Holden Caufield, the protagonist of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, and the narrator of ZZ Packer's Brownies story share several similarities in their coming of age stories. Both characters are at a turning point in their lives, navigating the complexities of growing up and trying to find their place in the world. Both Holden and the narrator of Brownies are struggling with their identities, feeling out of place and disconnected from those around them. Both characters are also struggling with feelings of alienation and a sense of not belonging. Additionally, both Holden and the narrator of Brownies are on a journey of self discovery, as they attempt to come to terms with their experiences and emotions. They also both have to deal with …show more content…
Holden is wealthy and judges people by their cheap clothes. The girls in troop 909 also make remarks on people based on how expensive the clothes they wear are. Mrs. Margolin, the troop leader in Snots Brownie group is an example of th receiving end of Arnetta and the others judgment. She is a very flamboyant girl who always wears showy and excessive clothes. To the Brownies she is a phony and they do not like to be told what to do. They also exaggerate the appearance of Mrs. Margolin by mentioning that she “Looked like a mother duck – she had hair cropped close to a small ball of a head, almost no neck, and huge, miraculous breasts.”(Packer 293). Mrs. Margolin is referred to as a mother duck in this passage, meaning that the girls in the Brownie group are baby ducks following their mother. Later, Mrs. Margolin mentions that her belt was made entirely of baby pigeon feathers. “This one’s made entirely from the feathers of baby pigeons”. This makes Snot curious about how she had never seen a baby pigeon but yet there are so many full-grown ones. Like Holden she begins to try and search and wonder where they go and why is it so hard to find them. She eventually gives up. Holden has this same thought about where the ducks go when the water freezes in Central Park in winter and asks the cab