To be young is to be filled with bliss, ignorance and innocence. The world is what the child wants it to be. The child is happy to live in a pristine world, until one day that pristine world is destroyed. Death brings the child back to reality like a shovel cutting through wet concrete. It's hard for a child to overcome because it's so foreign to them. Death leaves a scar in every person, but for a child the wound is more difficult to mend due to his ignorance of death and innocence. In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, due to experiencing the death of a close family member, Holden is left with unresolved feelings of depression and loneliness and an adoration of children. Holden Caulfield was so young when it happened. It refers to the day his younger brother, Allie, died of leukemia when Holden was only thirteen. Holden was very close to Allie, so when she died it plunged him into a deep depression. Holden talks about Allie often throughout the book and never a negative characteristic is said about him. For example, when Allie is first introduced in the novel, Holden states, "But he wasn't just the smartest one in the family." He was also the kindest, in many ways. He never got angry at anyone. People with red hair are supposed to get angry very easily, but Allie never did, and she had very red hair (Salinger 38). Holden not only liked her more than the entire family, but he idolized Allie. He thought Allie was the most special person in the entire world. He saw Allie as a forgiving, kind, and understanding person. Allie was different in a good way though. He was the contradiction of the stereotype of red-haired people and that's what Holden loved about him. So, when A... middle of paper... tive and innocent, it is wrong by nature for a child to suffer the effects of death so young; make them feel real sadness so young? There is so much sadness and pain in the world that it seems right for a child to experience happiness for a long period of time in their life. If a child feels the sting of death, he or she will be scarred forever. Death is an eternal scar, which one cannot simply get rid of. No, it is eternal, so it is important for a child to be happy for as long as possible. While death is not something that can be prevented, it is something that, if properly grieved and understood, can be easier to deal with. One has to sort out the feelings one has after a death, one has to pop that scar tissue, because if one doesn't, one will feel the pain for a much longer period of time, just like Holden did..