Ordinary People and The Catcher in the Rye In this article I intend to show how the loss of a brother can have the same effects on two different people like Holden Caulfield and Conrad Jarrett. Their lives are turned upside down after the difficult loss of a family member. In the book Ordinary People, Conrad Jarrett has a good life and a loving family when his brother dies in a sailing accident. Conrad feels lost and confused and attempts to take his own life as a way out. He spends eight months in a mental institution and when he gets out he discovers that he is a completely different person and realizes that his old definition of normality is no longer valid. A once united family is divided into three protected and isolated members who can no longer share anything with each other. Tyrone C. Berger helps Conrad by taking him back through the death of his brother and the anguish of living without Buck, his older brother and idol. It teaches Conrad and his family that love, openly shared, is the only thing they can count on to give them strength for the trial they call life. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden loses his brother Allie at a young age just like Conrad. He cannot find meaning in life afterwards. School and friends no longer matter to him and he wanders New York City in search of some answers. In both books the characters are teenagers and still full of youth. Conrad is on the swim team and participates in activities while Holden speaks excellent English and is a keen observer of life. After the brothers' death they realize that they are no longer the same people and that they have to start all over again. They are struggling just to get through the day and find the motivation to keep going. Conrad lies in bed in the morning thinking of a reason to get up, tries to find a guiding principle that will help him get through the day. He says to himself, “It's okay to be anxious. Allow yourself a couple of bad days every now and then. (1)”Holden is hurt by his loss and takes a negative attitude towards life.