes and later uses these experiences to learn what kind of a mother she should not be. Her parenting style reflects the complete opposite of her own parents', as Ruth always encourages her children to do great things instead of acting selfishly. Ruth's observations of the hurtful effects of her parents' racist attitudes lead her to be accepting and forgiving when she becomes an adult. Her impoverished origins shape her view of her own situation later when she has many kids but no money. Instead of feeling defeated, she has a more persistent attitude, and she understands how she should save her money. The fact that Ruth goes through depression and isolation from her family just like Holden does but later overcomes these negative events suggests that Holden could also improve his life by rejecting his cynic, defeatist attitudes and putting effort into learning from his experiences.
Another experience common to the lives of both Holden and Ruth is some form of betrayal. In the beginning of the novel, Holden faces betrayal from his friend Stradlater...
