Both of them are wracked with guilt and sadness about the
death of a loved one, particularly a death that wasn't natural or expected. Hamlet of
course is grieving for his father, Hamlet Sr. and Holden is clearly unable to move on
from his little brother Allie who died of leukemia.
Both
characters also communicate with the dead in a way. Hamlet meets his father's ghost and
from him learns that he was murdered and that Claudius is the guilty party, while Holden
throughout the novel talks with and about Allie and it is clear that they are best
friends, in many ways Holden still believes he is around and
alive.
Another similarity would be their seeming alienation
from the society which surrounds them. No one really seems to get Hamlet, they think he
is mad, so too with Holden. Of course they have their moments and those they allow to
start to get close, but they also have the habit of pushing people away and not allowing
anyone to really be intimate with them.
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