After reading the article about the rattle that no one else can hear, I immediately found a connection to Allie's baseball mitt. In the article, at the end, the author talks about all different sorts of rattles that people have, like an injured wrist hurting still even after years of recovery. She (the author) takes the simple rattle from her car and connects it to the wrist injury. Everyone has "that rattle no one else can hear" in their own way; and it relates to Holden in the exact same way.
When Holden says, " My hand still hurts me once in awhile, when it rains", he isn't talking about his hand hurting, he's talking about missing his brother Allie. It has been awhile since his brother's died, but once in a while he will feel that ache in his heart. And it is every time he holds that left handed fielder's mitt.
I really enjoyed reading your blog! I want to read the article about the "rattles" because I feel like I need more clarification for myself on what those are exactly. I think your connection to the quote from Catcher in the Rye where Holden says, "My hand still hurts me once in awhile, when it rains." is perfect to emphasize the rattles in the article. I'm interested to know your thoughts on Allie's baseball mitt and what it means to Holden. Do you think that Holden is so connected to his brother's baseball mitt, that every time baseball is played or mentions, his heart drops with the memory of his brother?
ReplyDeleteThis comment is from Hannah JOhnson
DeleteThank you Hannah! I feel Holden willl be fine with baseball simply being mentioned, but whenever he brings out the mitt itself, it will being back so many memories to him. It will maybe also show us a different side of Holden we've never seen before, weakness.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteThank you writing. I do think the baseball mitt serves as a reminder of Holden's brother. I think Holden remembers his brother, also, by wearing the red hat. How do we find this to be true in the novel? Why are the moments in which Holden wears the red hat perhaps significant? Thank you for writing.
I love the detail you noted about the hand pain representing the absence of Allie, but I think it also represents his anger with the world, and how it left him unable to defend himself. He states that he "can't make a real fist anymore", which represents how he doesn't have a fighting spirit anymore and just goes with the flow.
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