Post # 7 Holden and Females

Dear AP students:

   Is Holden a misogynist?  In other words, does he hate women?  Or does he just look down on them?  Or does he actually put them on a pedestal?  Give me your thoughts on this matter after reading the rest of this blog.

   Every time we read a novel in AP English Literature we will discuss the role of women in the story.  We will read about some strong willed women in Macbeth and The Awakening.  And we will read about how some characters react to women, such as in Hamlet.  We will analyze from the so-called "feminist perspective."  This means we will read to determine if a story shows women characters being subjected to traditional male dominance, if the women characters are in traditional female roles like "stay-at-home moms" or lacking any power, or subjected to physical or mental abuse, or on the other hand, if women characters are given opportunities to explore their full potential.  Reading from such a perspective will force us to see things in a novel that we might not ordinarily notice.

    The Catcher in the Rye precedes the feminist movement by more than ten years.  Betty Friedan's famous book "The Feminist Mystique", a book that helped to get the Feminist movement going, wasn't published until 1963.  So keep in mind that what we have in Holden Caulfield is a pre-feminist movement male teen, with old fashioned ideas of females.

  On the train he lies to the mother of his fellow Pencey student.  He doesn't appear to show her much respect...but is it because she is a woman? 

   In the nightclub he talks in a derogatory manner about the three women from Seattle. He uses word like "ugly", "boring", "ignorant", "witches," "morons," "dopey", etc.  In turn, he describes himself as "suave" and claims to talk over their heads. 

  Finally, he discusses Jane Gallagher.  We never get to see him interact with her, but he carefully describes her in an oddly postitive manner, and explains to us how he enjoyed being with her during the summer.  He says she wasn't exactly beautiful.  He also bothers to mention that they never "necked".  He also explains how he liked it when she placed her hand on the back of his neck--a very innocent gesture.  And he mentions how it drove him crazy to think of her and Stradlater in the car together.  At the same time, he doesn't have anything good to say about her mother (or stepfather).  What's with the way he perceives Jane? 

  What about the other women/girls in the novel? 

  So what does this all mean?  Does he hate females?  Is he an old fashioned male chauvinist pig? Or is there some other issue at play here?

Post # 6 Point of View (POV)

Dear AP students:

 Holden Caulfield is such a liar!!!  He admits it on page 16.  And then he tells us that he lied to a woman on the train--the one who was a mother of a kid from Pencey.  He tells that lady some outrageous lies about him and his son.

Ordinarily, we wouldn't trust a character who admits to being a liar.  First, he would be considered an "unreliable narrator".  We wouldn't be able to trust anything he says as true.  Second, he might not be a character we liked.

   However, we seem to trust his narration.  We think we are tapped into his most inner thoughts.  And so many readers like him, or find him fascinating to follow.

    Related to all this is the important fact that the story is told from a 1st person Point of View (POV). 

So how does JD Salinger get away with the reader trusting Holden Caulfield?  And liking him well enough to keep reading?  What techniques does he use to allow this to happen? How might this story be different if it was told from a third person POV?

Post # 5 Symbols

Dear AP students:

Let's first talk about symbols.  We will always be on the lookout for symbols and their significance when we read novels or poetry.  The first symbol for catcher in the Rye is Holden's red hunting hat.  The hat is a very unusual, bizarre piece of clothing.  But what does it represent? What purpose does it serve in this novel?  What does it say about the main character?  Take note of when he wears it.  Not all the time. Why a hunting hat?  Why a red one?  Why does he wear it backwards?  Is he ahead of his time?  After all, wearing a baseball hat backwards was all the rage a few years ago.  And I sometimes see students wearing those silly wool hat that look very much like a hunting hat...they think they are so cool...but in doing so, are they merely imitating a literary character that goes all the way back to 1951?  A preppy literary character no less!!! 

    I also want you to pay attention to the what the color red symbolizes.  Red is usually an easy color to analyze.  Ordinarily, the color red represents violence, blood, or anger. In this book--at least in the pages we've read so far--the color red shows up in the hunting cap.  In the color of Allie's hair (Holden's late bother who died from Leukemia), and in the blood that runs down Holden's nose when he is punched by his roommate.  So much red!!!!  What is the author trying to tell us????

    Additionally, what's the meaning behind Holden's broken hand (he breaks it in reaction to his younger brother's death---remember, he punched out the windows when his brother died/).  He says he can barely form a fist now.  What is the significance of this?  What does this broken hand, and its long term effect symbolize? 

   Finally, what about the symbolism of the ducks in the lake in Central Park?  Holden wonders what happens to the ducks in the winter.  He repeats this question a couple times in the story.  Why does he ask about them.  At first glance it seems a silly question.  Is it?