Emily Muzi 10/29/15 G How Holden Treats Women Holden Caulfield has trouble connecting with everyone but when it comes to women, he views them as objects to admire or protect. He doesn’t feel that they’re smart, nor hold any depth of character. Although, he holds a very intense love for some such as his younger sister Phoebe or his childhood friend, Jane Gallagher. Holden seems to be attached to them and they’re the only people that Holden is psychologically connected to. Holden perceives men as phonies, boring annoyances, or perverts. He believes men should not be trusted around females. “You figured most of them (girls at the Radio City Music Hall) would probably marry dopey guys. Guys that always talk about how many miles they get to a gallon in their goddam cars. Guys that get sore and childish as hell if you beat them at golf,...Guys that are very mean….” (pg. 123). The one male person that this theory does not apply to is his brother, Allie who passed away several years ago. Despite the fact that he is cruel to some women, he is generally respectful towards the women he meets, no matter the social situation. He then is unable to allow himself to have a real relationship with any woman. …show more content…
She is a very honest, free-of-judgement person. She is not "phony," a characteristic that Holden hates and sees in almost everyone. When Holden tells Phoebe that he got kicked out of Pencey all she kept repeating was, "Dad's going to kill you," (pg. 172). Even when Phoebe does not understand Holden, she does not question him; she just listens to him. Phoebe still does not pass judgment upon him. “She always listens when you tell her something. And the funny part of it is she knows, half the time, what the hell you're talking about. She really does” (pg. 167-168). Holden and Phoebe's relationship is a close, loving one. Ironically, Phoebe is more mature than Holden, who is twice her age. Certainly, Phoebe is Holden's emotional