Holden in the novel "The Catcher in the Rye" and Conrad in the movie "Ordinary People" are very closely related in many ways, but differ in a few as well. They are both going through a difficult time in dealing with a death of a brother and deal with things in very similar ways. Holden and Conrad kept most of their feelings to themselves and felt inferior compared to their lost siblings. Every moment was haunted by their brothers and drastically slowed their maturity. However, "Ordinary People" isn't a perfect reiteration of "The Catcher in the Rye". Holden is confused by Allie's death and becomes a pathological liar to create his own fantasy world. Conrad feels guilty for Buck's death and his only lie was to avoid trouble. Also, the solutions that Holden and Conrad find in the end are drastically different. Holden just begins to understand that his desires are beyond possibility while Conrad's entire outlook changes, allowing him to come to forgive himself.
             Holden and Conrad kept their feelings within themselves. Holden only talked honestly about anything personal with Phoebe. His true personality only came out when he spoke to Phoebe, which he showed, crying unexpectedly as she gave him her Christmas money. His emotional instability didn't show until he felt secure enough to let it out. Conrad's feelings had nearly disappeared as a protective barrier since his brother's death in the boating accident. His real feelings were only shown when he was speaking to Dr. Berger because he was the only one he could find a stable relationship.
             The inferiority that Holden and Conrad felt toward their siblings was obvious. Both of them did badly in school and Holden admitted that Phoebe, D.B., and Allie were smarter than he was. Conrad's inability to do as well as Buck was shown in one of the earlier scenes in the movie. Conrad came home, and wit...