Re: Quiet list? there's always
Cheryl Cline (ccline@uclink4.berkeley.edu)
Wed, 01 Jul 1998 14:55:21 -0700
Bridget C wrote:
> this is just my opinion, but i think that holden was afraid the CHILD in him was disappearing each time he
> crossed the street. if the road represents something like....excuse the cliche, but the road of life, this is a
> break or curve in it, a crossroads really, some decision and some change needs to be made. the world he lives
> in forces him to make a decision at this point....he just wasn't ready to walk across it, so was uncomfortable
> and felt like he was losing the good innocent qualities....so he seeks help in someone who represents something
> he can always go back to, a child who will never grow up, and although it is sad, there is certain comfort in
> allie being dead. and it's sorta like he just wants to keep some part of himself untouched and doesn't think he
> can get through life without it, that sense of morality and innocence.....part of his personality kept under
> glass casing. but he can't, of course, he's faced with a street he must cross and is just not ready. i dont
> know, thats just the way i saw it.... JD
Maybe you're right-I've always interpreted this scene through the
Holden-is-borderline-schizo lens, but I've never looked at it this way
before. I think it's really possible that you're correct about this.
Cheryl