The book ended differently than I expected. Instead of having an obvious conclusion or change in Holden it just kind of stopped. I suppose that's what makes it a good novel; the fact that you have to figure it out yourself. In my opinion it was much simpler when books just told you what you should think at the end. Those never keep you up at night thinking though.
This last part of the book mostly contains Holden and Phoebe fighting. In my opinion Holden and Phoebe are just the same person in different situations. They both do dumb stuff just because the feel like it. "I forgot she always sleeps in D.B.'s room when he's away in Hollywood or some place. She likes it because it's the biggest room in the house. Also because it has this big old madman desk in it that D.B. bought off some lady alcoholic in Philadelphia, and this big, gigantic bed that's about ten miles wide and ten miles long. I don't know where he bought the bed. Anyway, old Phoebe likes to sleep in D.B.'s room when he's away, and he lets her." (page 206). This shows that Phoebe is also attached to family and is a bit eccentric just like Holden. Holden's experiences in New York seem to make him think of himself less and pay more attention to the people that matter, although you can still see that his quirky personality is in tact. "I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth. I don't know why. It was just that she looked so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around, in her blue coat and all. God, I wish you could have been there." (page 275). This seems like a pretty odd thing to get so happy over, especially since it's raining so mush and they were just fighting, but I think that it's a break through for Holden.
I think that all the fighting with Phoebe made Holden realize something very important to the story. I believe that he realized that things won't be given to him and that he has to deserve to be around those he loves. Phoebe really brings this out of him. It's not that Phoebe wouldn't love him if he kept acting dumb but her being disappointed in him was enough to cause a change. "Then all of a sudden, she said, 'Oh, why did you do it?' She meant why did I get the axe again. It made me sort of sad, the way she said it." (page 217). He doesn't seem as sad when she's mad but it bothers him that she's disappointed in him. He decides to make a run for the next day. Phoebe gives him enough reason to stay though and eventually she forgives him for not offering to take her with him. I think that the reason Phoebe is so effective on him while nothing else was making him more mature is that he was being held back by his past mistakes. He messed up with Jane and that was enough to get him moving and searching for an answer but that issue did nothing to point him in the right direction. Also, the death of his brother Allie made things more difficult for him although that helped him with the direction to go. Phoebe was the final straw because she needed him to help her then and there.
Over all I really liked this book. It didn't come out and hit you over the head with what it was trying to say. I'm sure that there are many more interpretations of what happened then what I have thought of for it.
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