According to the American Institutes for Research, in the United States there is one in forty-five children who lives alone or has no parents. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Holden lost his younger brother when he was thirteen. He is sixteen now and has failed in three schools. Holden is moving on to his fourth school, where he also fails. After leaving school he wanders around New York trying to find himself. Holden lies to many of the people he meets because he doesn't like talking about his real life. He lies so he can escape reality and be in this new world where everything is better. Throughout the novel J.D. Salinger displays many themes, two of which are lack of parenting having a negative effect on children and alienation from means of protection. In the novel The Catcher and the Rye JD Salinger shows that lack of parenting has a negative effect on children. Holden mentions “Allie developed leukemia and died…July 18, 1946” (38). Holden was never the same after his brother's death. Holden was only thirteen at the time and is now sixteen and still grieving the loss of his brother Allie. Holden's parents can't even help him because they are grieving Allie's death. The only way his parents treat him is to send him to school because it is too much for them. Holden says this “[he] broke all the windows in the garage… [he] also tried to break all the windows in the station wagon.” (39) Holden's parents don't even try to help him get over the fact that his brother is dead. Allie's death had a major effect on him because he went to three schools and is now coming up on four. When he flunks out, his parents don't ask or try... middle of paper... and make it seem like the person comforting him is doing it wrong. Just like when he left Mr. Antolini's house he said: "[He] was sweating... things like this have happened to him about twenty times since [he was] a kid."(192) He is simply not used to these things. to be comforted because his parents were never truly there for him. The only person who was there for Holden was his brother Allie, but it seems everything got worse when he died. J.D. Salinger displays many themes, two of which are lack of parenting having a negative effect on children and alienation from means of protection. Without parental support with the child this will lead to a negative effect later in life. It can lead them to alienate themselves for protection so they can feel better about themselves. So parents need to be more involved in their children's lives, unless they want it to leave a negative effect.