In Response to Death

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as well. Unlike Elie who feels almost nothing and then guilt followed by relief when reflecting on his father’s death, Holden experiences a surge of intense emotions. Further, Holden doesn’t “blame them” for wanting to have him psychoanalyzed after his impulsive behaviors. This suggests that he understands that he is not normal on coping with loss and acknowledges that his actions are extreme. Similarly to Holden, Elie also acknowledges his lack of emotion for his father’s death and knows that is it abnormal since he feels guilty for not feeling more emotion. The short break between describing positive memories about Allie and the new sentence, “I was only thirteen,” suggests that Holden did not see Allie’s death coming. The quick pacing implies that Holden is shocked and the death is sudden. Differently, Holden did not expect Allie’s death while Elie predicted his father’s imminent death and faces it with acceptance. Holden eventually is so consumed with emotions that he “didn’t even know” what he was doing. This reveals that Holden is so shocked and angry he loses control of himself and is unaware of what he is doing. He is mentally unstable and the anger from his sudden death of Allie physically drives him to harm himself. Similarly and differently to Holden, Holden feels anger and shock with Allie’s death.

Similarly, in the except from Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the narrator Holden Caulfield and Elie Wiesel, the author from the memoir Night both acknowledge their abnormal reaction to death. Contrastingly, Wiesel responds to his father’s death with acceptance, guilt and relief whereas Holden responds to his brother’s death with anger and shock. From comparing the two excepts, Elie and Holden’s different reaction to the passing of a loved one result from the different situation they were in. Death can have a permanent impact on someone like it did to Elie and Holden. It is important to know how to cope with death and to do so in a healthy manner. Furthermore, it is important to not take one’s life for granted since death can strike at any moment like it did to Holden’s brother. There are different ways to cope with loss, but it is important that there is no right or wrong way as long as it is healthy.