Moses Allred- researcher

Holdens brother Allie died of leukemia, this destroyed Holden. It made the world seem like a cruel place, and it put him in a very dark place. Cancer in the 1940's setting was a death sentence, the patients were given brutal treatments(if the disease was even noticed). Cancer was not as easy to detect, and there was not nearly as much effort given to assisting as now. The helplessness of the situation drove Holden to the extremes.