Hi Everyone:
In the comment section below, identify a short passage in Catcher in the Rye to discuss, and then write a response in which you explain the significance of the passage both on its own and as it relates to the book as a whole. Remember the guidelines for annotation:
** Do you notice any repeating patterns of language / imagery / ideas?
** Can you make any connections within the passage and to other parts of the book outside the passage?
** Does something seem significant (even if you do not know exactly why)?
** Does the passage reveal something about a character or the book as a whole?
You do not need to copy the passage; just indicate a page range. Thank you.
On page 132 of "The Catcher in the Rye", Holden has gone on a date with a girl named Sally. In this passage Holden has a crazy idea of running away with Sally somewhere. He asks her if she would drive up to Massachusetts or Vermont. He talks about how he would get a job up there and they could live up there. The crazy thing is that he was being serous. He started to get really excited about doing all of this. I think Holden doesn't really want to go away with Sally, but just wants to run away from everyone and everything. Holden is still very young and doesn't really understand how to make connections with things and also how to confront his problems. So instead of figuring all of his problems out he ends up just wanting to run away from them.
ReplyDelete(bottom of pg. 153 to 157) In this passage, we get to see more of Holden's character as he gets drunk and walks around Central Park. His raw emotion is shown through very simple things that end up meaning a lot to him, such as looking for the ducks and dropping Phoebe's record. Holden does not bother to look for the ducks until he has nothing else to do and is in a state of mind where perhaps he could find the ducks, which contrasts with the rest of the book where he is endlessly trying to keep himself occupied. When Holden drops Phoebe's record, he is filled with anguish, and almost cries, but doesn't. He ends up thinking about what it would be like if he died like his brother Allie, and that "the only good thing, I knew she wouldn't let old Phoebe come to my goddam funeral because she was only a little kid. That was the only good part." This shows that no matter how bad Holden is feeling about himself and his own life, he wants to protect children before they can experience adulthood and the harsh reality of it. The imagery throughout the passage is dark, spooky, and lonely which provides a good foil to Holden's emotions - without anyone else there, Holden doesn't have to hide himself, and this passage is where his emotions are very prominent. The darkness also reflects how Holden is feeling throughout the entire book, even if he isn't aware - depressed and lonely.
ReplyDeletepg. 63-66 & pg. 94-98
ReplyDeleteOn pages 63-66 and 94-98, Holden finds himself in awkward situations with women. The situations themselves wouldn’t be awkward for the average male, but for Holden they are for whatever reason. On page 63-66 Holden is chatting with a women that one of his friends told him about at a party. He wants to get cocktails with her or just have someone to spend time with. The women on the other end actually says that she would like to get a drink with him sometime, but he doesn’t close the deal with her for whatever reason. On page 94-98, Holden is dealing with a straight-up prostitute. All he had to do is…well nothing. He literally didn’t have to do anything to seal the deal with this woman, but he still finds a way to get out of the situation. In both situations, he talks about how nervous he was getting and he didn’t really know why he kept pushing the two women away. But the reader definitely knows why. He’s thinking about Jane even if it isn’t directly said in the text. This happens again when Holden goes on a date with Sally later on in the book. He has every opportunity to get close to her, but in the end, they have a big argument and Sally leaves. The fact that this happened three times makes it seem like this is pretty significant. I don’t think it just has to do with Jane though. The whole concept of the past and a “better time” is brought up a lot in the book. Holden thinks a lot about his brother Allie, his sister Phoebe, Jane, and the other schools that he was kicked out of. It really shows that Holden doesn’t want to be where he is in the present moment. No matter where he is, he isn’t happy. He just wants to go back to a simpler time. And really, who doesn’t?
The passage I chose from The Catcher in the Rye is on pages 108- 109. Holden talks about his friend and roommate from a past school, Elkton Hills. His name was Dick Slagle. Holden talks about how he hates inexpensive looking suitcases. His roommate Dick had this kind of suitcase and Holden made fun of him and made remarks on his suitcase. Holden did this so much that Dick eventually hid his suitcase under his bed. Though, Dick would respond back to Holden’s remarks saying that Holden was bourgeois with his stuff. Even though Dick said this, he always used and pretended that Holden stuff was his. Through this passage I believe the significance is that some people are “phonies” but don’t allow themselves to admit. And oddly enough, Holden doesn't call Dick a phony for doing this, instead he says how much he misses and liked his sense of humor even though he is the one guy I can see as being a “phony”. So this can connect with the rest of the book on how he calls people he doesn't like a “phony”, even though you can’t tell why he did and if he called Dick a “phony”, you could understand why. Also, in this passage we have a repeating language of suitcases. Holden is really wrapped up in his hatred for suitcases. I’m not sure about the significance of them, though I think it involves always moving, or protecting your possessions. Holden is always on the move, he hasn't stayed in once place for a long time in a long time. He probably believes his suitcases, his expensive looking suitcases, are the only things he has that he can call his, explaining his hatred for inexpensive suitcases.
ReplyDeletePgs. 70-76 When Holden is in the Lavender Room of the hotel that he stays in, he meets three flakey girls from Seattle. He claims that the blonde girl of the three is a “babe”, but the others are ugly and refers to them as “the ugly girls”. Holden seems to have a recurring trait of describing people and treating them like they look. For example, he treats his old friend Jane very well, but he treats the ugly girls different from the blonde. This may be significant because this could be why he was thrown out of Pencey. At the beginning of the story, he goes to see his history teacher that had the grippe, and this may show that he actually liked this teacher. But, Holden failed history, so does this mean that Holden just naturally fails school? Or does it mean that he actually does not like the teachers and does not feel that he needs to do the work that he is given? Holden constantly buys these girls drinks until the bar manager throws them out. This is also a recurring feature that Holden has because in other parts of the novel, he asks all of the women that he talks to if they want to have a drink with him, except for Jane, which may be significant because he expresses how much he likes Jane and does not buy drinks for her. Does this mean that for all of the girls he wants to buy drinks for he may be attracted to, but not like Jane? He does claim that he is “hungry for sex”, but never actually does things. He shows how he would want to have sex with all kinds of people, but he overdoes his emotions when he talks about Jane. But, is there a connection with actually liking someone enough to have sex with them and buying them a drink or not? Holden clearly shows that it matters to him about what kind of person someone is to have certain feelings about them.
ReplyDeleteIn “Catcher in the Rye” a young man named Holden Leaves his high school after being kicked out, to travel to his parents house. During his trip he comes across a variety of unusual people and some of his old friends. Holden is not the kind of kid that clearly explains his feelings to others so he talks about them in an usual way but it becomes clear how he really feels as he speaks. A passage in the book through pages 76- 80, that shows the significance of how he shows his feelings is when he talks about a girl named Jane Gallagher. Holden mentions Jane many different times in the book and everytime he does he talks about how much fun he has with her and how their really good friends. In the book he talks about how they hold hands everywhere they go and how they use to hang out as much as they could. Holden doesn't clearly say how much he truly likes Jane, but as he talks about his memories of them together when they lived near each other it's clear to the reader how Holden feels. The reason this passage is significant is because its the first time we really see Holden truly care for someone else and how much she really means to him, . Holden is a very depressing person who has high standards for people and wants them to be perfect but he thinks that mostly everyone is “phony” and that they are all fake and he talks about this throughout the whole story and how he makes his life even harder instead of just accepting others as they are. He thinks everyone is just living a lie and that they all act like someone they aren't, but when he talks bout this girl and talks about all of his memories of her, Holden’s true personality is revealed and hes not a angry, depressed person anymore. This is why the passage of Jane in the story is very important for the reader to understand and how this connects to the book as a whole.
ReplyDeletepg.54-58
ReplyDeleteThe passage that I am doing in “Catcher in the Rye” is when Holden meets Ernest Morrow’s mom in the train. The conversation that they had was very interesting when you pay attention to what Holden was saying and what he was thinking. The thing that immediately stuck out to me was how much detail about her Holden got before she even sat down, with the bag that she had and then the Orchid flower she had on her. Then once she sat down and they got into their conversation things got very interesting. The main thing that Holden was saying to her is how good of a kid that Ernest is, but the whole time he was thinking that Ernest was the biggest bastard in the whole school. And this is very interesting because he is basically helping out Ernest by saying that he is a good kid which reveals a different side of Holden that he doesn’t usually show. A side where he is nice and isn’t trying to act like a jerk. So the stuff that he was thinking is what he is usually like but the stuff he said is very unusual compared to the things that he usually says. the other thing to this though is that Holden told Ernest’s mother that he was someone else and didn't say what his actual name is. This might have a factor in him acting different because he didn’t have to worry about keeping his bad attitude going because she didn’t know who he really was. It’s almost like Holden turned into a completely different person. This just shows that Holden is actually a very nice and a good person he just acts like he isn’t. But then at the very end of their conversation he goes back to lying again when she asks why he is leaving. That is why this passage is so interesting and different.
In the Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s thought process is very often not clear and does not make sense. It seems as though he is all the time thinking about doing something and yet he never can do it. In the passage on page 59, this is one of these instances. Holden had just gotten off of the train and wanted to call someone so he brought all his bags to the booth and laid them outside. Once he was in the booth he thought about ten different people whom he could have called, yet did not. For each person he came up with some little reason why it would be inappropriate, or why his parents might find out, or that he actually didn't like the person. A clear repeating theme of ideas in the section is that he wants to call someone but he doesn't know anyone he wants to call. He shuts the idea of calling every person out of his head until he eventually decides he won't call anyone. To me this passage relates directly to when Stradlater was getting ready to go out with Jane. It links together because in both passages, Holden wanted to go talk to someone but he talked himself out of it for no particular reason. Its a very strange thought process that he follows. There are also a couple significant elements about this passage. First off it is significant that he doesn’t want his parents to know he is in New York. This is clearly playing a huge part in his decision making. Secondly, he begins to think about Jane again. Except, this time he debates over whether to call Jane’s mother to find out when Jane begins her break. This strikes me as sort of strange that he is afraid to find out when an old friends break is but, nevertheless this is very important because Jane is a constant thought so far in the book. This reveals something about Holden that he has exercised a couple times thus far. Holden frequently talks himself out of doing something for little reason, no reason, or maybe even fabricated reason. He is not motivated to do things that he really wants to do. Again, going back to the Stradlater and Jane passage, he really wanted to say hi to Jane and would not stop saying so, yet he had no motivation to do it. This is the same circumstance in thee passage on page 59. All in all, I think this passage is critical to the book because of its motifs and revealing nature of Holden;s character.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the passage where Holden was talking to the nuns was very interesting. They talk about books, and when they get onto the topic of Romeo and Juliet, Holden discusses how he felt more deeply for Mercutio’s death than Romeo or Juliet’s death. He said that “The thing is it drives me crazy if someone gets killed-especially someone very smart and entertaining and all- and it’s somebody else’s fault.” I think that Holden is also talking about Allie when he says this. It wasn’t Allies fault that he died and he was really missed. Using this analogy, Holden shows that he is having a hard time moving on with his life after Allie’s death.This is also a big theme in the book, Holden doesn’t know how to move on, from death or from childhood. In this passage, Holden also gives a couple of nuns a hand with their luggage and gives them a contribution of ten dollars because he feels empathy towards them. He says that he can’t stand to see people with cheap luggage and that he can’t stand to watch people eat just toast and coffee if he is having a full breakfast. I think that this shows that Holden is confused about his place in life and why people are poorer or less fortunate than him. He doesn’t like the fact that he has things that others don’t. He also is obsessed with things that he doesn’t have. I think that he is just confused about why some people have some things and others don’t. This shows that he might be a little confused about what his goals and morals are in life. He doesn’t know what he wants to get out of life yet or where his place in society is.
ReplyDeleteI chose the passage about Holden’s little sister, Phoebe. He decides to talk about her age, her hair and how smart she is. Holden is obsessed with these three things throughout the whole book so far. An example would be when he describes his deceased brother Allie. He describes Allie’s hair almost like it has a presence to it, where you just know it is there. Holden says that Phoebe has the same type of hair, but adds on about how it would be short in the summer and long in the winter. This may symbolize how Holden hates school and moves around so much that his winter becomes longer while his summer goes by quickly. What seems majorly significant is when Holden brings up his mother even though it was just about braiding hair. His mother seems to have a big effect on him but he just can not seem to say it directly. Maybe his father abandoned his family and the mother was the only parent they had and that has scared Holden but not his siblings as much. Holden spends a lot of time trying to act like a man but because he does not have any fatherly advice he can not figure out what to do. Throughout the book Holden uses descriptions that make sense to him but can confuse the reader and the other characters. To describe Phoebe’s weight he says that she is rollerskate skinny and that is a nice skinny. This could mean that Phoebe likes to roller skate or she stays in shape unlike Holden. He keeps repeating words right after he uses them for the first time. He said lousy, Old Phoebe, skinny, dumb, and kills and used them in that way. The interesting thing is him saying Old Phoebe, Holden will sometimes call younger people old because of how smart they are. He calls himself dumb but the people that are smart he refers to as old. People that he does not call old or smart, he uses other adjectives to show how much he likes them.
ReplyDeletepgs. 66-68
Pgs. 108-113. In this passage, Holden meets two nuns. Holden’s repeating language for this passage is the use of the word “hell” which is sort of ironic due to the fact that he is talking to and in the presence of nuns. Holden actually completely cuts out the word “goddam” from his thoughts and words, which may or may not be because he is talking to very religious people. At one point in the passage, Holden begins describing the nuns face, as well as checking it out and giving his thoughts on whether or not he liked it or found it attractive. He described it in great detail, and this is not the first time Holden has checked out someone’s face in depth. When he met Ernest Morrow’s mother, he didn’t let the fact that she was a mother, and the mother of one of his classmates, stop him from checking her out and being attracted to her face. Holden even compares the nuns appearance,personality to Mrs. Morrow, meaning that he still thinks about her. Also, Holden’s perverted mind came back, although it probably never went away. When one of the nuns mentioned that she was an English teacher, and Holden instantly wondered what her opinion of literature involving sex was. Chances are most of the books don’t even involve that topic, yet he assumed she reads books like that to her class when teaching, and instead of wondering something non -sex related, that was the first thing he wondered. He wondered what the nun thought about “sexy” books, a word he constantly used; for instance when he described Stradlater. Something that stem’s significant to me was Holden’s generosity towards the nuns. Not only did he give money to them, but he did it without them asking. This was very generous of Holden, especially considering the fact that he had very little money on him. This is a rare act of kindness for Holden, especially considering how much he tends to hate and feel negative feelings for other people. He most likely felt that the nuns were truly good people, and didn’t think that they were “phony”. Not only was he kind by giving them money, but he apologized for accidentally blowing smoke in their face, and he felt sorry he couldn't give them more money. Another significant thing was that as soon as the nuns left, he said “Goddam money”. This reveals that deep down, Holden really wants to be nice to people and help people, it just has to be a certain kind of person.
ReplyDeleteI chose the passage when Holden goes to Ernie's and it seems like he is frustrated with everything around him the place. Holden repeats the word "God" or "goddam" quite a lot in this passage. Holden was disgusted with the piano performance and he was frustrated with how long the wait was for him to get a table. This passage is significant because Holden has this attitude a lot throughout the book. Holden describes the people sitting beside him on his left and his right. He is so concerned about what they're talking about or how dumb they look. Why does Holden care about other people and their actions? The repetitive use of “God’s sake” in this passage is a solid indication on Holden’s attitude. It’s almost like he uses this in every sentence when he gets annoyed about something. I can connect this passage with many more passages. The passage when Holden only pays the prostitute $5 instead of $10 is a good connection to this passage. Holden gets beat up for being selfish, which most of the time he is being selfish. Holden seems to have this selfish attitude in almost every passage involving other people who aren’t as “smart” as Holden. His repetitive use in words and his actions around other people indicate his selfish and ignorant attitude. This passage is a great example of Holden’s attitude throughout the book and it is significant because Holden acts like this a lot and will probably keep acting like this throughout the book. Pages 83-87.
ReplyDeleteThe passage I chose was when Holden gets into an argument with Sally(pg. 132-134). I think this shows that Holden is leading to an emotional collapse, but he does not even realize it. Sally would tell him to stop yelling at her, and he could not see that he was. Also, when he asked Sally to run away with him, it shows that Holden is distancing himself from reality because he is unable to deal with it. The situation with Sally symbolizes that Holden does not believe anyone cares about how he feels except Jane and Phoebe. Only when Holden has a mental breakdown do people notice him, and they usually just criticize him. Holden believed that as soon as he asked Sally to run away with him, he loved her, which shows his feelings are illogical but shows how much he wants to find love. "The terrible part, though, is that I meant it when I asked her. That's the terrible part. I swear to God I'm a madman." (pg. 134) Holden is explaining that he admits he was wrong, but he does not do much to show its importance. This passage proves that Holden cannot deal with the problems and change of real life.
ReplyDeleteThe scene in which Holden talks to the nuns is very interesting. When he sees their collection basket, he insists on giving them money. Holden gets them to accept ten dollars, and tells them he has plenty of money with him. I think this may be significant because Holden had refused to give Sunny the ten dollars that she asked for the night before, and I think it may connect in some way. Another interesting thing about this passage is when Holden starts getting in-depth about suitcases. It seems very random, so I think that it may be important for some reason. I think it may show that Holden was brought up in a wealthy family and has a wealthy mindset, and that this mindset could be pushing people away from him. An example of this is when he and his roommate asked to be moved. Holden says that he really liked his roommate, but Holden’s “bourgeois” suitcases bothered his roommate. I think that the suitcases might actually symbolize Holden’s negative attitude towards society, and represent how Holden’s bourgeois mindset has negatively affected him throughout his life. Something about this passage that struck me as being odd was Holden’s worry of talking about sex. Throughout the book, Holden is very open when talking about this subject. Even though Holden is not religious, he is afraid to talk about a fictional story (Romeo and Juliet) with the nuns due to it’s sexual theme. I don’t understand why he has this fear, especially because the nuns are teachers and they have read and enjoyed the story before. Another thing that caught my attention was when Holden compares one of the nuns to Ernest Morrow’s mother, the woman he met on the train. He tries to be very generous to her, and is very generous to the nuns, so I think the connection Holden makes may be significant especially because of how in both instances generosity is a factor. This passage seems very random, but I believe that it’s purpose may be to reveal the cause of Holden’s negativity, while showing that he does in fact have morals. This passage occurs between these pages: (108-113)
ReplyDeleteIn the book, "Catcher in the Rye," I chose to read the passage where Luce and Caulfield have a conversation at a bar (starts on page 144). Luce is one of Caulfield's old friends who he used to attend school with at Whooton until Caulfield left and stopped going to that school. In this conversation, the first topic he brings up or starts talking about is sex. He ends up talking about sex throughout most of the conversation. Him bringing up or thinking about the topic about sex or perverse thoughts and actions occurs on many occasions throughout the book, including this scene. In many of his conversations throughout the book, or when he is talking about his thoughts, he brings up the topic of sex, which shows that he is very obsessed over this topic. It is constantly in the book, it shows up everywhere whether he is describing someone, thinking, or talking to someone. But I don't think its just cause he is obsessed with it I think it is because it is the only thing he can openly talk about with people where he feels he can freely talk about it. He does not like to talk about his feelings so he uses his "obsession with sex" to block out those feelings. He also uses it so that he can fit in somehow. Sex and perverse things allow him to be in a comfortable environment for himself because he feels comfortable talkign about that but not other things. This is why i feel the passage is important
ReplyDeleteI chose the passage with the prostitute Holden orders and Marice. Something just doesn’t make sense about this passage. Holden tells Marice that he does want a prostitute sent to his room. When she arrives at Holdens room he doesn’t want to “use” her and she leaves but Holden only pays her $5 when she is supposed to get $10 and she complains then leaves. Marice comes back with the prostitute and beats up Holden until he gets the $5 that the prostitute was owed. Holden is always asking people to get a drink with him because he is lonely but he only has a short talk with the prostitute and has her leave. I didn’t understand why if he is lonely then why would he not spend time with the prostitute or not ask for one at all. Another thing I didn’t understand is when Marice came in his his room to get the money back why Holden just didn’t give it back. Holden says he is a pretty wealthy kid and he knew Marice could beat him up so I wonder what his reason for resisting for. Throughout the book including this passage I noticed Holden lies about things that don’t even need to be lied about. Holden tells the prostitute that his name is Jim Steele but why does it matter if a prostitute in New York city knows his real name. I also noticed Holden describes people way more than most people do.Holden decribes the prostitute outfit in great detail and he describes her personality alot too. This passage is train scene because he lied to a student a Pencey’s mom when it wasn’t really necessary. When Holden keeps trying to prevent giving up $5 must be significant because if he was a wealthy kid about to get beat up $5 shouldn’t be that hard to give up. This passage reveals to this book as a whole is that Holden cares about little things more than a normal person would and the reasons for his caring doesn’t make sense.
ReplyDeletepg. 91-
When Holden is preparing to leave Pencey, he packs up all his possessions. As he is packing, Holden comes across his ice skates that his mother bought for him. He recalls that she bought him the wrong kind of skates. Holden then pictures his mother going through all this trouble to buy him skates only for Holden to flunk out of school again. Holden feels a momentary pang of guilt. Next, Holden goes and sells his typewriter to a classmate. He says that he bought it for $90 but sold it for only $20. Once he packs up his things, he cheerily adjusts his hat and yells “Sleep tight ya morons!” to the entire floor. (pages 51 to 52)
ReplyDeleteRepeatedly through this passage we see Holden experiencing some level of disappointment. His mother buying him hockey skates instead of racing ones, and selling his typewriter for cheap are both examples of Holden not quite getting what he wanted. He is also momentarily disappointed with himself. Holden says he felt guilty for flunking out again and that he keeps taking money from his senile grandmother. Holden’s life has been a story of disappointment. This passage really expresses this tone. In contrast, there are a few positive notes in Holden’s departure. While the skates, typewriter and peanut shells bring him down, the red hunting hat and the last yell to his peers brings Holden up. Though he tries to ignore it, Holden has a few pleasures in his life that keep him going. Though they are significantly downgraded by all the disappointment.
One important passage in “The Catcher in the Rye” is in Chapter 16, when Horden walks through the museum he went to often when he was younger. Horden greatly enjoys the museum, as he has fond memories of the place. As a kid, he remembers no one really getting mad at him or the class he was in. Disobediences such as dropping marbles on the floor and touching the exhibits never truly upset the teacher. This supports the repeating idea of youth and purity. Young children don’t often know better, and so their mistakes are forgiven much easier. Horden learns this first hand, as he got kicked out of Pencey in his adolescence. Also while in the museum, Horden shares his thoughts on the glass cases for the exhibits. He talks about how they preserve what’s inside, and they never look different no matter when you come there. The idea of preservation can connect to his brother, Allie, who died at a young age. One who dies is frozen at that age, and never really changes in terms of growth. They are preserved similarly to the exhibits in the glass cases, and those who continue living change while the dead do not.
ReplyDeleteThough out chapter 9 the passage where Holden is in the hotel room watching the people in the other rooms spitting their drinks into each others mouths and fantasized about it you see his attitude quickly change saying that doing that is wrong and you should do those things if you really like the person. Holden even says "In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw." But in reality later on when the opportunity comes up he declines it even though that's practically all he thinks about. This reoccurring sequence of him getting the chance to do something but backs away. I think he does this because Holden wan's to feel love. He says you should only have sex if you love the person and I think that's the reason he never actually has it because even though he wants to he doesn't feel like he can. Having sex would give him the love that he doesn't/no longer has. Such as when Allie died Holden no longer felt love from his brother so now he feels like to mask that up sex could somehow have the same affect. I think he mostly just wants sex to cover up his loneliness that he feels inside and that's why he is so obsessed with it because he has a gap without his brother. I think the reason why he thinks about sex all the time but never has it is because having sex comes to easy and he can't easily have love from brother back so he just thinks about it so he feels some type of love rather than feeling alone.
ReplyDeleteAfter Holden left the hotel lobby he took a taxi to Ernie’s night club. When he arrives at Ernie’s, Holden immediately sees Ernie showing off on the piano. As Ernie finishes a song, the audience bursts into applause and Ernie takes a bow. Holden is disgusted with the audience, and compares them to the people who laugh in the movies at things that are not funny. This disgust shows how Holden’s opinions differ tremendously from most people’s opinions. This is also displayed when Holden repeatedly asks people about where ducks go in the winter. Other people think that it doesn’t matter, but for some reason, Holden thinks that his question is very important. When Ernie bows, Holden thinks that the bow is very phony, because the bow makes Ernie seem very modest, but Holden thinks that this is Ernie’s intent, which would make the action fake. This motif is one of the most dominant motifs in the novel. Holden often uses the word “phony” to describe things, such as when he calls the Andover boy that Sally talks to in between acts a phony, because of his need for space when answering questions and his Ivy League voice. After criticizing both the audience and Ernie, Holden takes a seat at a table in the corner. Holden looks at the people sitting around him and notices that a “funny-looking guy” is talking to a “funny-looking girl” about a pro football game. Holden thinks that the conversation is very boring, but the girl has to listen because she is so funny-looking. Holden then says that he feels sorry for girls like that because they “have it tough”. This passage shows that one of the main characteristics that Holden judges people by is looks. Holden seems to have a higher respect for people who are good looking, whether male or female. This idea is shown when Holden describes Ackley and Stradlater. Holden describes Ackley as being an acne covered teenager, and describes Stradlater as a handsome guy. Holden then leads the reader to believe that Holden has more respect for Stradlater than he does for Ackley, and almost pities Ackley, which is shown when he invites Ackley to the movies. Holden then begins to talk about a different couple that he sees. The guy is an Ivy League looking type of person, and the girl is very good looking. The guy is telling the girl about someone in his dorm who almost killed himself, and at the same time feeling the girl up. The whole situation revolts Holden. Holden hates Ivy League type guys, which he hints at when he is on his date with Sally, and in the situation at Ernie’s. Holden mentions that his father wants him to go to Yale, which seems very significant, because Holden rarely talks about his father. Holden also is revolted because he has an issue with perversions on sex or intimacy. This is not only displayed in this case, but also when Holden sees other people in his hotel spitting water at each other’s faces.
ReplyDeletePage 94-98
ReplyDeleteHolden is a very awkward person and in the part he finds himself dealing with a prostitute that he has the opportunity to have sex with but chooses not to. He is a very shy guy even though he acts as if he is a very open guy. He really isn't as strong mentally and physically as he puts himself out to look. Holden is one to always give his opinion on things, on how people look, on how people act, and how they present themselves. Holden is a very opinionated person and gives his input on everything. He causes himself to get kicked out of school because of his strong personality but when he's with a girl he changes completely and he sort of breaks down. He is very insecure around woman I beliebe and that's why he won't have sex with the prostitute. I believe Holden see's woman as below him and that's why he is innocent towards them and isn't mean to him. Just like how he never says anything bad about his younger siblings. Holden shows things that are below him more respect because he knows they won't hurt him and that's what I think he does with the prostitute.
A passage in The Catcher and the Rye that stuck out to me was when Holden finds himself outside the old natural history museum in New York and describes all of its features and what they mean to him. He explains how he used to visit this museum quite a bit with his hold school. The thing that stuck out to him the most was the fact that all the exhibits stayed the same. He explains that the only difference between going to the museum one time or another was himself. All the exhibits were the same but he's experiencing them in a different way because he's not the same as he was the last time he experienced them. Throughout the whole book Holden struggles with the idea of change. He's at a point where a lot is changing in his life. He always comes back to this theory about the pond with the ducks and the fish. When the pond freezes the fish are stuck inside and cannot change but this isn't what bothers Holden. What bothers Holden are the ducks that for some reason he believes are taken away in a truck as opposed to flying away on their own. Them being taken away on a truck represents a forced change in environment and them flying south on their own represents a voluntary change in environment. Holden is worried that he is having change forced upon him whether he liked it or not.
ReplyDeleteIn “The Catcher in the Rye”, the scene where Holden is walking through the museum is very significant and displays many motifs that have been used constantly throughout the book. For example, the fact that he is so obsessed with every little detail about everything is very existent in this passage. He points out things about the museum that an ordinary person would not notice. He over analyzes everything so much that he ends up making himself depressed, which ends up happening quite often. In this particular passage, the thought of him going to the museum when he was little makes him depressed. He is so obsessed with the idea of youth that when he thinks about how he is maturing, it is as if mentally his age decreases two years. Another thing that really stuck out to me in this passage was the statue with its face covered. Holden oftentimes points out peoples flaws and details, but never their face. The only time he describes faces is when it is a kids face. I think that an adults face to him is almost intimidating because it reminds him that this is what he will soon become.
ReplyDeleteChapter 8
ReplyDeleteAn interesting passage that got my attention in “The Catcher in the Rye” was when Holden had just got on the train to leave Pency and has a conversation with an older woman, who happens to be the mother of one of his classmates, Ernest Morrow. During this conversation Holden lies about his name. He called himself Rudolf Schmidt. He tells many more lies throughout the entire passage. Holden lies the most about the woman’s son. He says that her son is a funny and modest guy and also that his classmates wanted him to run for class president and the only reason that he didn’t let his classmates nominate him was because he was “too shy and modest.” I think that Holden constantly lies because he never wants to face the truth. That is the same reason that he doesn’t talk about his personal life or parents, he dances around those topics with lies and never fully expresses them. This is important to the whole book because it is a continuing theme that keeps occurring throughout other passages. Holden also does not want to make the Mother feel sad by telling the truth. He lies to spare an innocent person bad feelings. He does not just do this for himself, but he lies for others too.