For her part, Phoebe sometimes sees right through her brother. She realizes early in his visit that he has been expelled from Pencey. On the other hand, some of Holden's darker thoughts are beyond her. She can't fathom why he is so self-destructive or why he doesn't just succeed in school the way she does. When he bares his soul to tell her of his dream of being "the catcher in the rye," she is quiet for a long time but then simply states, in reference to his expulsion, "Daddy's going to kill you," illustrating that despite their great friendship and connection, Phoebe is still only 10 years old and cannot be expected to understand the true meaning of Holden's words.
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