When Holden discusses his brother's left handed baseball mitt, he begins to talk about his brother, and to describe him. When Holden tells us that his brother died, and how he reacted to that, it becomes apparent to us that he is deeply bothered by it, that it is his rattle that won't leave him alone, yet he is alone in facing it.
In the article "Your Rattle No One Else Can Hear?" by Daran Kagan, a story about Kagan's fairly new car is told. She says that there is an annoying rattle that becomes audible when driving on the highway, but when she took it to the dealership to be looked at, the dealer couldn't hear it. This simple story lets the readers relate, saying they too have an event or problem in their life that they can't forget, and nobody else can help them. The story is a literal translation of a problem that so many people in the world have, and Kagan uses it to show sympathy for the readers. She's using a brief story to say that people who have that rattle are not alone, and she feels for them. This is the true message of the article.
Kagan defines a rattle as "that thing that is the thorn in your side, that others can't see or detect that you're told to get over." To Holden, as discussed before, "that thing" is his brother's death. We know Holden really struggles with this, because he tells us that when Allie (his brother) died, he got very upset and broke windows with his fist and slept in the garage. His family didn't understand, and they were going to get him psychoanalyzed. He gets kind of defensive about his actions too, saying, "It was a very stupid thing to do, I'll admit, but I hardly didn't even know I was doing it, and you didn't know Allie" (Salinger 39). Knowing this, we can tell that Holden feels very alone in his feelings. We know that it's a very sensitive topic to him, but he tries to write it off as not very important. The second half of the rattle article, discussing how she Kagan feels for those that have rattles and feel like Holden does, would probably be very helpful to Holden, because he fits the description perfectly, and what he needs more than anything is someone to share his pain with.
I also did this blog option and I love seeing your stance on it. I related Holden's pain for Allie's loss as well and I especially read the rattle when he breaks it to us that he lost his brother. He is extremely short and to the point regarding Allie's death which kind of hinted towards me that he thinks that the pain he feels isn't valid. "He's dead now," seems too nonchalant. What are your thoughts on this?
ReplyDeleteI agree that Holden seems very protective over his brother's death, but I don't necessarily believe that he finds his pain invalid. I more think he just figures the reader wouldn't understand his pain, as we can see when he says, "and you didn't know Allie." He keeps it short to keep himself calm and keep others from worrying to much for him.
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