Have you ever lost someone you cherish? Well so have the protagonists in the novels, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Sallinger, and “I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” by Erica L. Sanchez. Holden Caulfield and Julia Reyes both experience family disunity along with loss of innocence, trauma,and loss of a loved one. The novels portray the theme that people who genuinely care about you will help you get through the toughest moments.
To begin, in the novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield, a depressed teen, struggles to accept the death of his younger brother, Allie. At the beginning, he seems like a nice young man who is attempting to get his life together but is being held back the trauma of his past. The death of his brother, Allie, further complicates his situation. He admits he talks to Allie as a coping mechanism “sometimes, when I get very depressed” (Chapter 14). He refuses to let Allie go and seeks comfort in all the wrong places. Allie is dead and can’t help him anymore. Holden needs to come to terms with his death in order to move on. He proves on multiple occasions that he does not know how to manage changes in his life. So when he reminisces about school trips to the History Museum, he recalls that the best part about it was how “everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move. . . . Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you” (Chapter 16). Holden needs someone to help him deal with change. So many events have altered his life yet he desires stability. He won’t have the stable life he wishes for until he asks those who care about him to help him. Holden begins to accept his problem when he speaks to his younger sister, Phoebe. He opens up to her about what has been going on in his life. They speak about how the only think Holden seems to like is Allie. Phoebe, a person who truly cares about Holden, tells him exactly what he needs to hear… that Allie is dead. After further discussion, Holden “took [his] hunting hat out of [his] coat pocket and gave it to her” (Chapter 23). Holden wears his cap as protection. Therefore him giving his cap to Phoebe symbolizes him no longer needing protection. He is ready to accept change because he understands he cannot protect everyone and he needs to be okay with that.
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In the opening of the novel, “I’m not your Perfect Mexican Daughter” by Érica L. Sanchez, Julia Reyes and her family are attending the funeral of her older sister, Olga, whom Julia refers to as “The perfect Mexican daughter” (Chapter 1). Julia’s mother loved Olga for that reason and it makes Julia feel neglected. This causes Julia’s relationship with her mother to be distant, which results in secrets and lies. At the funeral, Julia watches as her mother mourns Olga’s death. Although Julia is also upset,her eyes “haven’t produced tears” and she has “felt grief grow in every burrow in every cell of [her] body” (Page 4). Their distrustful relationship is the main reason Julia is unable to express her sorrow about her sister’s passing. Julia would rather hide her problems than burden her mother with them due to the state she’s in. Later, Julia begins to discover that Olga had a secret life. She finds lingerie and a hotel key which leads her on a mission to learn more about her sister, which ultimately turns into a journey of self discovery. Her mother finds Olga’s items among Julia’s things and scolds her. With all the unfortunate events piling up, Eventually her emotions get the best of her and she attempts to take her own life. She is speaking to her therapist about her feelings and tells her that when Amá found out it was “like my whole life crumbled[...]like she really,really hated me”. She then continues admitting, “I can’t ever be the person she wants me to be” (Page 235). Julia cannot focus on healing when she is too busy worrying about disappointing her mother. It is evident that Amá adores Julia but is incredibly protective over her. If they both wish to move on, they must first make amends with each other to help one another grieve the loss of Olga. As an attempt to help Julia, Amá sends her to Mexico to be with her family. Although she is not happy about it at first, Julia becomes remarkably fond of them. They are people who have Julia’s best interest in mind. They only want what is best for her and will do anything to support her as she recovers. This support is exactly what Julia needs in order to move on. Lastly, once Julia is back home and with her therapist, they discuss how her relationship with her mother has developed. Julia informs her therapist that her mother seems to finally understand that she will never change “and is learning to accept that somehow” (Page 317). Julia’s ability to accept change encouraged her mother to do so as well. But Julia would not be so accepting of change if it were not for the help of her family and friends. People who truly care will help one another get through the toughest times.
Furthermore, both protagonists deal with: loss, trauma, alienation, family disunity. Nevertheless, their situations differ in many ways and the experiences that get them to where they are at the end of the novel are unique. For instance, both Holden and Julia alienate themselves. A prime occurrence of this is when Holden discusses his failures during his conversation with Mr. Spencer. They use the phrase “the game” to describe life. Yet Holden believes that life is only a game “If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are”. However if you are on “the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots,” (Chapter 2) then there is no game. His use of the terms “other side” indicate Holden’s loneliness as he isolates himself from the world to protect himself. Perhaps the “side where all the hot-shots are ” is the world of “phonies” as Holden would say. He feels victimized and therefore chooses to alienate himself because he does not want to be a part of that side. Julia also alienated herself. But in her case it’s from her family. When the house is a mess after Olga’s death, Julia mentions it was always Amá and Olga who cleaned it. Julia, on the other hand, would “rather live on the streets than be a submissive Mexican wife who spends all day cooking and cleaning” (Page 13). She does not want to be a house wife like the other women in her life. Julia sees many problems with what her culture has deemed “appropriate” and wants to break away. On the other hand, her mother wants Julia to obey her and the ideas of their culture just like Olga had. Additionally, Holden and Julia both have to embrace change in order to thrive. Julia’s therapist elaborates on the ways people respond to change when they’re discussing Julia’s relationship with her mother. She explains , “Sometimes it’s difficult for people to adjust to new ideas[...]I can imagine that perhaps your mother doesn’t mean to be so repressive; that to her, it’s just a way to protect you” (Page 317). In a sense, Holden and Julia’s mother are actually quite similar due to their desire to protect innocence by refuting change. Similarly, Julia herself did not want to accept change when her sister died. But thanks to the unconditional support of her family, she is able to welcome the change which ultimately leads to her mother becoming accepting of it as well. As with Holden, he wanted everything to remain the same. He did not want to grow up and join the world of phonies but instead “just be the catcher in the rye and all” (Chapter 22). Though of course, his “kid sister” Phoebe, explains to him how naive he is being. Thus resulting in Holden admitting his idea is crazy. If it weren’t for the care of their families, neither of the protagonists of this novel would have been able to deal with their losses.
In conclusion, people would be lost if they didn’t have the help of their family to guide them. Both Holden and Julia received encouragement from those who cared about them which led them down a better path. Thanks to the help of their families and friends, they were able to move on from the trauma of the past and embrace the change that the future brings.
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