“The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them. “ (pg. 232 ¶ 5). Holden thought to himself as he watched his sister Phoebe grab for the ring; realizing that you can’t stop everyone from doing what they need to do. Phoebe is the symbol, she is a symbol for untainted and unbesmirched youth. Phoebe, though we know her for only a portion of the book, changes Holden. She allows him to understand that if people need to do something that they will do that. for instance, when Phoebe is talking to Holden after he writes a note to her, she tells him that she is leaving; she says that she will be very good. she practically says she will do anything to influence Holden to let her go, but he won’t. She starts to cry, and Holden tells her they can go to the zoo and he won’t leave anymore. That is the power of youth. All this time you think you’re going to do something then some kid walks up to you; talks for a little while trying to make you stop, …show more content…
He wants to know how she is doing, and he wants to make her happy. Even though he is trying to show everyone that he doesn’t want their crap, or as he says ‘phoniness’ he still wants to make Phoebe happy. “ I dropped old Phoebe’s record. it broke into about fifty pieces. It was in a big envelope and all, but it broke anyway. i damn near cried, it made me feel so terrible, but all i did was, I took the pieces out of the envelope and put them in my coat pocket. “ (pg. 170 ¶ 2). He almost cried because he broke a record he had bought for Phoebe, and he felt terrible. he cares for his sister and this shows how much so he does and what impact she has on his life, what impact her youth and purity has on his