Who is more genuine? Holden or Igby.

After reading Catcher in the Rye and watching the movie Igby Goes Down in English class, I’ve realized who is more genuine. While reading Catcher in the Rye, I always thought that Holden was doing things against society, and he was, but not as much as Igby did.

Holden was never at home, he didn’t follow the rules, he never went to school, never was nice to anyone, and wasn’t treated well by others. Yet for Igby, he barely had anything. He was kicked out of school, his parents were very ill, his brother was busy doing his own schooling, he didn’t have any friends, no more schools could take him in, etc. He had to get a job off of DH just so he could get drugs! Thing is, DH beat him up because he was so frustrated with Igby.

Holden had parents to go to. He knew they weren’t that inviting, but from what I took in, they weren’t as bad as what Igby has. Also, Holden had his sister Phoebe to run to when he really needed help. When he felt like he had no hope left, or just simply needed to get a smile on his face, he could run to his sister for that. As for Igby, he had to run to strangers to get laid, or rely on drugs to make him "happy".

In my opinion, Igby is more genuine because he never gave up. Face it, in the end...Igby had it bad. He killed his mother, he had no one to go to, he relied on drugs too much. Yet he ran away, so he could start a new life. As for Holden, he had someone to run to, he only smoked, he still had "friends" somewhat. At least he had people to talk to, even if they weren’t the nicest. Sure, he got beat up, but he brought that upon himself. Igby got beat up just because DH was frustrated with him. Igby never yelled at DH, brought up a fight with him, disagreed with him...nothing.

Overall, Holden followed the rules more so than Igby. He allowed himself to be a rebel, yet somehow followed the laws at the same time. He hated life, and thought he deserved more, but everything Holden got in the end, is what he deserved. He never strived for schooling, friends, parents, etc. If he really wanted all those things, he would have tried harder. As for Igby, he didn’t have much of a choice. His mother didn’t speak highly of him, only his brother. So when he tried to get help from people, most of them would think "oh, that’s so and so’s son. Sorry, no. We can’t do anything for you." Igby did try...that’s what I loved about him. He didn’t try as hard as he could have, but he still tried. He never followed the rules, unless he really wanted something, or thought it were right. He never even committed suicide in the end, which I’m surprised he didn’t. Having to put up with all of that is terrible. He’s so strong inside and out, it’s amazing. Finding out that Igby never went to a psych ward really surprised me. It just shows how much strength and believe he has in finding something better. In achieving greater things.