Phoebe and Holden

Throughout the entire book there have been different interactions and relationships between different characters. Some that is similar to each other and some that are complete opposites of each other. Phoebe and Holden seem to have the closest relationship within the book. Holden feels that he can relate the best with his younger sister, and Phoebe seems to look up to Holden, in a way. They get along quite well, but they are siblings, so there are still some times that things get a little tense between the two of them. They have similar qualities that make you go, yes they really are siblings, but they are also different in many ways as well.
In some situations, Holden can be quite stubborn, like when he was adamant about noting giving anymore money to Maurice, the elevator guy, because he was told one price, but then charged another and wouldn’t give them the money. He was definitely not going to give in easily, and Maurice even roughed him up a little bit to get the money problem solved. Like Holden, Phoebe has a very stubborn edge to her. When she sets her mind to something, she’s not going to give up or give in without a fight. For example, when Holden appears at their apartment and they are catching up, she interrupts and wants to know why he is back then and not back on Wednesday. She keeps pestering him about it and immediately jumps to the conclusion that he has been expelled. She knows he has been and she doesn’t care how many times he tries to deny it; he knows that she is right and she knows as well. Also, when she tells him that she isn’t going back to school, but instead going off with him and he tells her no, she refuses to go back to school. He knows that he can’t make her do something that she doesn’t want to do; it’s just not the way to go when dealing with Phoebe. Also, if she is going back or you are making her do something, you can most definitely expect a fight out of her.
Even though Phoebe and Holden have some similarities, they have many differences as well. Holden tolerates other people, but he loves children. He has some friends, but they are mostly acquaintances. None of them are the type of great friends that he can tell anything and everything to. Phoebe, on the other hand, seems to get along great with people. She has friends from school and has a social life. She doesn’t seem to distance herself the way Holden does from others. She can talk to them without judging them and can relate or connect with them on a certain level. Holden has a hard time relating to other people, besides Phoebe that is.
Also, Holden always seems to be depressed. No matter what happens to him, he is always down in the dumps. Even if something good happens to him, he always finds some negative way to think about it or to some how make it into something negative instead of something positive. Holden is a big pessimist. Nothing really seems to make him happy, except for Phoebe or thinking about Allie, but I mean like truly happy. Phoebe, however, has a great attitude towards things and people. She can makes friends and she has friends as well. She actually has a social life unlike Holden in that aspect. She is just a girl having fun with her life and not really taking much of anything too seriously yet. She is still pretty young and is full of life and energy. It seems as though that Holden has left this stage of his life behind himself and is just left bitter and very moody.
Another difference between Holden and Phoebe was how Phoebe applied herself to work hard in school and Holden just didn’t seem to be too concerned about school. He didn’t really have the time or patience for school, so he just never tried at anything. Except for English, this was the only class that he did not fail at Pencey. Phoebe has a different outlook of school; I think that she thinks school is worth while because it will help her to get what she wants out of life. It’s like a stepping stone within her life to get from one thing to the next. Holden doesn’t think like this because he doesn’t really know where he is going in life or where he wants to end up. He is basically just there and that’s why he doesn’t apply himself like he could.
There seems to be a lot more differences to the characters Holden and Phoebe than there are similarities, but the similarities are there. The similarities explain further the relationship that they share, but the differences show how they look at the world differently; full of morons and disappointment, or full of a lifetime of adventures.