AP English Lit students for 2016-2017:
Welcome to the blog on Catcher in the Rye.
Hope everyone is having a great summer. And I hope everyone is ready
to start reading Catcher in the Rye (in case you haven't already started).
In today's posting I want to do the
following: First, give you a little historical perspective on the book; second,
give you a reading schedule for the next three weeks; and third, briefly
discuss the opening paragraph of the book. We can "discuss" by
your making comments to this blog site. Just click on the comment
icon. Make sure you put your name (first and last ) on each comment so I
can give you credit.
First, as we will do for every book, let's
talk about the time in which it was written/published. You won't fully
appreciate the book and its main character unless you analyze it from the
historical perspective. The character of Holden Caulfield is famous
because he comes across as a deeply alienated, rebellious, cynical, mixed-up
teen. But you may read the book and find him rather tame by today's
standards-after all, we live in a time when American teens are very independent
and well known for being able to do whatever they want. Teen rebellion is
something everyone expects in today's society. You are expected to be
moody and foul-mouthed and self indulgent. You are allowed to dress
however you like--boys sag their pants and show off their underwear, and
girls can wear skimpy clothing and look X-rated. Most importantly, you
have money to spend, and advertisers and retailers cater to your every
whim. And if you don't get what you want, you'll cry and scream until
your parents give you what you want. You are all about YOU.
And your parents (or at least society) let you get away with this
attitude. Why do they allow it? Because your parent's generation
(and every generation that grew up from the late 50's and especially the 60's,
and to the present) were gradually allowed to be that way as
well. This phenomenon has been slowly occurring since the early
50's.
BUT THAT WASN'T ALWAYS THE
CASE!!! You must understand that The Catcher in in the Rye was published
in 1951. This was an entirely different time in America. Society was much
more conservative. "Conformity" was seen as a good thing.
Everyone dressed the same way. And teens were expected to be "seen"
but not "heard". They did not rebel or complain. Kids
went to high school and usually graduated, and some (mostly the rich, white
kids) went to college, and then you got a job, got married, and had kids.
And you didn't complain--especially if you were a minority like
African-American or Mexican-American, or if you were a female. You were
part of a segregated society, especially if you were African-American in the South.
And that's just the way it was. People just accepted it. These were
the days before rock and roll music. These were the days before the
Montgomery Bus Boycott. These were the days before the rebellious, long
haired, do-your-own thing 60's decade. These were the days before the
Feminist movement of the 70's. These were the days before the Civil
Rights movement. These were the pre-Vietnam war days when America was still
proudly enjoying its victory in World War II (though we were in a war in Korea)
and the rest of the world was still recovering from all the destruction
incurred during WWII. American who dared to act differently during this
time (1951) were often seen as anti-American or even worse Communists! It
wasn't until 1955 that Elvis showed up on the music scene. It wasn't
until 1955 that MLK and Rosa Parks started the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It
wasn't until 1964 that the "Berkeley Free Speech
Movement" rocked the U.S. establishment (those of you planning
to apply to UC Berkeley should look that up). And it wasn't until 1969
that the Woodstock concert showed Americans how important the teen/college age
market had become as a cultural and economic force.
Now all the above is a very simplistic description
of the change American went through starting in 1955. You have to do a
little research on your own to fully understand . But please get the
major point I am trying to make...that Holden Caulfield is the first
"literary" teen to articulate that sense of rebellion/cynicism that
eventually became a national phenomenon in years to come. He is a precursor
of what was to come for America. He is America's first teenager, as we
know him/her today. As I mentioned before, he may be tame by today's
standards, but in 1951 he was a major league "rebel" who is "mixed
up" about the values confidently shared by most Americans. And many
teens in the 50's and 60's seemed to identify with him because they saw in him
the sense of alienation and cynicism that they felt themselves.
Second, here is an approximate reading
pacing schedule pertaining to what pages I will expect you to read in order to
discuss intelligently on this blog. Feel free to read ahead though (or again).
In fact, I want you to read, and re-read, and then re-read again. This
book is not that long and easily lends itself to being re-read to fully
"analyze" at a deep level. If you previously read the book in
11th grade, I am expecting you to re-read it this summer at a
very deep level and make some very analytical comments on the blog.
June 22-23 chapters 1-3
June 24-25 chapters 4-7
June 26-27 chapters 8-9
June 28-29 chapters 10-13
June 30-July 1 chapter 14
July 2-3 chapters 15-16
July 4-5 chapters 17-19
July 6-7 chapters 20-21
July 8-9 chapters 22-23
July 9-10 chapters 24 to end of book
Third, I want you to closely read the opening
page/paragraph of the book. It's a famous opening. What can we
learn from this opening about Holden's attitude? Does
everyone understand where he is telling his story at the
beginning of the book? Go back and read that first page very closely. What words serve as clues to his attitude, the
writer's style, and the overall tone of the book?
Remember, this blog is supposed to be interactive. Please respond to my
entries, or the entries made by your fellow students. Again, make sure
you put your name at the end of the entry to make sure you get class credit.
From the very beginning of the novel, narrator Holden Caulfield comes across as a very casual, somewhat foul-mouthed individual. In the very first page alone, Holden speaks using words like “crap”, “hell”, and “goddam”. While not very remarkable by today’s standards, his choice of words may seem vulgar to readers during the novel’s initial release in the early 1950’s. Furthermore, Holden seems to have something against D.B., his older brother, for being “out in Hollywood”; he even calls him a “prostitute” for switching to movie making instead of continuing to write stories. On a separate note, it can be implied that Holden may be in some sort of psychiatric facility or hospital based on him saying he’s done “madman stuff” and him having to “come out here and take it easy”. I think that Holden would’ve specifically stated that he was at his house instead of just saying “here”. What are your guys' first impressions of Holden after reading Chapter 1?
ReplyDelete-Brenden Gregorio
I would agree with brenden and his statement about the narrator being very talkative, and almost fearless when it comes to speaking his mind. He speaks with honesty, or at least honesty with his own opinion, which makes him an intriguing character in my eyes. For example, when he describes his brother, with the vulgar language, when he speaks of his parents being rather soft, and when he touches lightly on the subject of the school, and how it is for the wealthy, yet has a lot of criminal activity. Although the narrator seems rather intriguing in my opinion, right off the bat, I feel as if I have trust issues with his character, because of his current situation, writing from an asylum, his lack of filter on his judgements and opinions, and just the fact that, It is him presenting the whole scene through his eyes, which of course can be biased, and based off of the characters personality, it probably will be. I am further wondering how he will progress, being a spoken minded individual, and a teenager through this time period.
Delete- Tyler Thorne
After reading the whole novel, I would agree with the statement that Brenden made about Holden being in a facility, because at the end of the Novel he refers to someone talking to him as a "psychoanalyst" which is someone who does work in the psychology. However when I first read this chapter I did not come to the conclusion that he was in a facility I just thought he was at home, I did not really think much of this part of the book but looking at it now, it is a major part to the story and helps put all the pieces together. I also agree with the Tyler's statement about him being untrustworthy since he is in a facility. Again, after reading other chapters i can validate that statement because there are a lot of times where he lies about situations. He even lies about things that would not even make a difference if told the truth. I agree with both Tyler's and Brenden's statement that he is very causal and fearless when he is talking. Holden does not have a filter and says what is really on his mind, since the beginning is readers can imply that he has a very innocent mind and is very plain in life however we can also imply that there's something a little off.
Delete- Briana Rios
When Brenden mentioned that Holden may have been in a psychiatric facility or hospital, I completely agree'd. There are many events in the novel where I have come to the conclusion that there must be a complication with Holden. From the very beginning of the novel, his vocabulary is not very advanced and he does not do well in school. Which is common in many that have a disability. But I came across the fact that Holden is constantly speaking of his little brother Allie. I completely understand that when someone has lost a loved one, they never forget about them, but what if the death of his little brother had caused him to become unhinged? In the novel, Holden mentioned, "when I get very depressed I keep saying to him,"Go home and get your bike and meet me in front of Bobby's house"(129) Throughout the entire novel, Holden reiterates the fact that he is depressed, which then leads to what seems to be a story of little Allie or Holden talking to his spirit. Not only do I believe that the death of Allie is what made Holden have some mental issues, I believe it is also the suicide of his classmate, James Castle.
DeleteMaybe his past has led him to become the way he is. After everything that he has experienced and witnessed. Holden did in fact repeat throughout, "I'm crazy. I swear to God I am"(162).
-Trinity Cruz
The statement Tyler had made about how he had trust issues with the author speaks to me very much. As i started reading the novel i was surprised by Holden's vulgar diction and cynical tone. Whatever holden was saying was heavily subjected to his negative opinion. calling his father "touchy as hell" and later stated his brother "being a prostitute" in hollywood. Our main character Holden is also telling the story in a recollection after the events had already happened. This further damages the validity of the events and characters in the novel. Holden has shown that he has a very strong stance on the way he views the world around him. Because of this the reader has to take nearly everything holden says or describes with a grain of salt. Although, since Holden is speaking in such a vulgar and sometimes condescending tone it helps the reader to look deeper into holden as a character. with this biased view that holden presents us, i picture the main character as someone who has a lot of negative influences and events in his life. These influences have created the persona that we see presently in the Novel.
Delete-Michael Llanos
What immediately came to mind as I read the first three chapters of the novel, was the thought that I did not develop any sense of liking to Holden. It was an unusual case, for nearly every novel I have read the author somehow makes the narrator or protagonist immediately likable to the reader. It was somewhat as if I was listening to a common individual that I would encounter at school. With what was given in the first three chapters of the book, I concluded that Holden was somewhat ignorant. For instance when he mentioned he left Elton Hills due to there being an abundance of "phonies". However after stating this, he claimed that he was bs'ing to Mr. Spencer and he lied when telling Mr. Spencer he was on his way to the gym. In fact he made it known: " I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life."(pg. 22) At that exact moment, he seemed to much like the stereotypical rebellious teenager to be instantly likable. However the fact that his purpose in lying had good intention, it intrigued me to keep reading in order to discover how Holden will develop. It was as if the more I analyzed who he was, the more I realized he bared a similarity to how I choose to please others. I realized that while externally he may be polite to those deserving to him, internally he could possibly careless. Possibly it is because as readers, his inner thoughts are available to us, therefore we are able to judge him more so than one who is simply talking with him. In which case he would use his skills as a terrific liar to seem likable to those lacking the availability to his thoughts. I had a thought that the more I learned of his development as a teenager, I might get an insight of what I have to expect in the future.
ReplyDelete- Zared Mance
-In respose to Brendon Gregorio
DeleteAlthough it did occur to me that he may be in a psychiatric facility. That will now immensely impact any further analyses I make throughout the novel.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement that Holden is quite foul-mouthed. That was actually the first quality about Holden that I noticed upon reading the first chapter. However, I have to disagree with your idea that Holden is in some sort of psychiatric facility. In page 8, he states, "That's also how I practically got t.b. and came out here for all these goddam checkups and stuff". Like you, I originally thought he was in a mental facility but when I re-read the first chapter, I noticed that sentence. However, after reading the following chapters, I began to notice that Holden isn't a very reliable protagonist. He sees everything negatively and frequently contradicts himself. What do you guys think about Holden's reliability and role as a protagonist?
ReplyDelete-Anna Leon
Although your statement did make me rethink, I still have to conclude that Holden is, in fact, writing from some sort of mental facility.In the first page, he writes that he "got pretty run-down" and had to go there to "take it easy." He also called it a "crumby place." Also, this is foreshadowing some sort of mental fall. If he was not talking about a psychiatric facility, and he was in fact in the hospital because he "practically got t.b.," the story would not have been nearly as interesting. While I see what you are saying, I disagree that it is anything but a psychiatric facility, because it would take away from the literary strategies that are at play (the foreshadowing).
DeleteTo respond to your question, I immediately noticed that Holden would be an unreliable narrator. I did notice that he contradicts himself multiple times, and that he was so negative. He only describes people superficially, and basically lists everything about them that he hates. For the rest of the book, I realized, it's important to keep in mind that this story (just like any story, really) is going to be told in a very biased manner. Holden, as you can see, is very cynical--so he seems to explain everything from a negative point of view. It's definitely unique, and so Holden is inviting his readers to see things from a different perspective. I feel like he is almost pulling me into his dark world, and I don't know if I like that.
-Anaiis Yegin
Although your statement did make me rethink, I still have to conclude that Holden is, in fact, writing from some sort of mental facility.In the first page, he writes that he "got pretty run-down" and had to go there to "take it easy." He also called it a "crumby place." Also, this is foreshadowing some sort of mental fall. If he was not talking about a psychiatric facility, and he was in fact in the hospital because he "practically got t.b.," the story would not have been nearly as interesting. While I see what you are saying, I disagree that it is anything but a psychiatric facility, because it would take away from the literary strategies that are at play (the foreshadowing).
DeleteTo respond to your question, I immediately noticed that Holden would be an unreliable narrator. I did notice that he contradicts himself multiple times, and that he was so negative. He only describes people superficially, and basically lists everything about them that he hates. For the rest of the book, I realized, it's important to keep in mind that this story (just like any story, really) is going to be told in a very biased manner. Holden, as you can see, is very cynical--so he seems to explain everything from a negative point of view. It's definitely unique, and so Holden is inviting his readers to see things from a different perspective. I feel like he is almost pulling me into his dark world, and I don't know if I like that.
-Anaiis Yegin
In response to Zared's stance on Holden, I agree but also disagree. Yes, we can infer that Holden Caulfield is one ignorant, cynical, lying teenager in his time. He presents a mask of kindness to those he has some appreciation towards like his former teacher, Mr. Spencer. But then again, his thoughts are always so negative about others by always insulting even the most microscopic details about one and/or their habits. He presents his cold and distant stance towards the world in the opening page by simply briefing the audience he had a lousy childhoood, horrible parents, and "all that David Copperfield kind of crap." So yes, in Holden's words he is one "goddam sonuvabitch."
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, however, I actually like this character and the way he acts. I understand that it seems strange to say that, but the attitude Holden carries is rather peculiar. Maybe he does compare to our teenage society of today, but what I see from him is a boy with a unique stance towards the world. He explains it as how he sees it instead of cutting around it. The boy is blunt and has no shame to critique on how people are. He may be sarcastic or playful around his companions, but in his mind he sees every flaw they carry. This is his trademark as the character with all the colloquial language and rude remarks he quotes. It's rather daring, yet mad, yet humorous, and yet bothersome.
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ReplyDeleteFrom the very beginning of the novel, i noticed that the protagonist, Holden, seemed bitter. However, before coming to that conclusion, i noticed that he mentioned something happening to him, that may have affected his overall attitude that we will be reading and following along with for the next few weeks. Holden states, "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last christmas just before I got pretty run down and had to come here to take it easy."(page 1) While reading this, I tried inferring what he meant by him being "pretty run down". Something drastic may have happened to him to make him change his whole perspective on life. Though true that he describes his childhood as being "lousy" and describing his parents as "touchy as hell.", however, I believe that one event that he experienced may have caused him to further delve into his past and analyze and evaluate his own life and experiences.
ReplyDeleteI, like Brandon, also developed a liking to this character. As Zared mentioned, Holden may come off as ignorant, however, he is one of the most straight forward/blunt characters I have ever encountered. With that being said, to answer Anna's question, I believe that Holden's role as the protagonist will give us a perspective on his non-conforming stance on society. He is a very unique character that i feel we may be able to rely on for extra descriptive and imaginative details on other characters. However, when and if he tells his story about what happened to him "last christmas", taking into account his judgemental attitude, he may skim over a few details that we may need.
My question to everyone is, do you feel like you can relate to Holden? Do you think you share any qualities, shown or implied, that he may have?
- Daphne Tortoles
Throughout the first few chapters, I already understand Holden to be, as many students have made clear, rebellious, straightforward, even quite vulgar or out-of-line at some points. Yet I found that behind his foul-mouthed attitude was someone under appreciated for what he truly has to offer. From my perspective after the first few chapters, Holden fails to conform to your average student expectation and is forced to think that he is, in a way, inadequate. He even makes clear how "Sometimes I act a lot older than I am- I really do- but people never notice it. People never notice anything"(page 9). This brings me to believe that despite what the report cards or test results have to say about a student, there is still something yet to be built up. It is evident through his tone that he finds this "game"(page 8) to be unfair especially under his circumstance.
DeleteBesides this idea of ones 'true potential,' Holden is particularly unique during this time period especially as he defies what others think and establishes his own personal views of society. It is easy to view his brother as some Hollywood big shot, while he still sees him to be what he used to be. This is what drew me in to continuing this book as it did not take part of the cookie cutter mindset that most books take on to hide what truly occurred.
-Allan Dizon
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DeleteAfter reading the first three chapters of the novel, I was surprised, and rather impressed with how the protagonist spoke his mind so freely. This, as well as his use of vulgar vocabulary ("David Copperfield kind of crap" ch.1 pg.3), casual add-ons ("They're nice and all-I'm not saying that-but they're also touchy as hell." ch.1 pg.3), and disrespectful tone throughout the first few chapters gives Holden a carefree, ill-mannered, and self-indulgent impression. What especially caught my interest, though, is Holden's apparent sensitivity to how people treat others. For example, when he paid a visit to his history teacher, Mr.Spencer, and he began reading his essay aloud, he was quick to anger. "I don't think I'll ever forgive him for reading me that crap out loud. I wouldn't've read it out loud to him if he'd written it- I really wouldn't" (ch.2, pg.17). From this, it seems as though his perception of right and wrong revolves around whether he would do it himself. Also, when recollecting his thoughts about Elkton Hills, he seemed to bear a grudge against the headmaster, Mr.Haas, for being "the phoniest bastard" he ever met. He stated that his "phony", kind gestures drove him crazy and made him depressed (ch.2 pg.19). And lastly, when describing his preference in books, he states, "What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it" (ch.3 pg.25). It really is strange for a person to care more about a book's author rather than the book's contents itself, which is why I believe this quote provides important insight of Holden's priorities and character. I believe that what Holden values most is genuine, positive treatment from those around him, and though this is not necessarily a negative thing, it may prove to be quite problematic with our protagonist.
ReplyDeleteAnna, It is for this reason that I find Holden to be unreliable. Considering his sporadic, selfish, and irresponsible behavior, I consider him to be a fairly immature individual. I doubt he possess the capability of fairly judging others, and he seems to be the type to develop bias. I feel as though we must be especially wary of how he describes others as well as himself. Of course, I recognize that this may be rash of me to tack on such an assumption on Holden this early in the book. I more than welcome any disagreements.
To answer Daphne's question, I feel as though Holden and I are alike in that we both judge others. Just as Holden judges Stadlater's physique at the end of chapter 3, I admittedly do the same. Though I never jump to conclusions based on these judgments, it is still something I do- something I can not help.
-Kiara Mendaros
After digressing through the comments and readings, I also have formed a strong liking for Holden. What I enjoy about Holden is that he is not afraid to speak his mind, and through this he is able to offer us insight of a young and ignorant teenager during this time period. After reading the first page we start off by learning he had a lousy childhood with parents who are always busy. By experiencing this at a very young age very well explains his pessimistic attitude in not caring towards flunking out of school. In addition this rebellious demeanor that is repapering throughout the story by the use of vulgar words, bad habits (smoking), lazy work ethics, etc. To answer Daphne's question, No I don't think I can really relate to Holden extensively. As of right now we do not have anything really in common, and I do not believe in his same values that he currently holds. Upon reading the first three chapters I agree with Anna in that Holden will not be reliable protagonist for us. He is constantly judging others as he did on page 23 when describing "Ackley" as a filthy, lousy, subpar human.
ReplyDelete-Dennis O'Brien (DJ)
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ReplyDeleteI can agree with statements made by Brenden, Zared, and Brandon that Holden is a very casual teenager. It is obvious to see that Holden is your typical or classic teenager. Within the first couple of pages, he demonstrates a defiant and daring attitude. The author’s opening quote is a perfect example of this, stating how he was not going to address what the audience expects, by describing the intimate details of his life. Instead, he chooses to cover his ‘lousy’ past by briefly touching upon the many subjects. Furthermore, after the first 3 chapters, Holden’s tone can be best described as sarcastic and somewhat scornful, which only contribute to the ‘teenager’ feeling of the novel.
ReplyDeleteTo acknowledge Daphne’s question, I do believe that I can relate to Holden. Although our lives may be extremely different to Holden’s, his behavior is still consistent today. Throughout the first three chapters, Holden seemed to want to rebel towards those older than him, for instance Mr. Spencer and some seniors. As a teenager, I can honestly say that I did the same. Additionally, as a high school student, I can relate to the many rivalries that Holden characterizes in the first and second chapters.
-Jassin Reyes
Likewise with the previous entires, I believe that Holden Caulfield presents himself as a quite ignorant, ill-minded, and pessimistic person. However, in spite of that (and in response to Anna's question), I still give him some sympathy. I think that underneath what he presents himself as to other people, masks his true character. I see this when he was describing his brother whom he condemned for pursuing filmmaking. Even though it was previously stated (or at least implied) that Holden appreciates and applauds his brother in some aspects, the regret he feels for his brother outshines it all. I predict that this is what Holden's internal conflict will be throughout the novel. For some reason, he chooses to show people this "careless" side of himself, even though internally, he is aware that a more positive outlook or solution exists. He makes it very obvious that he is not fond of a lot of people, yet he feels the urge to visit his aging professor and befriend the "subpar" Ackley. In other words, Holden seems untrustworthy of others, constantly doubting their every move. He thinks that behind someones actions is an evil intention.
ReplyDeleteFor these reasons I have come to a conclusion that Holden may just be very picky- or rather, is too expectant of other people. This affects his own character, as he has to alter how he acts around people to achieve a satisfactory or carefully calculated response. He thinks that he knows how people work, but he himself his doubtful of everything that they do.
- Jeanell Dualan
Adding on to what Dennis O'Brien said, is that although this is a book that was published in 1951, there are many teenagers in this era that can relate to Claufield. I find a strong liking to Claufield's first page in the Catcher in the Rye mainly because Claufield starts of, distinctly explaining to the reader that he is not going to give you the basic information some other person in the 1950's would give the reader. Also going off of what Mr. Rodriguez explained in the introduction was this is about a teenager who is not a conformist according to the 1950's. Therefor the first page of The Catcher in the Rye sets a standard for the rest of the book.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in agreement with DJ, although I have read Ch. 16, the first 3 chapters of the bookers hard for me to relate to Claufield. Claufield describes many instances were he feels depressed after seeing something "depressing". For example on page 11 Claufield says," He was reading the Atlantic Monthly, and there were pills and medicine all over the place, and everything smelled like Vicks nose drops. It was pretty depressing."
-Jose "Tony" Delgado
Going off of what Daphne has asked, I honestly feel as if I could not immediately relate to Holden. But I do agree with Brenden's analysis of Holden's foul language. In today's society, a teenager using such words my not come off as a surprise. However, given that this book was published early in the 1950's, I felt a bit shocked reading those words on the first few pages. I was also taken by surprise when I realized how critical Holden is, especially of his brother. He does not seem to approve of his new job or lifestyle, emphasizing that D.B. "didn't use to" have so much money. I found myself asking: "Why does Holden seem more disappointed than proud of his brother?" In times like those in the book, money was not copious, and many people experienced hard times financially. If it were my own brother, I would feel happy for him.
ReplyDeleteBut as I continued reading through the first chapter, I actually did find myself to grow fond of Holden, as D.J. says he did due to Holden's lack of fear for speaking his mind. I completely agree with this because it is not often that I read a book in which a young adult continuously speaks his mind on every thing or person they encounter. In my opinion, Holden's pattern of thought convinces me that forming my own opinion on topics that people have already labeled is crucial to opening my eyes further to the realities in our society. He does it on the first page, when he neglects to go into his "lousy childhood" and how his "parents were occupied before" they had him. These statements caused me to realize that many people, including myself, actually begin introducing themselves along these lines. But Holden finds no interest in doing so, which is just one of many clues given to the readers about his tendency to go about doing things his own way, regardless of how the average person of his time would go about doing them.
Some comments above have mentioned Holden as an ignorant and ill-minded teenager. I must admit that on and off throughout the book I saw him as the same. At some points I would feel that he is a young teenager with his own thoughts and views, and at other points I would also wonder if he had a sort of mental issue. But going back to the last few sentences of D.J.'s post, I do agree that Holden will not be a reliable figure for the audience. His mind seems to be all over the place. He criticizes his brother for succeeding, then he goes around calling nearly every guy a "phony", but then he resorts to some of the guys that he criticizes for someone to hang out with, such as Ackley. In the second chapter, he emphasizes how fond he is of his history teacher, Mr. Spencer. But when Holden is accompanying Mr. Spencer one night, he presents a load of negative thoughts about the teacher to his audience. He says things such as "...you wondered what the heck he was still living for" or "You never knew if he was nodding a lot because he was thinking and all, or just because he was a nice old guy that didn't know his ass from his elbow". These comments threw me off a bit as I was reading them. I was not sure if Holden really means these things, or if he just does not mean it when he says he was fond of Mr. Spencer.
At this point, it was hard for me to relate to Holden's mind. I did appreciate his fearlessness when he spoke his mind, but I was concerned at the fact that he cannot keep a straight line of thought. His opinions jump all over the place when one compares them to his words or actions.
-Negin Mohtashemian
Throughout the first three chapters of the novel, I quickly realized how relevant Holden's experience is today, even though this book had been published in 1951. After reading the first page, the author informs the reader the type of character our protagonist Holden Claufield really is. I agree with the all the students who state that Holden is outspoken and not afraid to speak his mind. It is seen when Holden states, "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me.." and "I mean that's all I told D.B. about, and he's my brother and all." (Ch.1, pg.1) This reveals to the reader that Holden is willing to confess his story to his brother and us the reader which validates how open he is and how he trusts his brother and the reader. This also informs the reader the type of relationship Holden and his brother have. This character development in the beginning of the novel sets a foundation of what to expect from Holden and how reliable this protagonist really is. Although the protagonist can be relatable to some of our circumstances, his reliability still is questionable based on how he treats other characters in the novel. The way he treats other characters like Ackley and Mr. Spencer validates how he would judge people and explicitly tell us the reader how he judged them but not to the actual character he's judging.
ReplyDeleteTo add onto Anna's question, Are these judgements that Holden is explicitly telling the reader, for the reader to trust our protagonist? or is it to develop the plot?
I also agree with which that has been previously stated about how Holden did not grow a very well liking for me. Whereas just like zared had said, authors usually seem to begin their stories trying to get the reader to develop an instant liking to the protagonist. For me, Holden did not come off as a very likeable character because of his ignorance and to be completely honest he has grown to be quite annoying because he seems indecisive and so confused on what he really wants sometimes. For instance, in chapter 4 when he went on a rant about Jane and how he would love to see her again but at the same time he did not want to but then he could not stop talking about seeing her, and it was just this ongoing battle in his head. On top of that he does come off as judgemental and like Gerald said, his reliability is questionable. He shows to be unreliable because of the way he treats his peers, the fact that he has been kicked out of multiple schools and that he is hospitalized.
ReplyDeleteOverall im just having a hard to relating with Holden. His mind seems to jump everywhere and I dont think he knows much about himself either. Although I feel this way towards his character, I do appreciate his straightforwardness and honesty.
-Mariah Brown
I believe that Holden is not meant to appear likable to the readers. Since the beginning, he had a unique pessimistic tone that does appear quite striking at times. For example, the use of the words “hell”, “for Chrissake” and “goddam” are used so repetitively as the story progresses that it’s become a habit for Holden and therefore influences his character negatively. This is so common among the students vocabulary, however, that is has somehow shifted into a social norm where that kind of language is allowed, thus giving the audience another perspective of the setting during that time. Not only that, but the author also includes additional sentences that seem to have to use for the idea it is trying to get across. It is simply stating the claim’s warrant, which is already evident to the reader. Simple by stating “I really do” so continuously lowers the likability of Holden, yet also contributes to the uniqueness of his character.
DeleteIn response to Mr. Rodriguez's question concerning the tone, it is shown in the first three chapters that the tone is judgemental, yet compassionate.
ReplyDeleteAs all of the students above have already realized, Holden Caulfield is a very judgmental character. It is seen in his description of almost every character that is introduced in the first three chapters. As Negin mentioned, Holden is even critical of his own brother; he seems disappointed with his brother's success. It is also seen in the descriptions of Mr. Spencer with his "sad old bathrobe with his chest showing (Salinger, page 20), and Ackley with his "mossy teeth" (Salinger, page 30).
Despite Holden's seemingly harsh judgements of others, it is shown that he is compassionate and sees through people's flaws. While this tone is more frequently shown in the following chapters, it is evident in the first three. In page one, when briefly mentioning his parents, he makes a point to say that they're nice people. When he encounters Mrs. Spencer, Holden seems to disregard the fact that she's hard of hearing. To me, this almost seemed odd-- he seemingly judges everyone he meets. Holden is actually polite to her and is patient.
I am not sure if it is too early in the book to notice the overall tone in the book, so I welcome any disagreements.
-Anna Leon
Based on reading the previous comments, I get the impression that there are mixed reactions towards Holden. In my opinion after reading the first few chapters Holden's attitude and use of language is quite striking. After reading the context provided by Mr. Rodriguez, it seems like Holden lives in a world where social norms are established and emphasized, yet he fails to implement those norms in his life (through his rebellious attitude and use of foul language).
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with the insight provided by Daphne T., that Holden might have experienced an event in his life that shifted his perception in a pessimistic manner. This is clear and evident when Holden says, "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas." This reminds me of the novel "The perks of being a wallflower", when Charlie (the protagonist) experiences a life changing event that causes him to think critically and with more precaution regarding his decisions and interaction with others. The shift in Charlie's perception is not as peculiar or rebellious as Holden, but the attitude for a teenager given the time period was definitely eccentric.
Regarding Holden's shift in attitude, I am intrigued to continue reading in order to figure out what exactly occurred to Holden, and if this "shift in attitude" is actually just a result of his "lousy" childhood.
What do you guys think ? Has Holden developed his critical and rebellious attitude as a result of his experiences growing up in a "disadvantageous" atmosphere?, or was it the "madmen" event, or perhaps a bit of both?
-Cassandra Hernandez :-)
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTo continue discussion on the topic of Holden's likeability, I would like to mention Zared and Mariah's observations that Holden shows no true effort to try to gain the liking of his audience. I believe this is mainly because the story is told as if Holden is being questioned or asked about a moment of his past. Salinger opens the novel with Holden's first words being, "If you really want to hear about it", and this introduction poses that Holden's reason in telling his experience is because the audience, or person, is asking him to recall the events. This presumtion can also pose an explanation into why Holden is so descriptive in the way he analyzes and judges the characters in the book. I would like to know if anyone else thinks this could be a possible reason and influence regarding the way the story is told?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I want to mention the way Holden introduces new subjects and characters. On page 4 the introduction of Pency Prep begins with Holden explaining that Pency Prep isn't as prestigious a school like it claims to be in advertisements, but that it's the same as every other school and that it's nothing special. Similarly, Holden introduces us to Ackley who is described to have lousy hygene and a terrible personality, Holden also states that Ackley believes he is superior to Holden as Ackley constantly reminds Holden that Ackley is older. But Holden deeper describes Ackley as being unpopular and annoying despite what Ackley believes himself. These examples show the process to Holden's way of viewing things. Holden sees the exterior and analyzes it deeper till he sees real meaning. What seems to be Holden's real problem is that he can see through the "phonies" and it bothers him that no thing is genuine and that things are not what they appear to be. I would like to know if anyone would support my claims mentioned above?
And please let me know if you think these are wrong because I just thought about these as I re-read the first 3 chapters.
-Dylan Salang
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the various comments made by my peers, as well as re-reading the first three chapters I have come to the conclusion that I quite enjoy having Caulfield as a narrator. He tells it like it is and is not afraid to speak his mind. While this might be a difficult and rather grievous attribute for a teenager to have, it is entertaining to read. Having an intro that basically states to the reader that they shouldn't care about the narrator's background is comical and is something that's not often seen in classic literature, as it wasn't proper for teens to behave in this manner, as Mr.Rodrigez pointed out in his historical introduction.
Also I can relate to Caulfield's pessimism. It's not necessarily a thought process that I should be proud of, but sharing the way that this character thinks makes reading this novel more easy to sink into and just enjoy. Not only that, but having a pessimistic person as the narrator makes the story more interesting, as more people, as well as characters in literature or movies, tend to be positive or optimistic in the way that they view certain events, goals, or people. I find that sometimes being a little negative (or a lot in Caulfield's case) makes the more bitter moments easier to handle, as more bitterness will make little difference to an already bitter person. While Caulfield may not live in the same time period, as todays modern teen, it is rather amazing how in touch he is with them.
As to the theories as to where he is writing from, I can see how people would think he is in a psychiatric ward because of the phrases "...before I got run-down and had to come here and take it easy," or "He's gonna drive me home when I go home next month maybe" (P. 3-4). These phrases lead the reader to believe that perhaps he is in a psychiatric ward or hospital, as others have also stated. Only a further reading into the book will put things into better perspective.
-Anayah Carpio
With the background of the book in mind and the previous comments by my peers, Holden Caulfield is an indignant character who I believe is angry at the world. Salinger has created a character who seems to identify the flaws in everything that he is capable of seeing but expresses himself through negative connotation. His frustration and exasperation with the world is shown through the phrases: "If you really want to hear about it...", "I don't feel like going into it...", "that stuff bores me". This conflicted expression that he portrays in the opening paragraph demonstrates what the current teenager feels- the past is in the past, I only care about the future and what becomes of me, hence the "Me" generation. Holden conveys this by associating history as "that David Copperfield kind of crap", which means that it is of irrelevance to him, sort of like history is this intangible concept that does not correspond to the type of character that he is. As aforementioned by my peers, that character is one that is straightforward, cynical, and judgmental.
ReplyDeleteAsides from speaking about the way Holden Caulfield is characterized, I would also like to note that he seems to clearly put a barrier between himself and the reader. Since he is revealing his story in the first-person, usually that requires the narrator to express his thoughts, hence the truth. However, Holden is of the rebellious kind and wants to maintain his relationship with the reader unambiguous. In other words, I think Salinger is trying to evoke the feeling that Holden doesn't trust the people within the society of that time, which is a major part of who he is. Thus, he sets a standard for his honesty when he tells us "I mean that's all I told D.B. about, and he's my brother and all". This type of unreliable narrator is extended with the practical conversation that Holden seems to be having with the reader as he makes some statements such as, "Don't even mention them to me", where he directly targets the reader.
To summarize, Holden seems to be angry with the world and essentially born in the wrong era. He has this simplistic language that makes him interesting, he basically states the truth without sugar coating it as evidenced by his foul language. I would be interested to know what you guys think about the idea of Holden sort of creating that barrier between himself and the reader, to what extent do you think he sets that barrier? Is he willing to tell the truth in his unique way or is he still the unreliable narrator he believes that he is?
-David Wilson
It is no secret Holden has a strong hatred for many people and things throughout the novel, in fact his hate for his brother was shown early on in chapter one when he claims he hates him for being a 'phony." The narrator continued on what seemed like a rant in the opening chapter when also expressing his hatred towards the headmaster at the school he was currently attending. With this being said I do agree with my peer David Wilson when he claimed that Caulfield was angry at the world. When asked in chapter 2 by his history teacher Mr. Spencer on why he left his previous schools Caulfield claimed that he was "surrounded by phonies" and that the headmaster was a "bastard." Later on in the novel Holden not only sets this barrier with his family and his professors, but also with new people or peers who attempt to become his friend. He in fact insults people who try and become friends with him which is the extent in which he sets that barrier between himself and the reader. He is not interested in meeting new people and the fact that he is literally angry with the world only makes harder for the reader to connect with the narrator, unless of course the reader is going through a similar situation. Now, when discussing on whether Holden is reliable narrator or not, I think he might be. The fact that he was one to reveal that he was a liar makes me want to trust him more, he self reflected on a negative characteristic and then shared it, which is something few can do. I feel it was better for the reader to find he was a liar through himself rather than someone else telling the audience.
DeleteWhen considering the context of this book, the opening paragraph is very intriguing. In an era where children were believed to willingly conform to their parents’ standards, Holden Caulfield is portrayed as being the extreme opposite. He is rebellious, expressive, and relatable to teenagers experiencing similar feelings of unruliness. One indication of the aforementioned attitudes Holden has towards American society in the 1950’s is the foul language Holden uses to describe certain topics. Examples of his rebellious nature include word choice such as “goddamn,” “crap,” and “crumby” when discussing his life to the readers. Here Holden is straight to the point and is not afraid to express what he truly feels. The use of foul language is also unique to Salinger’s style. He did not follow the proper form of storytelling devoid of originality. Rather, Salinger writes with a vulgar selection of words at times which, as a result, establishes a casual tone for the book.
ReplyDeleteI understand that there are varying opinions as to how Holden’s language in the opening paragraph reflects his connection to readers. Personally, I believe his extremely casual tone allows teenagers to identify with the main character of the book and thus creates a connection rather than a barrier between the readers and Holden. As for the rest of American society, it reveals the feelings many teenagers failed to express themselves. Instead of conforming to society’s standards, teenagers wanted to be expressive and Holden was an accurate portrayal of what teenagers in the 50’s aspired to become. Once perceived as being outcast behavior for not satisfying society's standards has since become expected of teenagers in the twenty-first century.
-Kelvin Alvero
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ReplyDeleteAs I finish reading the first three chapters of the book, something that keeps coming to mind is, how did Holden, this young, rebellious, charismatic teenager, find himself enrolled into such a prestigious school like Pencey Prep?
ReplyDeleteAs Daphne and Cassandra said, I also believe that the protagonist seems to be experiencing life changes and is slowly developing his character, even if it’s in a pessimistic manner. I actually really like Holden. This book already is known for being one of the most controversial books in US history, some schools even going far enough as to ban the book from libraries, so I believe that we are meant to perceive Holden as rebellious and careless. These characteristics make me believe that it really was his lousy childhood, as many other students have mentioned, that made him this way. In the very first paragraph of the first chapter, Holden immediately addresses that he does not want his narration to be like that “David Copperfield kind of crap”, alluding to Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, which is speculated to be his most autobiographical novel. He doesn’t want to be a bore or too detailed. Not only that however, but he also mentions that his parents would have “about two hemorrhages apiece if [Holden] told anything pretty personal about them.” I actually relate to this completely since I know that many parents, including mine, try to limit the amount of personal information they share with others in an effort to create a happy and untroubled image of the family. Moreover, I think this family image is being shattered by Holden’s rebellious nature and Holden’s parents lack of affection and attention, which go against society’s standards during that time period. The family seems divided, so in order to fill the father-figure gap in his life, Holden turns to Old Spencer and seems to hold some kind of appreciation towards him despite the mockeries made about him. I think Holden does hold some compassion towards him. Looking at it from Old Spencer’s point of view, I would think that Holden’s respect is genuine; besides, he really has no one else to turn to at Pencey Prep.
In response to Daphne Tortoles, I relate to Holden on a few grounds; although Holden may come off as cynical, I feel that his actions are solely a result of his former experiences he has encountered in the past. Also, he is very passionate about particular subject matters that prove he is not as displeased with the world as we make him to be. Towards the beginning of the book, particularly the first two chapters, I established antipathy with Holden as the protagonist. Clearly, Salinger purposely wrote the opening paragraph of The Catcher in the Rye to initiate Holden’s pessimistic attitude that we will later find out is very consistent throughout the book. This attitude was very prominent in Chapters 1 and 2, which can be seen through strong and persistent diction (i.e. Holden’s foul language). Whether on the topic of school, movies, or even himself, Holden tends to complain about, as Brandon Sanchez described, every “microscopic detail” of the topic. For example, Holden refers to Pencey as “…a terrible school, no matter how you looked at it” (page 4). This exaggeration of his distastefulness of Pencey was one of the few remarks Holden made that irritated me. I even began growing bored of the constant moping and indignation, thus weakening my connection with Holden and impairing my fondness of the book itself. However, after acknowledging the fact that Holden initially had bad experiences with other private schools, it can be inferred that his poor attitude toward attending a private school only grew stronger overtime, leading to an extreme aversion toward Pencey. This proves that Holden, like myself, finds it very hard to forgive and forget, which results in a build up of emotion (particularly pessimistic) that is only because of bad experiences. Although Holden carries on this lousy tone throughout the rest of the chapter, pages 24 and 25 of Chapter 3 exemplified a moment where Holden shows genuine enthusiasm toward reading. It is ironic that Holden, being a student expelled from a number of private schools, enjoys reading during his free time rather than doing something completely rebellious, like streaking on the streets of New York. He rants about the way certain books arouse him, and even lists a few books that “…when you're all done reading it, you wish that the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.” In this case I related to Holden, for I have read amazing Jerry Spinelli books that indeed have made me want to befriend the author himself. By simply expressing ardor toward reading, Holden not only proved his existing yet subtle optimism but mended our connection as audience and protagonist.
ReplyDeleteAfter going through the previous responses made, I agree on the point that Holden is a character identified as pessimistic and outspoken, although many times foul-mouthed. Immediately after reading the first three chapters, I soon developed a negative vibe towards Holden. Although many of my peers grew a liking to Holden due to their ability to relate to him, I began to dislike his character. Like what Julia Alo pointed out, Holden constantly complains and whines about anything, really. It made more sense to me that he is the way he is after learning about his past experiences in life. Although he had a rough past, and I should feel pity for him, I still do not see it as an excuse to act the way Holden does. Negative people bring me down and ruin my mood, and Holden is exactly that.
ReplyDeleteI never paid attention to this small detail until my peers pointed it out, and it is the fact that Holden was accepted and went to many private schools, yet he is not technically very motivated in his studies. How is this possible? Do you think his parents had connections, thus allowing him to go to different schools? It just doesn't make sense how a student that does not care for his education, which is evident when Holden reveals he failed five of his classes, is able to attend a new school every time another kicks him out. Just out of curiosity, what are your opinions on this?
In response to David Wilson, I agree on the point that Holden does not seem to be a very reliable narrator. Holden even identifies himself as a "terrific liar". With this in mind, how can we trust a narrator who constantly lies? How do we know if the story he is reciting to us is the truth?
-Catalina Isip
To add onto Kiara's comment, I agree with Her when she said that Holden speaks so freely without any thought put into what he is saying. For example, in chapter 3, the first sentence is, "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful" (CH. 3, page 9). Holden is clearly not holding back on what he is telling us as we read throughout the book, calling himself a terrific liar is something that no one would be proud about. Even though I'm still reading through the 3rd chapter, I can already tell that Holden is like the stereotypical teenager in the 21st century with the cursing, open thoughts, and judging as well. In chapter 1, Holden was judging Selma Thurmer based on her appearance. "She had a big nose and her nails were all bitten down and bleedy-looking and she had on those damn falsies that point all over the place" (Chapter 1, Page 2). Teenager society faces this problem today, as people judge others people appearances constantly whether they're too skinny, too fat, wear too much make up, they need to wear make up, and more immature accusations. Holden could live in our society today and he would just be a regular teenager just like all of us. I am very interested to see how his behavior improves beyond the book.
ReplyDelete- Ryan Dasmarinas
After reading the first three chapters of the novel and the responses, I agree that that Holden can be characterized as someone who is often pessimistic and overly judgmental towards his peers. This seeming bitterness that came off of him, made him more relatable to people in real life because it exposed truths that would otherwise have never been uncovered. To me his pessimistic attitude and overall negative demeanor signified a loss of innocence as he begins to realize that life was not so simple after all.
ReplyDeleteI, similar to Brandon and Daphne, have developed a liking to Holden’s character. He may be overly pessimistic and bitter sometimes; however, both of these characteristics helps expose problems pertaining to society that would otherwise have never been noticed. For instance, in the first chapter, Holden is about to go to a football game. He explains the game to be a “very big deal around Pencey. It was the last game of the year, and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn’t win” (chap. 1, pg 5). Holden exaggerates the consequences of losing the last and final football game of the season. This exaggeration helps expose the minute details that society focuses on rather than the big picture. Similarly, Holden continuously speaks about how all the private schools he has been at were filled with phonies. He explains how “I left Elkton Hills because I was surrounded by phonies” (chap 2, pg 19). Holden seems to be one of the only few to believe that people are able to hide under a façade. The only person who he believes to be real and not phony is Jane. He is able to see through the veil that social standards create, and therefore, see people for who they truly are.
To conclude, I believe that Holden’s pessimistic and bitter demeanor makes him different in the sense that it gives him the ability to see through others and their false masks. This led me to develop a liking to his character because he is able to differentiate the truth and lies about society. I am however still torn on whether or not he is a reliable narrator. He does explain how these events that he is recounting led him to enlist in a mental hospital. This makes me question his credibility on the situation and whether or not his words are true.
- Vinnie Widjaja
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ReplyDeleteWhen first being introduced to Holden Caulfield I was quite surprised at how straightforward he was when reacting in a situation. His seeming bitter nature, as mentioned previously by Vinnie Widjaja, was something I believed to be interesting in the narrator. When relating Caulfield to today's teenagers as you said Mr. Rodriguez, he seems quite tame. There are many aspects about Caulfield which I personally can relate to however, many of these aspects have become the "norm" for teenagers today. Since Caulfield has many aspects that are so easy to relate too, I find him to be a likeable character.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have already read nearly halfway through the novel; when looking back at the very first paragraph in much more detail certain words and phrases are more noticeable which hint to the context of Caulfield's current setting. It is clear that he is in some type of mental institution when he states "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me...I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy." The main word indicating that Caulfield has some mental dilemma being "madman". Overall, the first paragraph reveals the type of straightforward character Caulfield is and his attitude. His diction including words like "crumby" his casual use of "damn" and the way he describes his brother being rich by saying he's "got a lot of dough" show how he describes things as they are. However, these also reveal the kind of nonchalant attitude Caulfield has.
-Angel Cortez
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ReplyDeleteFrom my look at the opening paragraph, like the other comments before me, I viewed Holden as very pessimistic, in the way he describe his "lousy childhood" and all that "David Copperfield crap" as well as the "crumby place" hes at. This pessimistic attitude is apparent in the latter chapters through Holden's constant judgement of people, as we see through his inner dialogue. This honest and outspoken view on the world and the people around him is in my opinion appealing to some people. However, while reading the first three chapters I could not find my self liking this character. Although I can admire his outspoken nature I can not get behind his judgemental attitude, whether it is towards his history teacher, Mr. Spencer or his roommate Ackley.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly to what was stated in previous entries, I believe that Holden is telling his story in some sort of health facility. Whether it be for physical or mental health is still unknown to me. My main reason for this belief is when Holden states, "I'll Just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it east"(Salinger 1). We also know he is not home because he says that his brother is going to drive him home when he goes home next month.
-David Valentin
It was valuable information to understand the era in which Salinger wrote this novel and to understand the significance of the character that is Holden Caulfield. I see character types like Caulfield portrayed in movies but I also see that that wasn’t at all common in the 1950’s. Caulfield provided that shift from the need to fit in to society and to be “normal” to being distrustful of society and rebellious.
ReplyDeleteHis attitude right off the bat is very different from a normal protagonist. Instead of a cheerful well-behaved teenager (like most teenagers of the time), we get a blunt, distrustful, manipulative, and frankly annoying protagonist. Deeper into his character build-up, you can see that Holden isn’t ignorant. He pays very acute attention to a lot of things around him and the people around him. You can tell he is well-read and is actually very bright when he talks about his favorite authors like Hardy and when he mentions Maugham and Dinesen. But with the combination of being smart yet cynical and distrustful of everyone, of being hard to get along with and being sort of lazy and putting in zero effort in school, one can see that Holden is suffering from an illness. He’s withdrawn from going to the game, he manipulates people by lying, he’s socially isolated and is hateful.
Form the very first few words of the novel one can tell he is pessimistic and distrustful. He asks the reader if they “really want to hear about it” and his “lousy childhood”. “They’re touchy as hell” “kind of crap” It sort of hit me as a reader to come across such an unlikely protagonist even in today’s time of teen rebellion. But I feel like many teenagers can relate to Holden’s attitude towards parents, school, and other classmates.
-Abegail Caraulia
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ReplyDeleteI believe responses such as those produced by Catalina Isip sufficiently identify the disliking I have for the narrator, Holden Caulfield. For one thing, if the narrator existed in real life, I would not associate myself with him. Firstly, Holden's apathetic attitude towards life would bring me down, contributing to my strong dislike of the protagonist. Although I am open minded I feel as if the narrator simply needs direction in his life. We all witness adversity in our lives, but many of us choose to look at the positive side of the spectrum. Holden Caulfield seems to take the struggle out on his peers who he does not seem to close with, which is one act I stray from doing. However, one fact I respect about Holden is his love for his siblings. Later on throughout the novel, many of you will notice his love for his little sister. From the beginning of the novel, I knew the narrator was capable of showing moral traits. I find that he simply needs direction in life and hopefully throughout the remainder of the novel, "The Catcher in the Rye" Holden finds himself or at the very least takes a step forward to receiving the help he deeply needs.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Catalina's question, I feel as if the narrator cannot be trusted as his insight may be affected by his tendency to lie to other individuals. Conclusively, Holden Caulfield is an individual who I cannot relate too, but I understand whatever h may be going through in life is just temporary.
Mr. Rodriguez mentioned that the opening of the novel is famous. In my opinion, this is due to the second person point of view and the informal register. The narrator addresses the reader in a seemingly ignorant way. He begins with, "If you really want to hear about it" which gave me the impression that he believes he is doing us (the readers) a favor by telling his story. His use of "crap" and "damn" also contributes to his superficial attitude. The opening paragraph serves as a hook in which it encourages the reader to find out what his problem is. Similarly to Vinnie, Daphne and Brandon, I developed a liking to Holden's character because in the brief moments in which he is reflective, I realized that I feel many of the same things he does. He tries to display an unsympathetic and intolerant attitude which serves as his defense mechanism against future emotional harm. However, under this shield, Holden is kindhearted and astute. For example, in chapter one he claims, "I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel worse." It is clear to me that although he complains about how phony and boring Pencey is, he needs a positive memory to hold onto in order to avoid future regrets or painful nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteI agree with David Wilson in that Holden creates a barrier between himself and the reader as well as everyone around him. However, the barrier is quite weak. It is as if Holden attempts to fool everyone that he is indifferent. He does this by utilizing foul language and repeating "and all" throughout the novel. However, like Negin mentioned this attitude is "on and off." Although cynical at times, Holden deeply cares about certain people, such as his sister Pheobe. In fact, Holden seems to care most about those who remind him of his innocence.
-Lizeth Estrada
DeleteThe first thing I noticed when reading the introduction of the book is Caulfield's rebellious and negative attitude. What mostly stood out to me is how he rejects a common formula seen in the introductions of many books, which consists of the narrator's birthplace, past life, and other similar elements. Instead, he decides to omit this information merely because he did not "feel like going into it" (Ch. 1, pg 1), possibly showing his laziness or a lack of connection with the readers. Through this, author immediately sets up the main character as someone who does not fit into the social norm in the 1950s, where children were taught to be more conservative. From the first chapter alone, we learn the the author is lazy, apathetic, and a pessimist. In addition to this, we also learn the Caulfield is very judgmental, immature, and a liar. However, he is shown to have some merit, as evidenced by his passing grade in his English class and his liking for books, which implies that is at least somewhat intelligent. Also, Caulfield's vulgar language and word choice seems to make him more relatable to both current teenagers and teenagers in the 1950s, although it is likely that past teenagers merely felt what Caulfield feels rather than say it themselves. In my opinion, these few positive traits do not make up for his many negative ones, and so far, I dislike this protagonist. I do not anticipate that I will be liking his character later in the book because of Angel's observation on the introduction, which hints that Caulfield will later develop some sort of mental problem.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Mr.Rodriguez described Caulfield as more "tame" by today's standards, I personally feel that he is very rebellious by my own standards. He has failed most of his classes, used to smoke, and has had to change schools multiple times. He seems exactly like the kind of person I would not want to associate with, let alone be friends with.
After analyzing previous responses made by students with different perspectives of Holden Caulfield, I agree with Catalina Isip that Holden was a negative person who does not care about his well being and his education. Holden states, "They kicked me out. I wasn't supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself" (Chapter 1 Page 4). This reveals how Holden has this rebellious image and simply did not care about his future and he struggles to face reality. In addition to Catalina's statement that Holden seems to complain about everything, he becomes very agitated if something small bothers him. Holden says, "I don't know, and I don't give a damn, How 'bout sitting down or something, Ackley kid? You're right in my goddamn light" (Chapter 3 Page 21). This significantly shows how Holden has quite a temper and uses inappropriate language to portray how he feels at the moment. On the other hand, I also believe that there is a sweet caring side of Holden that he tries not to express. However, it is shown towards his teacher, Mr. Spencer. Holden is very fond and hopes to find closure with his grade and his teacher since he was leaving Pencey Prep. Overall, Holden is a unique character with a tough past and throughout the rest of the novel, I hope Holden's character becomes more defined.
ReplyDelete-Camryn Ferrer
After analyzing previous responses made by students with different perspectives of Holden Caulfield, I agree with Catalina Isip that Holden was a negative person who does not care about his well being and his education. Holden states, "They kicked me out. I wasn't supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself" (Chapter 1 Page 4). This reveals how Holden has this rebellious image and simply did not care about his future and he struggles to face reality. In addition to Catalina's statement that Holden seems to complain about everything, he becomes very agitated if something small bothers him. Holden says, "I don't know, and I don't give a damn, How 'bout sitting down or something, Ackley kid? You're right in my goddamn light" (Chapter 3 Page 21). This significantly shows how Holden has quite a temper and uses inappropriate language to portray how he feels at the moment. On the other hand, I also believe that there is a sweet caring side of Holden that he tries not to express. However, it is shown towards his teacher, Mr. Spencer. Holden is very fond and hopes to find closure with his grade and his teacher since he was leaving Pencey Prep. Overall, Holden is a unique character with a tough past and throughout the rest of the novel, I hope Holden's character becomes more defined.
ReplyDelete-Camryn Ferrer
I can conclude from the first few chapters that the narrator and protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is one who is easily angered and annoyed, suspicious, pessimistic, and careless. Based on chapters one through three, we learn that Holden is expelled from Pencey Prep because he is failing most of his classes. We can assume that he possibly feels jealous of his brother's fame as a writer in Hollywood. Additionally, readers have access to Holden's pure thoughts, feelings, and beliefs especially towards his roommates Ackley and Stradlater. "He was always cleaning his fingernails. It was funny, in a way. His teeth were always mossy-looking, and his ears were always dirty as hell, but he was always cleaning his fingernails. I guess he thought that made him a very neat guy" (26). Another example can be found on page 30, regarding his other roommate, Stradlater, "He was always walking around in his bare torso because he thought he had a damn good build. He did, too. I have to admit." These pieces of evidence reveal a glimpse of some of Holden's keen observations and private judgments. It is evident that Holden's character and personality is explicitly revealed.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Gerald's/Anna's questions previously asked about whether Holden is trustworthy in his judgements, I believe that it is too soon in the story to answer your question. Yes, Holden communicates his feelings to the readers but one simply cannot fully trust what Holden states. Although Holden always discloses his thoughts in depth, providing different experiences and expressing varied emotions, it can possibly play out to deceive the reader and add tension to the plot as the story goes on. I also agree with Catalina's logic, supporting the idea that Holden isn't reliable. Catalina's discovery of the beginning of chapter three when Holden argues in all caps, "I'M THE MOST TERRIFIC LIAR," can possibly hint that Holden should not be trusted.
-Micah Rodriguez
After reviewing and analyzing the first few chapters, I can conclude that Holden Caulfield does indeed like to speak his mind and he does come off as a pessimistic character. This pessimistic point of view that Holden presents is shown by how judgmental of others that he encounters. For example, in chapter 3 Holden expresses his thoughts about Ackley, "He was one of those very, very tall, round-shouldered guys-he was about six-four-with lousy teeth." (CH. 3, Pg. 9) As Holden does describe Ackley you will definitely notice that Holden does not hold back much of what he says and speaks from his mind freely.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am still reading the novel I just can't seem to gather a liking for this character because Holden seems as though he is one of those people that I would not enjoy hanging out with due to the fact that he has a negative connotation for most things.This also leads me to agree with Fabrizio on his statement that Holden is the type of person to presumably blame another for his mistakes. Although I do agree that Holden is pessimistic, I feel as though he could possibly change throughout the novel and become a character that most people could ultimately relate to.
- Josh Joiner
In my own reading of the the opening chapters of the book and in my peers observations and comments made above i too conclude that Holden can be characterized as negative,pessimistic and rebellious as evidenced by the vulgarity and colloquial language on the first page he judges his peers and others as well this can be evidenced specifically from the first page " and all that David Copperfield kind of crap" (1). The opening of the novel in addition also sets contexts and a point of reference for the rest of the story as the narrator is addressing all these events that happened in the past with the reference to "Ill just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before i got pretty run down and had to come down here and take it easy" making the reader understand that these events have already transpired. I too can agree with Lizeth and David above with the barrier that Holden raises around himself using the vulgarity and indifference but i also believe that this barrier and sensitivity as pointed out by Lizeth has vulnerable moments to those that remind Holden of his innocence. I believe the barrier of indifference is a facade of Holden hides a much more sensitive and caring side as evidence by the repeated mentioning and expressing of Holden's concern over the ducks and what will happen to them when the lake freezes over. It will be interesting to see throughout the novel if Holden comes to terms with this emotional barrier he erects about himself or some external factor forces him to to address it and whether it changes Holdens outlook afterward.
ReplyDelete-Victor Naranjo
After reading the first chapters and students responses, we can quickly see that Holden's character is very pessimistic and negative. As previously stated by students he was flunking 3 out of 4 of his classes which shows a lot about his character. The author present Holden as ignorant and seems to not care about anything in life. Throughout the book, Holden can be an unreliable narrator because he seems to only state what he remembers or states situations that only makes himself look good. In the first paragraph he immediately says “what my lousy childhood was like” and describes his parents in a rude matter. Holden describes himself as the less intelligent child considering his brother D.B is doing outstanding in hollywood and his little sister is doing well in school. Even if Holden is failing school, i believe he is actually really smart just he does not try because he is distracted by society.
ReplyDeleteAnswering Daphne's question, i don’t necessarily think i can relate to him because he is experiencing a different high school life than we students live today. I believe he has reasons towards his actions because having to spend every single second of your life with your classmates can be difficult, overwhelming and annoying. Holden does not even know himself because he is so indecisive. However readers can find Holden liking due to his casual modern language that is easy to comprehend. Holden attitude can be relatable in our lives today since some students tend to care less about education but in making others happy.
I wanted to see your guys input in what you believe the ducks in the frozen like represent, considering the amount of times Holden had asks several people throughout the book.
-Stephanie Ingram
Both in response to the previous statements made by other students and the questions posed by Mr. Rodriguez, I would like to make a new assertion.
ReplyDeleteI have found that my opinion on our narrator varies greatly from that of some, but not all. I personally can agree with the statements made by Daphne Tortoles and Jassin Reyes on the basis that we all similarly developed a liking to Holden in these first 3 chapters. After being exposed to his pessimistic attitude and outspoken manner, I grew to respect it. My personal opinion, however, is very much affected by the fact that I myself identify with these personality traits. This therefore answers the question posed by Daphne Tortoles on whether or not we relate to our narrator. I, indeed, do find multiple parallels between myself and Holden. The manner that he is presented to the audience by the author suggests that he is a "normal" teenager. Through both his attitude towards Mr. Spencer and Ackley and his choice of inappropriate language, it is revealed that out main character is a very outspoken and pessimistic person, as previously mentioned. These are some common personality traits seen in teenagers, and in this instance, specifically in teenage boys.
Although some of us, including myself, see him as very honest about his opinions and feelings, we also must consider whether or not we trust him as a narrator. Could be be possibly building up is credibility so that we are more likely to believe his side of the story? At this point in the novel, we do know that he has a very questionable past. The idea that his retelling of the events in his life may be tainted and biased is definitely one not to be ignored. I would like to know if my peers feel the same way about our narrator, do you all trust him? After only reading the first three chapters, how do you all feel about the way he has presented his point of view to us?
-Nicole Pinto
I want to bring attention to the scene in chapter six, specifically on page 50, where a fight between Stradlater and Holden commences. It seemed that the brawl was sparked by Stradlater's disappointment in Stradlater's paper written by Holden as well as Holden's wanting to know more of Stradlater and Jane's date together. Stradlater denies telling the truth about what happened during the date which causes Holden to react furiously. After their bloody and aggressive quarrel, Holden looks at his own reflection in a mirror. "... I went over to look at my stupid face in the mirror. You never saw such gore in your life. I had blood all over my mouth and chin and even on my pajamas and bathrobe. It partly scared me and partly fascinated me. All that blood and all sort of made me look tough. I've only been in about two fight in my life, and I lost both of them. I'm not too tough. Im a pacifist, if you want to know the truth" (51-52). This violent scene demonstrates a part of Holden's image and character. The fight implied that Holden truly still cares about Jane and that Jane is his girl. Additionally, Holden's refers to Stradlater as a "moron" multiple times in this chapter, conveying his childish and immature behavior. Holden looking himself in the mirror revealed a sense of Holden's identity, uncovering Holden's perception of himself for the first time being strong and tough in his life given that his previous experiences of fighting were not as durable. Holden labeling himself as a pacifist, one who opposes violence as a means of settling disputes, is invalid. Holden's statement is faulty due to Holden starting the fight himself with a punch when Stradlater claims he did not do anything sexual with Jane and Stradlater withholds further details from their date.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think Holden still cares so much about Jane Gallagher? Do you think she will play a significant role in the plot of the story?
-Micah Rodriguez
Like several of my peers, I wholeheartedly agree with the general consensus that Holden Caulfield’s indignance is prevalent throughout the entirety of Catcher in the Rye, and is especially emphasized in the beginning of the novel. He announces his hatred for several aspects of his life early on in the novel: “If there’s one thing I hate, it’s The movies.” (pg. 4), as well as, “It was a terrible school, no matter how you looked at it.” (pg. 5) I understand that much of what Holden states makes him come off as negative and troublemaking, but below his hard exterior, I can see where his feelings of animosity towards the world surrounding him comes from. He has lost his brother, and although he does not dwell on that tragedy, it certainly affects him throughout the novel and is the source of his depression and loneliness. He is attending yet another all-boys boarding school, surrounded by exactly the type of people that he does not like – “phonies”. On the subject of Holden’s likeability, and in agreement with Dennis O’Brien, I appreciate Holden’s ability to be himself and speak his mind. While several of those who have commented above accredit his unreliability as a narrator to his pessimistic and moody attitude, I believe this his brutal honesty is what makes him reliable. However, it is difficult to say that I trust Holden completely, because of his immaturity and tendency to exaggerate. This tendency is made apparent in this description of a football game: “It was the last game of the year, and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old pencey didn’t win,” (pg. 4, par. 2). Holden’s hyperbolic tone allows readers to understand the importance of football to Pencey students, but also weakens his ethos as a narrator.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, touching upon a statement made by Gerald De Lima, Holden is overwhelmingly relatable to the teenagers of the modern world. Despite the obvious differences between the 1950’s and now, Holden is a rebellious, flirty, and outspoken teenager, and these are qualities easily identified among modern high school students. While I myself am not a troublemaking boy in the middle of the 1950’s, I find that Holden’s musings and judgements of the people surrounding him are familiar. He only chooses to apply himself in subjects that he genuinely enjoys, such as English. However, as readers we can interpret that Holden is intelligent and therefore capable of doing well in school, he simply lacks the will to work hard. As students ourselves, this is relatable, because no matter how smart someone is, their likelihood to succeed depends on their determination to work hard.
Overall, after reading the first few chapters I’m left to wonder who does Holden consider to be a true friend of his? All of the characters introduced thus far are depicted as gross or arrogant individuals that he rather not spend time around.
- Zuri Smith
After reading the first three chapters, I can agree with the many comments made above that Holden is an ignorant and foul-mouthed teenager. I developed a disliking for Holden as his hatred of many different aspects in his life is present throughout the novel. For example, Holden stated, "I was the goddam manager of the fencing team. Very big deal" (6). From the statement made by Holden, I can infer that he hated being the manager of the fencing team by the use of sarcasm by his use of language such as 'goddam' and 'very'. I believe Holden acts the way he does because he was a representation of a teenager at his time. I also concur with Dennis O'Brian that Holden is not afraid to speak about anything that comes to his mind. Although people who encounter Holden usually perceive the bitter personality he has, internally Holden does have some positivity. At the end of chapter one when Holden visits Mr. Spencer, it reveals that Holden is not all that bitter and he has people who he cares for. To support this, Holden asks, "How's Mr. Spencer? He over his gripe yet?" (Page 9) I can infer that Holden does have a positive side to his character and he cares about others, but has a difficult time expressing it. Ultimately, Holden is not a reliable narrator. This can be seen on his description of Ackley, which Holden stated, "He was one of those very, very tall, round-shouldered guys-he was about six four-with lousy teeth" (Page 26). I believe that Holden cannot be reliable as he described Ackley in a disturbing manner, stating his observation that he has 'lousy teeth.' Holden is biased in this description of Ackley as seen in chapter three that he does not enjoy his company.
ReplyDeleteTo acknowledge the question of if we know where he is telling the story from, I agree with the previous entries that Holden was in a mental institution. I believe that he told it from a mental institution because he stated, "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy" (Page 3). It is also apparent that he is in another place rather than his home as he states, "He's going to drive me home when I go home next month maybe" (Pages 3-4). I can infer that Holden is undergoing therapy and he is cleared to leave the mental health facility in a month.
- Brian Arlantico
While reading the opening chapters of the book, I can entirely agree with the other students of how Holden is an extremely pessimistic and negative narrator. Throughout the book, Holden refers the people he encounters as "phonies" "bastards" and "morons." As stated in the opening paragraph,he experienced a "lousy childhood" reveals the type of person Holden is and the reason why he perceives life a certain way. I agree with Catalina Isip's reasoning to why Holden is not a reliable narrator to his numerous accounts of lying and basing his feelings on whether to dislike or like another character in the story. Holden, as an outspoken character, will not think twice before saying something that can potentially get him into trouble. He externally portrays himself as a tough character, however on the inside he is a depressed, irritable, lonesome character. The violent brawl with his roommate, Stradlater, resulted Holden to be covered in blood and surprisingly he enjoyed his appearance. "All that blood an all sort of made me look tough. I'd only been in about to fights in my life , and I lost both of them. I'm not too tough. I'm a pacifist, if you want to know the truth" (Chapter 6 page 52). This is significant to understanding more about Holden and how he expects to be seen, which I hope in the future chapters to know the narrator on a deeper note.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Daphne's question, I agree with some of my peers that I can relate to Holden. Holden is comparable to many people in high school, myself included. He is a normal teenager who is rebellious, critical, and outspoken. I enjoy reading and interpreting his inner thoughts of his life and the situations he experiences, and I look forward to what Holden has in store for the upcoming chapters.
Holden, as many of the other students have found, is pessimistic as shown by his dislike towards his brother’s success which is described in the opening of the story in which he describes his brother “D.B., being a prostitute” which to me seems that he does not like the success that his brother has been receiving in Hollywood. And Holden’s description of the place that he is in as “crumby” gives his perspective of the place that he is in, further supporting how he is pessimistic.It seems to me and others that Holden is telling this story in a mental hospital this is shown through Holden stating “this madman stuff that happened to me” which could provide to the reason as to why he is so pessimistic about others, such as his brother, and a reason as to why he would be in a mental hospital.The author throughout delves into the mind of Holden with little excerpts made by Holden to describe the outlook he has on others, including his description of his parents being ”touchy” which allows the reader to gain an understanding of Holden’s view of certain people which will likely be used to describe Holden’s personal opinion of events and people in his life. Based off of his judgment of others it seems that that Holden will be using cynical tone throughout the story which is evident in his descriptions of his brother and the mental hospital Holden is inside of.
ReplyDelete-Cristian Hernandez
In response to several peers I agree with the fact that Holden is a pessimistic, negative, and irritable character. I saw this in my first impression of the first chapter. Holden first starts his point of view based on his "lousy childhood" (ch.1). He also dislikes movies and has a judgement against his brother D.B. being in Hollywood as "a prostitute." This explanation relates to what Christian Hernandez was saying about Holden not favoring the success that his brother has for his career in Hollywood. As the audience, readers know that Holden will have a negative tone throughout his life as a typical teenage boy but in a different time period compared to today. Many readers will have a fond of the character because teenage years are the most difficult obstacle to face in life because of the hardships of maintaining friendships and being able to be close with family members. I also sensed that Holden was doubting himself often through the first two pages of the book because most teenagers would not say anything about one's career if they did not care any less. However, the doubtfulness that Holden has inside about his brother's career as an author shares that Holden would not become outstanding like his brother. There could be a sense of jealousy towards this character. The character also uses foul language when he is describing the surroundings around him which other fellow students mentioned. All the foul language expresses the character's frustration in which I can relate to as a student since school can be stressful and that life can be tough.
ReplyDeleteIt was a little difficult to understand the part when Holden described about his behavior and how he acts in a variety of ages and plus his description about his gray hair shows his stress and frustration. On page 12 Holden says that "the one side of my head-the right side-is full of millions of gray hairs." While he said he had gray hair since he was a kid, it shows that while he was aging quickly he didn't act like he was his age but Holden thinks that he behaves in a more mature way than what most people think. This represents that the character neglects himself most of the time. Holden talks about the life in Pencey and one of his roommates named Ackley and Holden judges Ackley by describing him as a nasty person and that he was also distracting when Holden was reading. There was also another roommate of his named Stradlater and further in the book Holden tends to get into his business about his girl Jane and there was a tremendous fight based on this which turns out to be bloody and violent. Holden mentions that Stradlater "hated everyone's guts, damn near" (pg. 23). From reading chapters 1 through 3 the main character shows some feelings that most teens can relate to whether it would be being stressed about school or just experiencing different types of friendships. However, I would dislike spending time with the people who Holden described since one of them is violent and the other is lazy and is not comfortable enough to be around with.
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DeleteIn response to Sarah Chung's initial confusion about the way Holden Caulfield describes himself, I have to say that it took me a couple of reads before I understood what he meant and why he constantly referred back to age. In Chapter 2, he says, “I was sixteen then, and I'm seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I'm about thirteen. It's really ironical, because I'm six foot two and a half and I have gray hair. I really do. The one side of my head – the right side – is full of millions of gray hairs.” This is not the only passage in the novel where he compares his appearance or his actions to his age and maturity, and in most of them, there is a stark contrast in what he says. This could be symbolic of the different sides to who he is as a person because everyone, no matter what age, has multiple personas depending on who they are with or where they are. On one side, Holden can be childish, like the way he jokes around when he gets bored, but on the other, he is very independent, which can be seen when he leaves Pencey Prep early with the intention of staying at a hotel until it was time to go home for Christmas vacation. The gray hair being only on the right side of his head can represent the more mature and adult-like version of Holden that some people see and the other side is the more immature and child-or-teenage-like side of him. What version of Holden people see depends on where they stand with him, both figuratively and literally.
Delete-Sophia Dugan
Since the beginning of the "Catcher in the Rye", the reader understands the direction of the plot as well as the tone the book. Holden Caulfield uses David Copperfield as a way to illustrate that his narrative is something unique. From the opening of the novel, Holden's attitude could be seen as virulent towards many situations. He explains that the average thing to do is boring for him. Throughout the chapters Holden’s bipolar attitude towards everything in the novel is aroused through Salinger’s writing style. The beginning sentences in the first chapter illustrate how this is possible. At first, I wasn't able to understand exactly where he was telling his story from, but after completing the book, I realized that he has was speaking to his brother from somewhere inside a hospital which I am guessing was to treat his depression. A clue that could be found that helps understand J.D Salinger writing style is the slang used throughout the novel. He uses swear words occasionally to show his age as well as his immaturity. His explanation towards his current situation also goes hand in hand as how he could be seen as a rebellious teenager. By using this aspect, he was able to immerse the reader deeper into the story, because reliability was established with the reader. Another device used to help create the character of Holden is using repetitive phrases and words to show off who he is as a person. The overall tone of the novel can be seen as confusing at points, coming from a rebellious teenager who makes challenging claims with no authenticity or faith in them. While the tone is confusing at points, the different and contradicting tones introduce the reader to different perceptions on certain things. Holden’s complexity and confusion as a character is galvanized as the novel progresses in the rest of the chapters.
ReplyDelete-Alyssa Ariza
After reading the first few chapters of the novel and reading other responses I can agree with my peers that Holden is a very rebellious and pessimistc teenager. He seems to get into a lot of trouble due to his attitude and his lack of school work. He doesn't seem to care about his education or his future, he seems to be failing four of his five classes. Holden uses vulgar language which says a lot about his character. He doesn't care what others think of him, he is very independent and expresses himself very clearly. Especially when he judges his peers such as Ackley and Stradlater.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment I don't think I can relate much to the character of Holden, but maybe further into the novel his character might change in a way me and others can relate more to him.
-Alexa Chavez
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ReplyDeleteFrom the start of the book, I agree with the other students in that Holden's attitude can be seen as pessimistic and negative. Readers will also learn more about his attitude due to Holden's foul language and the way he views certain situations. Holden can also be seen as immature because of his actions when he is dealing with any problems. In chapter two, Holden states that he had gray hairs, but "still act sometimes like I was only about twelve" (page 12). Not only is he immature, but I also agree with Alyssa in that he has a bipolar attitude as well. His bipolar attitude is shown throughout the chapters whenever he is faced with a situation and is also a clue that shows J.D. Salinger's writing style. After rereading the beginning of the novel, I came to the conclusion that Holden is actually telling the story from a mental hospital. Because of Salinger's word choices of "madman stuff" and "crumby place," it gives the readers an idea of where the story is taking place. Not only that, but Holden also states that his brother visits him every weekend and is going to take him home when he gets out. Due to these key details and by reading the other chapters, it makes sense to assume that he is telling his story from a mental hospital where he is getting treated at. In sum then, Salinger's use of foul language and the tone of the story allows the reader to get a deeper understanding of Holden's character.
ReplyDelete-Janessa Pujeda
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ReplyDeleteIsn't it grand how this groundbreaking and famous novel does not use elevated language or sophisticated sentence arrangements? Its effectiveness is found in its simplicity; in its use of vulgar dialect and straightforward sentences. Through this modus operandi J.D. Salinger was able to reach towards the new disillusioned post-war generation; the generation that grew increasingly upset over the superficiality of the United States over its tendency to neglect the horrid after-effects of the atomic bombs they implemented in World War 2.
ReplyDeleteAs previously noted in the discussion, Holden seems to be in mental hospital, "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last
Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy". His colloquial language is easily determined by his use vulgar words such as "crap" and "damn". Holden even admits he does not have an extensive vocabulary, "Partly because I have a lousy vocabulary..." (page 9). His vernacular helps portray his seemingly apathetic and melancholic attitude which helps the reader understand Holden's character as Janessa previously mentioned. This character developed into a symbol for alienation and solitude that the post-war generation could relate to and that many arduously wanted outlawed and censored. Therefore, as we advance in the novel, it is important to look past the pessimistic nature of Holden and truly grasp what he is attempting to communicate.
-Alan Contreras
Although some of the other students may have developed a disliking towards Holden Caulfield, I feel sympathy towards him. Having "The Catcher in the Rye" told from Holden's perspective and being able to see what he thinks, some may perceive him as pessimistic and negative. In my opinion, it's because of his brother, Allie's, death from leukemia when he was thirteen years old; it probably being what he meant when he'd said his parents were "touchy as hell". It's shown that Allie is a sensitive topic for Holden when writing Stradlater's composition about Allie's baseball mitt. He'd said he liked writing about it and got upset when Stradlater insulted him on it, it being a somewhat therapeutic matter for him. I also think that Holden's habit of making analyses on people— which is shown throughout chapters 1-6— is one way of distracting himself. In the first two chapters of the book, the audience finds out that the narrator has been kicked out of his school for the fourth time, having failed 4 out of 5 of his classes. I believe that his disinterest in applying himself in academics is the result of his depression, which was triggered by Allie's death. And as it so happens, English is the only class that he wasn't failing. Again, I think writing must have been therapeutic for him.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the first six chapters, Holden is almost always talking to someone, whether it be the headmaster's daughter, his dorm mates, or even his history teacher. He even lent a boy in his dorm his typewriter out of kindness. When he isn't talking to someone, he makes detailed analyses about people, most likely to distract himself. I've noticed that Holden just wants company, being nice to the people he comes across to not be alone. For example, he'd thought "He took my mind off the other stuff," (Salinger 56) when Ackley came into the room. I think that without the distractions, Holden becomes aware of his depressing thoughts, though not knowing he has depression. I'm sure that, moving further into the book, his depression will become more apparent in his narrating. In the first few chapters, he comes across as apathetic, making it not as easy to perceive his depression.
From the opening paragraph, I found Holden to be both blunt and cynical, yet at the same time, relatable. Holden's character follows that of a modern-day teenager as explained by Mr. Rodriguez in how he communicates anything he so wants. He uses blunt terms such as "crap", "touchy as hell", and "goddam" within his explanation in the opening paragraph and thus comes off as a rude character. However, I was able to easily sympathize with Holden in how I as a fellow teenager may act or think. As the story continues, we are able to see how Holden contradicts his words and his thoughts when he holds a conversation with Mr. Spencer. In the same way, teenagers tend to appear as a rather formal or kind character externally, yet may also harbor negative feelings or thoughts internally.
ReplyDeleteHowever, an issue I found is that I was somewhat left not knowing as much as I expected I would from the opening chapter. I was able to learn all about Holden's character and personality, but not about what he attempted to explain to us. He briefly brings up his past, yet rushes through it and refuses to actually give us some information about his past as he mentions it as boring and unimportant. But at the same time, we are left with unanswered hints about "madman stuff" and how he ended up acting the way he does and why he shows negative behavior towards almost everything. Overall, I can identify with Holden and do understand a good surface-level chunk of his personality, but I hope to later better understand where he is coming from and how he developed his character during this time period.
-Andrew Son
As I began reading the first few chapters of the book, I can definitely agree with the descriptions Mr. Rodriguez and my peers have stated among Holden's attitude. It appears to me that Holden has a tough shell and comes off as very rude, careless, and negative, but I think as we read and go further into the book, we will be able to see a completely different side of Holden. Being a teenager, I view Holden's actions as expected and relatable as he portrays a modern-day teenager that is very common in our society today. One thing I did notice is his often use of vulgar language when he describes or wants something. I do feel like he acts the way he does because of a significant event that happened previously in his life which may be the reason why people view him as a critical person.
ReplyDeleteIf you ask me, I find Holden's bluntness very likeable and enjoyable owing to the fact that it creates an unlike perspective in the happenings that take place in the book. How about you guys? Do you guys like Holden as a character so far? What are your thoughts?
-Danica Bordallo
What stand out to me after reading the beginning chapters of this novel are the seemingly odd relationships that Holden carries with the different people he comes in contact with, being family, friends or the peers he hates from his school. These relationships, I believe, are what make many readers dislike Holden's pretentious persona, because he wants to put on an act for others to envy rather than show his true self and not be looked up to. In the case with the boys at Pencey, the narrator discloses his feelings about Stradlater and Ackley, but in a fashion of comparison rather than casually talking about his friends. It's obvious to me that what Holden finds in Stradlater and Ackley is not friendship, but excuses to feel better about himself, while he negatively judges what they do or think.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that by the end of the novel Holden can come terms with his true self and let go of the fake he has made everyone think he is. In this way, I feel that one of the main purposes of the novel is to shed light on the ever existing issue in teenage life, remaining true to one's self, or becoming a person who changes their values in order to be envied.
-Savannah Mojica
J.D. Salinger begins the novel with the narrator, Holden, speaking to the reader. In agreement with the previous comments, I recognize that Holden immediately protarsy a pessimistic view on life as he uses words with negative connotations, such as "lousy childhood" and "David Copperfield kind of crap." I was surprised by the foul language used in tje opening paragraph despite the fact that this type of language is common in the current society. Additionally, his negativepersona made me as a readerfeel as if I could not trust my narrator like what others have noted.This doubtincreased with further reading of the information providedin the ancedotes about Holden's life at Pencey Prep. The fact that he was expelled from the school dur to his failure to meet educational requirements and that he forgot the equipment for his fencing team showed that he was an irresponsible individual.
ReplyDeleteHolden's negative view of the world can also be extended to the way he often judges the people he interacts with in the novel. For example, when Holden chats with Ackley, he illustrates that Ackley was quite irritable and unhygenic. He also claimed that several individuals, specifically people at Pencey Prep, were phonies. I agree with other students' answers in that Holden often possesses a critical tone apparent in the first chapter and throughout the novel. However, through further reading, I have come to the realization that Holden's pessimistic attitudemay have developed due to a traumautic experience he went through in the past. The death of his brother Allie definitely changed his view of the world, making him bitter and reluctant towards change.
I also agree with Hannah's previous comment in that Holden continuously seeks companionship. In the opening paragraph, Holden states that heexperienced "madman stuff" that resulted in him being "rundown" (Chapter 11, page 3). It becomes increasingly evident that this "madman stuff" may be associated with a mental condition. Throughout the novel after he left Pencey Prep, Holden displayed a desire for companionship with anyone that was available. Before leaving Pencey Prep, his desire for companywas seen as he constantly spent time with Ackley, which was ironic because Holden regarded him as an annoying, unhygenic individual. This constant desire for companionshipmay just be a normal, coincidental characteristic of Holden; however, since he mentioned that he had a "madman" condition, it seems reasonable to infer that Holden may be going through a mental condition confirmed by his constant loneliness and desire for companionship.
-Abigail Zaratan
As i delved into the first chapters of Catcher in the Rye, i was astonished at how disconnected Holden felt from those around him. This was first apparent to me when he stated that his parents were "nice and all" in the opening paragraph of Chapter 1, indicating that Holden lacked an intimate relationship with them and the word "nice" in itallics sufficed to describe them. After learning that Holden is careless with his studies and how insincere his respect is for those around him- especially the elder or authoritative figures- i realized that his animosity reflects what one in modern times would simply refer to as the phase of a teenager. The 'nobody understands me', 'everyone's a phony' attitude Holden exhibits seems to be a result of personality clashes with the rest of the priviledged, conformist people around him. Because the youth were expected to stick to the status quo and continue social paradigms, it was very difficult for teenagers to express their discontent, and it is evidenced in that while Holden addresses Mr. Spencer in a respectful manner, we the readers know that he is disinterested in his lectures and would rather lie his way out of the situation. While he knows he cannot verbally disrespect Mr. Spencer, however, he finds these ways to rebel by failing his studies, smoking, missing school events, and, as Brenden Gregorio and other peers mentioned, being foulmouthed. Whether this animosity comes from the lack of genuine frienships who share his brutal honesty or the resignation that nobody could truly understand his perspective, i have come to the conclusion that Holden may find himself in the psychiatric hospital not because he is mentally disabled, but because while he would be a celebrated teenager in contemporary society, he is an outcast in his times.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first few chapters of "The Catcher in the Rye", I agree that Holden is a cynical, straightforward, and brutally honest character. However, I also share a peculiar liking to the protagonist with Danica Bordallo. After analyzing what my peers have to say about him, I realized that this view of Holden is not widely shared. Regardless, I enjoy reading about the thoughts and actions of this character because of his witty, sarcastic remarks. Holden mentions "madman stuff" (page 3) that happened to him in his past. This series of events may provide an explanation to his behavior.
ReplyDeleteAs Andrew Son described in his comment, Holden is "blunt and cynical, yet at the same time, relatable." I find this to be especially true because it is seen in most teenagers of this generation, myself included. I would describe Holden as the first "modern teenager". He is moody and over-dramatic, which is exemplified right in the opening, where he uses rude and blunt phrases like "lousy childhood", "David Copperfield kind of crap", and "touchy as hell". Holden also exemplifies a typical, modern-day teenager through his diction: repetitive use of vulgar words (particularly "goddam"), relatively simple vocabulary, and a very casual style of describing and sharing his thoughts. I believe Holden is, as Mr. Rodriguez described, "deeply alienated" because this behavior was not common in the 1950's.
I believe that Holden is such a likable character because he is a manifestation of the pessimism that I often try to hide. I can't help but feel that this was J.D. Salinger's goal in creating the character, Holden Caulfield. I believe Salinger wanted his audience to be able to see their own "inner Holden".
-Noah Pasimio
I find Holden Caulfield a mature character. I disagree with his notion on page 11 when he states that he is considered, even by himself, immature. His pessimistic perspective on the individuals he has met exists for a reason. Holden sees the downside of conformity as he is pressured by adults like his teacher, Dr.Thurmer, to "play" life "according to the rules" (Salinger 11). Seeing how the people around him are willing to live to blend with the rest, he opens himself to no one (at least for now) and isolates himself. This is represented with the imagery where Holden Caufield is perched atop the Thomsen Hill looking down at everyone (with the exception of Ackley) who attend the popular football game which was percieved by Caulfield as given too much and unnecessary attention. He is unable to contain his cynical attitude which is rooted by how he feels misunderstood. In an early chapter, Caufield asserts that "the more expensive a school is, the more crooks it has," likely addressing how the privileged individuals were the most respected or obeyed people in reality. Caufield views the rich majority or the "hot-shots" to always have the upper hand in life since they are the ones who set the "rules" to the game of life. And since Holden C. was unable to adapt to these rules, he was kicked out of the Pencey Preparatory. At the time when this novel was written, one would perceive Caulfield as a childish and impudent character far from the ideal teenager. As for today, at least for me, he is a relatable individual who casts aside oppressive factors that try to suppress the individual he possesses much like figures such as the ones Mr.Rodriguez stated, Cesar Chavez, and the ones who live today attempting to press respect and tolerance for minority groups. Holden is a broken teenager who seeks to observe people, naked from disguises. Of course the narrator is young and adolescent with his own faults: a selfish attitude, unmotivated, and judgemental. But perhaps his way of thinking will ensue him to be a powerful figure in pressing change to conformity towards other characters or the readers themselves later in the novel.
ReplyDelete-Alyssa Jayne Rosario
From the first few chapters, I would characterize Holden as brash and careless with his words. His nature as "the first teenager" is prominent in his unpolished and imprecise rhetoric. Holden's use of generalizations like "He [Ackely] was always in a big hurry," and "People never believe you," reflect that he is matured enough to reach conclusions but also that he is still too juvenile to realize that his experiences may not be universal. The generalizations also demonstrate that Holden is apathetic, as most modern teenagers are, and he doesn't really care about accuracy. He just wants to get his point across as easily as possible.
ReplyDeleteHolden also seems to be afraid of being misunderstood and therefore over-qualifies many of his assertions. This is a funny juxtaposition instead of being proactive or confident in his writing, he instead goes on tangents attempting clarify a fairly definitive statement. I think this is even more reflective of the beginning of the nature of a teenager we've all become so familiar with. To make quick decisions and fix them after and have little faith in yourself because no one else believes in you is very much an aspect of Holden's and our own teen years.
-Andrea Ramirez
The opening paragraph of Catcher in the Rye reveals that Holden is reluctant to tell his story. Holden’s use of phrases such as “if you really want to hear about it”, “you’ll probably want to know”, and “that stuff bores me” demonstrates that he believes his story is uninteresting. I believe this opening is famous because Holden’s negative attitude is very blatant. He describes his life as “lousy” and makes it seem like his parents do not care for him, and his brother sold his soul to Hollywood. I believe Holden is telling his story from a mental institution, because when he says “I got pretty run-down and had to come out here to take it easy”, it is evident that the challenges that Holden described previously have led him to break down. The writer’s style is colloquial, as he writes as if having an informal conversation. For example, when the author writes “They’re nice and all”, “That stuff bores me”, “ I don’t feel like going into it”, he uses everyday language. I believe the overall tone of the book is cynical, because Holden does not seem to be interested by the things everyone his age cares about- such as high school, sports, or the movies. He does not understand why everyone expects him to pass all of his classes and continue his education, when he does not care for his future.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first three chapters of the book, I have to admit I developed a liking for the protagonist. In the introduction, we are able to see some characteristics of Holden, like his lousy vocabulary and his carefree attitude. Holden certainly doesn’t want the reader to know every detail about his life, because he himself finds it boring, he rather wants us to know a piece of it that he finds interesting. He starts the story in a mental facility in California, as he explains on the first chapter that something crazy happened to him and that he “got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy”, he gives his location by stating that his brother is in Hollywood, which is not far from where he is. Something I want to know is how did Holden get from New York, to Pennsylvania, all the way to California?
ReplyDeleteIn the three first chapters, we get a sense that Holden is portrayed as irresponsible and careless. This is shown by him being the manager of the fencing team and forgetting the equipment on the subway. His careless attitude is shown in school and academics since he got kicked out because of failing several subjects. Even though he seems rebellious and ignorant, he enjoys reading and he has some sort of liking towards his history teacher. Holden admits his flaws and immature attitude in the second chapter by saying he has a lousy vocabulary and that he acts quite young for his age. To answer Anna’s question, I think Holding is a reliable protagonist, and more because he is not a perfect hero. He has flaws and makes mistakes, and that gives a more humane and genuine perspective to the character, and therefore his actions can be relatable and applicable to today’s society.
-Paulina Quesada
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ReplyDeleteIn the introductory paragraph of Salinger's novel, "The Catcher in the Rye," the protagonist, Holden Caulfield can be perceived as blunt, witty, and rough around the edges. It is blatant that as a teen in the 1950's, as the time frame of the book has been established, the persona he presents contrasts with the social norms of society back then. From the line that states, "...all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." This line alone represents how the Holden seems to have a very nonchalant attitude toward earlier parts of his life up until he was admitted into a mental institution, as he mentions when he says, "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me..." Reading a little further into the first chapter, it seems ironic how Holden goes to a prestigious high school, yet his diction has no reflection of the school he supposedly got expelled from. Although he admits that he does not apply himself, the school was created to "mold boys into splendid, clear thinking young men," and it is clear that even a high ranking high school cannot handle a student like Holden. Something I appreciate about the protagonist and have noticed closely, is the fact that he is very assertive. He seems to have a clear understanding of his surroundings and knows what he wants. This was clear when he speaks about his brother in Hollywood and his short stories, "If there's one thing I hate, it's the movies. Don't even mention them to me."
ReplyDeleteThe author exudes a strong personality and his ethos seems very honest while being slightly crude. I came to this conclusion after reading the line, "Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything." It validated his straightforward personality and has no consideration for what you want to know or feel. These qualities combined draw attention to the rise of the defiant nature to be seen in the upcoming generation of teens.
-Camille Taylor
When I started reading this novel, I thought that Holden represented the adolescents of the world today, in 2016. In today’s society, adolescents are expected to be very outspoken and rebellious. In other words, adolescents today have the liberty to do whatever they want with their lives. This attitude accurately describes our narrator, Holden, throughout the novel. By reading the first paragraph, I can describe Holden as a teenager who speaks and thinks with a negative tone. For example, as some of my peers have mentioned, he is extremely foulmouthed, hence the overuse of words like, “David Copperfield kind of crap”, “touchy as hell”, “goddam autobiography”, and “damn”. (Paragraph 1) This suggests that Holden has a very rude manner, similar to how teenagers are stereotyped to be in today’s society. In response as to where Holden is at this point of the book, we know that he is in California because he mentions that his brother is close to him in Hollywood. I would describe the tone of the book, as a whole, to be very negative, cynical, and in parts, depressing. This is due to Holden’s use of words such as, “lousy childhood”, “goddamn autobiography”, “madman stuff that happened to me”, “crumby place”.(Paragraph 1) These phrases that the narrator uses to describe his current situation make him appear as someone who is uninterested in everything, and that they are truly unhappy with their life. At the end of the first paragraph, Holden states, “If there’s one thing I hate, it’s the movies. Don’t even mention them to me.” I think that this last sentence describes Holden’s attitude throughout the novel. It seems as if nothing can satisfy Holden, let alone make him happy.
ReplyDelete-Daniela Navarro
In the famous opening paragraph of this book, Salinger immediately sets the tone for Holden's attitude and personality. The first thing I notice is that Holden is not a reliable source of information. As he begins, it is evident that his recollections and memories about specific things are based on his feelings about them. Because of this, he tends to leave details out of his past. He begins by talking about his childhood and parents, and ends it with, "...and all that David Copperfield kind of crap..." Immediately after I read this, I conclude that Holden holds a cynical attitude towards things in his life and is not afraid to speak his mind. If something is bothering him, it is not going to be held in. In this first paragraph, Holden is speaking to the reader from a mental hospital in southern California, letting the reader know that the whole story is in the form of Holden's flashbacks. After finding this out, I notice I start to become curious about the book to find out how Holden ended up in a mental hospital. Holden's attitude is clearly defined by the language he uses, such as "lousy," "crap," "goddam," as well as calling his own brother a prostitute. After being so cynical about all those things, the first paragraph ends by Holden stating, "If there's one thing I hate, it's the movies. Don't even mention them to me." At this point, I wonder to myself, is there anything that makes this guy happy? I start to predict that because Holden is so cynical and stubborn in the beginning, he must find something or someone that makes him happy.
ReplyDelete-Justin Bleisch
In the beginning, right off the bat, readers can immediately infer that the protagonist, Holden, carries and will carry a very cynical atmosphere throughout the book. He is already complaining about his life, such as school and home environment. For example, he starts off with the famous opening "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like..." This opening has already come off as a very bitter attitude. And the reason is most likely because of his family environment. Holden says things as it is and is not scared to say whats on his mind. That is also another reason why he might come off as negative-minded because he hardly has filter and does not really care about what other people think about him.This is what makes him the "independent-but-rebellious" teen
ReplyDeleteIt really interests me that Holden is the first "literary" teen with a rebellious image since it is very common in today's society. And looking at the historical sense of the book, being a rebellious teen is unusual. We can see how much has changed in society and literature in this story.
-Maya Ruane
Although it's easy to spot the negative aspects of Holden's life regarding his narrative voice, I have to disagree with the statement regarding the "cynical atmosphere" that will carry on throughout the book. At my first glance, Holden comes off as a person who accepts the negativity he's living with but decides not to talk about it. In my opinion, that seemed like he's ready to develop into a better person. Holden states, "....but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place,my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told you anything personal about to them." Holden, with a touch of sass, seems to be attempting to make a point that he's moving on from that dark place in his life. Holden, is in fact, not soft spoken in any way, and does get his point across with ease. The author does't seem to conform where he's at, which doesn't mean that he is "complaining about his life," but helps him define himself as a "independent-but-rebellious" teen. The rebellious image the narrator portrays may not be likable to the common reader, but it definitely attracts today's teens since "to rebel" is such a common ground for most of today's youth.
Delete-Jose Escobedo
Holden Caulfield introduced himself as one of the kids most people would hate in modern day high school settings. Salinger portrays Holden as ignorant, bashful and incosiderate towards those around him. While many readers may dislike his personality and decisions, I have grown fond of Holden and admire his personality. He is the type of person that I actually aspire to become. I admire his ability to ignore the obstacles that he is forced to overcome and his tendency to forget about his responsibilities. Responsibilities are burdensome and many would wish to ignore them.
ReplyDeleteI can sense non conformity in the author's writing style as well as his writing style is crude and casual. His structure does not fit the conventional style for writing that we see in most literary works. He structures his paragraphs and sentences in a way that fits Holden's personality. The parallel syntax, the repetition, the constant use of slang all match the character of Holden.
-Risvi Tareq
In response to Brendan:
DeleteI do believe that he is in a mental institute at the beginning. The chapters afterwards take place in Pencey Prep most likely because Holden is trying to explain how he ended up in the mental institute. He also states in page 1, "I'll tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy." By saying "run-down", he most likely is referring to his mental state and he went to the mental institute to "take it easy" or better his mental state.
As many of my peers have already mentioned, the protagonist Holden is a teenager with an evident negative outlook on life. As seen by his encounters with people his own age as well as the adult figures in his life, Holden seemingly believes that he knows better and that everyone around him is unaware about the truths of itself. In response to other comments made by my peers, it is interesting to put into question whether or not the protagonist is indeed trustworthy. We must take into account what the protagonist chooses to tell us throughout the duration of the novel. It could be assumed that the protagonist is not mentally stable, as evidenced by the first paragraph in which he mentions how "madman stuff" happened resulting to his stay at "this crumby place".
ReplyDeleteSomething that I found particularly interesting about the protagonist that is prevalent within the introduction and occurs throughout the novel is his weakness for his family, specifically his siblings. Throughout the novel it is seen that there are many signs that bring Holden back to home or memories of his siblings. Holden mentions the death of his younger brother Allie and is very fond of his sister Phoebe. Notably the protagonist has the tendency to ramble a lot resulting in this more colloquial, provocative talk that he is known for. I noticed that when he begins to talk about his siblings he becomes less aggressive and is taken back to a different point in his life; a point in his life before it started to go downhill.
As for whether or not I like the protagonist, I do like Holden in the sense that I am able to relate with him, as many of my peers also agree. There is a part of me that really resonates with him as sometimes I feel that some people just do not get the way I approach life. While there are parts of the novel where I question Holden's intentions behind his madness, including his need to phone different girls everyday, I feel as if he just wants some sort of companionship or attention.
-Allison Baciles
As many of my peers have already stated, Holden Caulfield is a teenager residing at what can only be inferred as a prestigious boarding school called Pencey on the east coast of the United States during the 1950s. Despite what seems to be an essential upbringing characterized by patient and understanding parents, loving siblings, and a stable, even affluent financial situation, the young adult finds himself constantly upset with his own life. While it does seem that his actions regarding his lack of application in his academics and rebellious indulgence of alcohol and cigarettes are inexplicable, it seems to me that his behavior is in response to some unresolved issue he has with his mother and father as well as Jane Gallagher. Throughout the novel, opportunities are afforded to the protagonist which are continually disregarded. For example, from the beginning of the book, the audience was made aware of the many schools that the main character had attended within some short amount of time and subsequently expelled from. Despite the aid of teachers such as Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini, who truly had an interest in his learning and success, Caulfield continued to fail numerous subjects and proceeded to explain his actions in a manner that only provided what he believed those responsible for him sought to hear. Rather than taking responsibility for his decisions, Holden goes out of his way to escape his problems in search of some form of immediate, temporary satisfaction. The same can be said concerning his love for the aforementioned Jane Gallagher. Though having expressed a deep connection with her in chapters 6 and 11, the protagonist resides to trying to impress complete strangers, inviting prostitutes up to his hotel room (Sunny), and trying to start a life with someone he does not truly love (Sally Hayes). It is in witnessing these sporadic choices that I am able to conclude that a genuine fear of failure and emotion appears to be the cause of Holden Caulfield's self-destructive behavior.
ReplyDelete-Quentin Cruz-Boyer
In J.D. Salinger's famous novel, "The Catcher In The Rye", we are introduced to the indolent main character Holden Caulfield. He is shown to dislike many things such as his brother D.B working in Hollywood, his boarding school Pencey Prep and the habits of his fellow student Robert Ackley. I can concur with the statement that Allan Dizon has made which he said, "I already understand Holden to be, as many students have made clear, rebellious, straightforward, even quite vulgar or out-of-line at some points." Caulfield shows his vulgar language constantly, as he uses the word "goddam" consistently. Caulfield is also shown to have a rebellious nature as he said that he has flunked out of four schools.
ReplyDeleteI would like to disagree with Risvi's statement where he states, "I admire his ability to ignore the obstacles that he is forced to overcome and his tendency to forget about his responsibilities." Personally, I show a dislike to Caulfield as I do not admire his weak work ethic and his desire to not do what he is required to do. In the book, Caulfield tells his teacher Mr.Spencer that he is failing four out of the five classes that he is taking at Pencey Prep. The only class that he is not failing is English because he already knew the literature that was given out during the class and the work was considered easy to him. In chapter 2, Caulfield says, "because I had all that Beowulf and Lord Randal My Son stuff when I was at the Whooton School. I mean I didn't have to do any work in English at all hardly, except write compositions once in a while."
At the end of the novel, I predict that Caulfield will come to terms with himself and he will start doing the responsibilities that he is required to do. I am predicting this because we are being introduced to rebellious teenager who prefers to do whatever he wants, no matter what the consequences are.
-Christian Bueno
I myself thought the intro was an introduction to only the point of view, but also the narrator's attitude, which appears very immature, angry, and colloquial. I find this intro to be very similar to the opening of Great Gatsby as well as the Invisible Man, for all 3 novels start the book off with a narrator who is about to tell a story. All 3 books begin with all of the events taken place already. HHolden's attitude is demonstrated by how he perceives things, alluding his parent's backstory as "David Copperfield crap" and claiming that truth bores him.
ReplyDeleteafter reading various comments and analyzing the first three chapters of the novel, I have come to the conclusion that Holden’s likability varies between my peers. In my opinion he is a unique character that is pleasant reading as a narrator because he is not afraid to be straight forward and speak his mind, it is not often seen that classic literature can be pessimistic but at the same time comical. I can relate to Caulfield’s pessimism because that is how my mind works when I’m having a bad day. It’s refreshing to have a pessimistic character as a narrator, not only does it makes the story interesting but it also makes it unreliable. As Mr. Rodriguez pointed out how it wasn’t proper for teens to behave in this manner in this time period, it is remarkable to read in the comments how people now in days can relate to the protagonist and how in touch he is with the modern teens of this era. By reading how Holden indentifies himself as a “terrific liar” and how he got accepted to different private schools but he still was not motivated with his studies it comes to mind the question of how he still got accepted to one of the best private schools even when they knew about his record of conduct and his grades, it just doesn’t make sense how carefree he can be with his education but still get accepted to one of the best private schools, As Catalina said maybe it’s the connections of the parents and the money that help influence the admission of Holden. Overall, Holden is a character that I believe is going to mature as the chapters go on but until we get to that point we need to first understand more of who he is.
ReplyDelete-Carolina Estrada
The first thought I had picked up after reading the first paragraph of the story was that the main character, Holden Caulfield, was an ignorant and absentminded teen who had a negative perspective on his life and all the things that possibly had effected him in one way or another. I personally found it to be a strong start to a story based off of Salinger's style introducing the main character one aspect of his life at a time. What I picked up regarding his attitude during his meeting with Mr. Spencer was Caulfield was not very open to hear criticism since he would make comments like, "I don't think I'll ever forgive him for reading that crap out loud. I wouldn't've read it out loud to him if he'd written it-- I really wouldn't" which exemplifies his negative response to what Mr. Spencer had to say to him failing his history class along with the others he had failed. How Caulfield reacted to Mr. Spencer laid out how he reacts whenever he talks to people because he somewhat acted the same way toward Ackley when they were conversing in his room. I strongly agree with other students when they say Caulfield is very straightforward, careless, and colloquial due to his choice of words. Throughout the first few chapters he uses foul and poor language when talking to his peers.
ReplyDeleteAt first, I thought I had the setting of the story correct but after reading a few comments from the students before, I am just now realizing that the story could be first starting out from a mental institute because of him stating "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy." in the first paragraph. Realizing this changed up the style of the book since it's now a story of the past leading to the present.
To conclude, I found it very interesting how Caulfield does resemble the teens in today's society due to him being rebellious and having colloquial language. For his personality not being the usual in the 1950s, I would have to say he has a strong mindset when it comes to how he goes about his life compared to how the regular lifestyle is for those during his time.
- Alyssa Caramoan
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading the opening chapters to the book, I got the impression that, as a teenager, Holden Caufield is very independent and ignorant. The first person point of view gives me an idea of the lazy person that Caulfield was. He portrays himself as a troubled student that seeks little to no improvement only because he has "some" concern for his future which he mentioned while being questioned by Mr.Spencer. He shows that he is careless about his education and his little concern for the future shows he lives in the present.
ReplyDeleteHolden tells his story in a sarcastic, informal tone. His thoughts display his foul language as evidenced multiple times throughout the book. For example, he says "He put my goddam paper down then and looked at me like he'd just beaten the hell out of me." He may have poor choice of words in mind, however, he has somewhat respect for his superiors, or Mr. Spencer. While speaking to his soon to be former history teacher, the dialogue from Caulfield consists of "yes, sir" and "no, sir". Throughout the conversation with Mr.Spencer, his thoughts and dialogue aren't consistent with each other.
I personally like the way the author portrays Caulfield as a strong person. He isn't depicted as someone that's sensitive and could care less about other's opinions. The fact that Caulfield seems to be consistent in reading what he is interested in makes me makes me wonder about whether he will find interest in his education and future. I think that there will be a certain point in time where he gets back on his feet. However, this will only be in his own interest.
-Jaevante Valenciano
In the opening sentences of the book, Holden Caulfield comes off as a regular, somewhat rebellious, laid-back teenager, demonstrating an attitude that characterizes the image of many teenagers in our society today, first of all, I think this novel is a classic because Salinger made this character seem very real, and that is why many teenagers have been able to relate to this character for decades. In the first page, I can agree with many of my peers who have already commented and mentioned that he may be writing from a mental institution that he could have been sent to, since this book was published in the early 1950s, it was a time when our country was still very conservative, and teenagers were expected to go to school, act a certain way, and then grow up to have a solid job and get married eventally. Holden's attitude towards school (failing 4 out of 5 classes, and flunking out of many schools) and his little interest in having conversations, let alone maintaining solid relationships with other people showed that he was very different and had strayed away from the traditional values of the time, his attitude being obviously looked down upon by adults, such as his own parents who were already established in society, may have caused them to think that something serious might be wrong with him, since, as I already mentioned, this book was written at a time when people, especially adults, were very close minded, and there was little research to help Holden's situation or illness, if he even had one. I mainly just think that like many teenagers today, Holden was having trouble trying to find his own person and his passion in life, when he mentions he got "pretty run-down" I think he is talking about a low point during the time when his parents found out that he had flunked out of yet another school and was throwing away all that they had planned for him to be able to have a good "normal" future, also, following those words, he says "had to come out here" the word "had" made an impact on me and left me convinced with the idea that he was sent to a mental institution by his parents because he wouldn't have used that word if he had voluntarily gone somewhere to reach out for some kind of help. I also support the idea that he might be in a mental institution because I believe that Holden is a pathological liar. Throughout the book, he even explains in his own words that he is constantly lying for no particular reason, and once he starts telling a lie he can't stop, that could certainly have been a reason for him being in a mental institution at the time. I also believe that he had a hard time opening up to people and telling them how he really feels about things, and perhaps lying about things constantly allowed him to feel safe in masking his emotions to other people, he also trusted very few people, how he talks of his conversations with his roommates shows that he didn't have many friends and was mainly interested in observing how people act from the outside rather than engaging in conversations with them.
ReplyDeleteJust from the opening of the book, Holden's attitude comes off as rebellious. He seems to be holding some type of grudge towards how his life is in general. For example, the first page of the book, Holden begins to explain his life and his parents but then becomes "touchy", (as he says his parents are), and says, "Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything." Holden saying something like that, right in the beginning of the story it makes me think that Holden has issues internally with his family and himself. The clues I picked up to determine where Holden is telling his story after reading the first page, was when he tells where his brother , DB, lives which is Hollywood. Holden states, " He's in Hollywood. That isn't too far from this crumby place...", this leads me to think that Holden is in LA somewhere, escaping from his mess of a family and he's willing to give us readers the story behind how he got there.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the way JD Salinger presented Holden to the readers. Personally at first, Holden seemed like an arrogant jerk, that was stupid enough to flunk out of high school. Again. However, I believe Salinger sets up Holden to be perceived some kind of "horrible" guy only so that Holden would begin to grow on the reader as an independent young man, trying to find his way in the world.
-Breana Barnes
At the beginning of the novel, the main character, Holden Caulfield, appears to be very pessimistic and has a rather negative outlook on life. Many of us today do not think much of his rebellious, stereotypical teenage attitude, however, this introduction serves not only as an introduction to the story, but as an introduction to the concept of teenage rebellion to the past society. During the time this novel was published, conformity was a societal norm while rebellion was not tolerated, making Holden a controversial and iconic character. In the first page of the novel, Holden describes his life very negatively, which is shown through his use of phrases such as "my lousy childhood," "that stuff bores me," and "they're also touchy as hell." Holden's attitude in the introduction portrays his overall personality and hints to the readers that throughout the novel, he will continue to have this negative outlook on life as he grows up and that living in such a strict and conformist society will affect him. In the first few chapters of the story, Holden's personality is further revealed as we discover that he has failed and is failing out of school and takes part in bad habits such as smoking. We also learn more through his personal thoughts regarding other characters in the novel. I believe that Salinger created such a controversial character to open the minds of readers from the 1950s and to make them realize that conformity and such strict standards are unrealistic.
ReplyDelete-Megan Vu
The very first page of this book has a clear indication of the writing style of our narrator Holden. One can infer that his personality is very sarcastic and rebellious according to the 1950's standards. Utilizing the word "crap," which in today's society is a light cuss word that is not very offensive, reveals his rebellious personality. I actually like how Holden addresses the audience within the first few sentences and alludes to David Copperfield. Salinger seems to structure the first several sentences in a way that tells the reader "This is not a traditional novel. Let's cut to the chase." Salinger also reveals that Holden is actually an honest fellow, even though he later calls himself a liar. Overall, I believe the first page reveals a lot of information about the character: where he is, how he is, and what he is mainly going to address throughout the novel.
ReplyDeleteAfter beginning to read the book I agree with Daphne in that in the beginning of the novel Holden automatically comes off as angry at the world and bitter. I also agree to the fact that a reason as to why he felt this way was because of possibly something traumatic happening in his life, which would cause him to change his whole outlook on life. Along with the fact that he uses such foul language to describe his experiences, characters, and his views gives me mixed emotions. When I first began to read, it disturbed me and in a way made me uncomfortable, therefore my first impression of Holden was negative, but as I got further into the novel I began to laugh at his comments and began to enjoy reading his thoughts. To answer Daphne's question I can relate to Holden in that I can also be pretty blunt and straight to the point kind of person. I feel as though it is easier the having to tell or explain a whole situation.
ReplyDeleteNow to answer Cassandra's question I believe that Holden developed his critical and rebellious attitude as a result of his experience growing up because to bring up what Daphne stated once again he has had some dramatic experiences in his life. One that caught my attention was the passing of his late brother Allie, he was able to be so descriptive about something so simple such as Allie's baseball glove. I was able to feel the love he had for his brother and how much he dearly missed him. I was also able to tell that he has a temper, which was proven when his brother passed because he talked about how he broke all the windows and broke his own hand.
In conclusion my first impression of Holden was that he was foul mouthed, blunt, and had a negative outlook on life, and at first I didn't really enjoy his character, but as I have gotten further into the book I have begun to have sympathy for him and has begun to grow on me.
After reading the first paragraph, as well as the first three chapters of “The Catcher in the Rye,” it is evident that the protagonist, Holden, is strong minded and quite different from a typical teen in the 1950s. Holden makes it obvious that he does not like going into detail about much and it could be due to the fact that he doesn’t necessarily enjoy his life. He maintains a negative attitude about life in general. For example Holden points out that, “That isn’t too far from this crumby place…” Him describing one of the settings of the book as “crumby” already sets the mood as one that doesn’t seem too pleasurable for Holden. As the book goes on, Holden’s bitter attitude continues. He has recently been kicked out of school and has yet to inform his parents. Along with that, he remains an outcast by not wanting to socialize. For instance, while everyone is at the big game, Holden is doing other stuff and is away from everyone else. Holden may get judged a lot by his peers for being rebellious and antisocial, however I believe that Holden is actually very similar to many teens today. There is a slim percentage of teens that actually abide by their parent’s rules or even school rules and many lock themselves in their rooms all day to play on their computer. Teens today aren’t all the same and in fact, there are many outcasts similar to that of Holden. The first paragraph of “The Catcher in the Rye” provides a lot of insight as to who Holden really is and shows teenagers today that we can all relate to him in some form.
ReplyDelete-Caroline Beel
As I began to read Catcher and the Rye, it didn't necessarily occur to me that Holden Caulfield was writing this narrative from a psychiatric institution, rather I truly believed that it was more of a personal journal. However, after re-reading the first page and thoroughly analyzing this first paragraph it came to my attention that if Holden were to be writing a personal narrative he would have been more detailed. However, what really caught my attention through my second read was when Holden Caulfield begins the paragraph by saying, "If you really want to hear about it...". Personally this justifies why I, along with several other of my peers believe that this is more of a journal written by force, as if he was writing to a psychoanalyst or a physiatrist in order to express his feelings. This is evident primarily because if this was a personal journal the introductory paragraph wouldn't start off with that line. This is important because it truly sets the tone for the following chapters. As the novel continues it is evident that Holden isn't the average teenager. As previously mentioned, rebellious teenagers are pretty much "in" nowadays, but during the 1950s, being trouble and rebellious, such as Holden Caulfield, was pretty much frowned upon and rare. Lastly, it is pretty much evident that the only justification for Holden's rebellious attitude is because he doesn't truly fit in with anyone. As the novel proceeds the reader is able to notice that even though Holden states that he likes a lot of his classmates, he always tends to find something to criticize in a quite polite manner, as if he were almost doing it secretly in order to make his audience believe that he actually did get along with his classmates.
ReplyDelete-Beverly Andrea Gonzalez
After reading the first three chapters of The Catcher In the Rye, the book has captured my undivided attention. My first impression of this book was a very dull and more literary type of book. This was only for chapter 1 though. As I continued on to chapter 2, I could really relate with what Holden was saying. This is what really captured my attention and motivated me to keep reading. The fact that I can really understand the decisions and feelings of the narrator really keep the book interesting for me. The type of narrator I think Holden will be is a somewhat unreliable narrator with an emphasis on being self centered. Holden even starts off the third chapter with "I'M THE MOST terrific liar you ever saw in your life." Something that I cannot stop wondering as I read through the first 3 chapters was a sense of irregularity. I have a feeling as if the narrator is a somewhat special type of teenager in the time period he is currently in. I started questioning this when he mentioned how he has a large amount of gray hair and the somewhat weird description of how sometimes he acted as older or younger than his actual age. Although I have only read the first three chapters of the book so far, I can tell that this book will be a very interested read for me.
ReplyDelete-Rejiryc Perez
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ReplyDeleteIn the first sentence it is obvious that it is told in a first person point of view and that the narrator, Holden Caulfield, is speaking to someone else. In my first read I did not know who he was talking to, but after re-reading the first chapter, I noticed some parts that hinted who was the audience of Holden’s story. There is a part in which Holden says, “I’ll tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me...” This quote is a clue that J.D. Salinger gives us to figure out that Holden is speaking to a psychoanalyst in a mental hospital. Even from the beginning of the book, Holden’s rebellious way of acting is noticeable. He has an extremely vulgar way of speaking since practically every statement he says has at least one curse word in it. Also, the negative way he speaks about his family and his school show how his mentality is like the one of most teens today. Finally, the way he speaks freely gives Holden a carefree attitude that is typical of rebellious teenagers of the twenty-first century. This attitude and personality given to Holden is also shown in the author’s writing style. Salinger’s style of writing is as complex as Holden because it is written as a stream of consciousness since there is always a sudden change in the topic being spoken about. Salinger does a great job in portraying the main characters personality in every way possible.
ReplyDelete-Cynthia Rosas
After closely reading the opening paragraph, my first impression of Holden Caulfield's attitude and personality is exactly how Mr. Rodriguez described his character as being, "a deeply alienated, rebellious, cynical, mixed-up teen." I perceived this impression of Holden from his vulgar and simplistic diction, using words such as "crap", "touchy as hell", and "goddam". At the same time, however, I respect Holden because he is not afraid to tell his audience what he personally thinks. This allows the reader to gain insight of the struggles he has within himself. Holden's choice of negative and pessimistic words give the novel a sad, depressing and digressive tone. Holden also "skips around" when trying to tell his story because he gives a limited amount of information, leaving the reader with many questions to be answered. For example, Holden says, "I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me... I mean that's all I told D.B. about..." (Salinger 3). This shows that Holden decides to start telling his story without giving his audience much background information.
ReplyDeleteAs I continued to read through the first three chapters, I discovered that Holden sees life idealistically, and the first-person narration of the novel gives a limited point of view. For instance, when Holden visits Mr. Spencer, he grows uncomfortable and leaves because he couldn't stand Mr. Spencer's aged appearance, or the lecture he was giving him about life. This is significant because it shows that the ugliness and hypocrisy that surrounds Holden bothers him.
-Shalin Nirmal
As stated already by my peers, the narrator, Holden Caulfield, is a very unique character. In my point of view I feel as if it is evident that through his attitude and his language that he is rather a typical delinquent depicted in movies. Thus, leading me to take a liking to him since characters such as himself tend to have unique personalities and often go through interesting journeys.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator's informal language is reveals Holden's immaturity and is evident of his youth as a teenager. Especially in the first sentence, Holden starts off with, "If you really want to hear about it..." The first sentence right off the bat reveals that not only does Holden recognize his audience but that he is in a way saying "since I'm telling a story, I might as well tell them about me." I really admire Holden's informality because it reveals his 50's teenage character which I can personally relate to. he makes it feel as if I am talking to another teenager in a casual conversation. His sense of being care-free really identifies in which the book was written and takes me back in time to what it would have been like in the 50's/60's. Holden often goes off topic or adds a side note to what he is explaining, which I also admire because it shows his thought process and allows me to understand him better. This is evident when Holden claiming that it all started in Pencey Prep in which he goes on about how it was advertised in many magazines and how it is nothing like it says it is. He then ends the paragraph followed by him saying "Anyways, it was the Saturday of the football game with Saxon Hall." It shows that Holden is aware of himself drifting from the topic, yet we understand what he is trying to say.
-Jered Relopez
Within the introductory paragraph, our narrator reveals a rather fond description of our protagonist Holden Caulfield, as he narrates a rather unusual self-descriptive introduction. Given by Mr. Rodriguez, the description of the ordinary teenager at the time the book has taken place is offly quite different that what Holden Caulfield introduces himself as. The diction and attitude portrayed within this paragraph had revealed to me the type of character Holden Caulfield. The informality, the profanity, all introduce a rather disobedient, troublesome child. His use of informal, colloquial language that consists of profanity created a perspective in my mind of a rather lax, typical teenager, who isn’t afraid of what others really have to say about them. He appeared to me in the beginning of this novel as a “straight-up” sort of person that basically puts himself out there. He also reveals to us his own personal understanding of his family members, especially with his attitude in his brief description of his family.
ReplyDeleteAs stated in the first sentence of the novel, “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them” (1). This had evidently revealed to me the type of person Holdren truly is, casually describing himself in a manner of using words such as; “lousy childhood”, “kind of crap”, stating “I don’t feel like going into it… that stuff bores me”. All of which developed my own perspective of how lousy, immature, laxed, rebellious he truly is, descriptive words that fit the typical teenager in our society today. He also reveals his feelings about his parents within the attitude he has as he described his parents in this introductory paragraph, illustrating that his parents as strict and irrational.
As far as Holden’s relatability, I would have to agree with Jassin Reyes and would definitely say that his behaviors are commonly seen in today’s society. Holden clearly has a rebellious mindset against his parents and teachers. Holden obviously does not seem to show any concern for his education, which has to be funded by his parents. Failing almost all of his classes, Holden knows that he will face consequences and chooses to run away instead.
-Rendell Miguel
looking back to the first page of the novel, J.D. Salinger's introduction surprised me in a sense that it is very unusual to start the introduction to a book with " IF YOUR REALLY WANT TO HEAR about it...," taking in consideration that it was in all capitalized words; I believe that the author did so to automatically catch the reader’s attention and create a personal connection between Holden and us readers. In agreeance with my peers the attitude and diction utilized portrays Holden as a trouble maker, uneducated, annoyed teenager, whom as Mr. Rodriguez describes, fits the characteristics of a teenager at the time the novel takes place.
ReplyDeleteI related Holden’s attitude to a teenager whom doesn’t worry about school, is always immature and frantically rushes at the end of the semester in attempt to increase his grade due to the colloquial language that is used from the start of the book and continues throughout the novel. As I continued to read what I noticed and found interesting was that he explains how he had a brother who was well off because he had a Jaguar, extremely intelligent and the way he described his brother made me feel like the brother was the one who had the most attention in family and therefore Holden’s attitude was more immature and rebellious in a way to get attention from his family and his peers.
-Nubia Alvarez
From the beginning of the story the narrator opens up saying ''you'll probably want to know is where I was born...'' but ends up not even telling us any background information about himself or where he comes from. This makes the story some what mysterious. The fact that he decided to ignore his past and not care to give us the minimum information about his past makes me wonder if it is something bad or good that he did. On the other hand i understand sometimes as a teenager you do stuff that looking back at it you never want to remember or even talk about it.
ReplyDeleteChapter one gives you an insight of where the plot is taking place but i still find it hard to understand where exactly its taking place since Holden is not very specific in his locations. Holden's use of language makes it very disturbing since he uses words like ''hell, goddamn.'' Holden is the typical rebellious teenager who is failing four out of five of his classes, maybe he is up to no good because there is no way you could be failing those many classes. What interested me the most was that he decided to visit his history teacher. A student who is failing classes should probably have a bad relationship with his teacher, but instead Holden went all the way to old Mr.Spencers house and cared to ask how he was doing, that seems very generous and caring for a defiant teenager.
-Ayline Ruelas
Holden Caufield has struck me as one of the most interesting protagonists I've seen. From the way he thinks to the way he speaks, I feel like I've never seen a protagonist that is so cynical towards everything. His personality was rather off putting throughout the first few chapters, but I feel that I've grown somewhat accustomed to Caulfield. However, even if I'm accustomed to him, I hardly find anywhere in the story where I relate to him. Some earlier comments suggested he might start off the story in a psychiatric ward, and I wouldn't doubt the possibility given his mentality. At times he seems apathetic towards the world and the things around him, but the next minute, he switches to a critical attitude and starts ranting about everything wrong with the world. He seems to think that he's the one that's always right and the world around him is always wrong. Another one of his traits is his constant contradictions. This is more evident in later chapters because he'll usually make his declarative statement and contradict it in one or two chapters. And of course, who could forget his compulsive lying. Holden is so fond of lying and getting reactions out of people that it almost seems sociopathic at times. He lies just for the fun of it not worrying about repercussions at all. All of these ridiculous traits make Holden Caulfield so hard to relate to, yet oddly enough, I'm entranced by his story. His entire personality is so out there that I can't help but be drawn to his narrative as he criticizes and lies and criticizes some more. I don't know what to make of Caulfield, but one thing is certain, he's captivated my attention for three consecutive hours.
ReplyDelete-Zade Younis
Holden Caufield has struck me as one of the most interesting protagonists I've seen. From the way he thinks to the way he speaks, I feel like I've never seen a protagonist that is so cynical towards everything. His personality was rather off putting throughout the first few chapters, but I feel that I've grown somewhat accustomed to Caulfield. However, even if I'm accustomed to him, I hardly find anywhere in the story where I relate to him. Some earlier comments suggested he might start off the story in a psychiatric ward, and I wouldn't doubt the possibility given his mentality. At times he seems apathetic towards the world and the things around him, but the next minute, he switches to a critical attitude and starts ranting about everything wrong with the world. He seems to think that he's the one that's always right and the world around him is always wrong. Another one of his traits is his constant contradictions. This is more evident in later chapters because he'll usually make his declarative statement and contradict it in one or two chapters. And of course, who could forget his compulsive lying. Holden is so fond of lying and getting reactions out of people that it almost seems sociopathic at times. He lies just for the fun of it not worrying about repercussions at all. All of these ridiculous traits make Holden Caulfield so hard to relate to, yet oddly enough, I'm entranced by his story. His entire personality is so out there that I can't help but be drawn to his narrative as he criticizes and lies and criticizes some more. I don't know what to make of Caulfield, but one thing is certain, he's captivated my attention for three consecutive hours.
ReplyDelete-Zade Younis
Since the beginning of the novel, the narrator Holden Caulfield gives out the sense that he is in fact, intractable and quite judgmental. From the very start the novel catches my attention due to the terms that are utilized, since these words do not normally appear in novels written in the 1950's , words like "crap", "damn", and "hell". These terms with no doubt displayed a sense of discourteousness taking in consideration that most young teens in the 1950's did not identify themselves with these type of terms since they were considered as vulgar vocabulary. However, readers in today's society, in my opinion appraise these words as daily terms and this connects with the historical perspective provided by Mr. Rodriguez. Most young teens today feel the importance to go through a rebellious stage and this is the reason why I think that us readers can certainly relate to Holden Caulfield.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, Holden Caulfield uncovered a side of him that appeared to be quite judgmental. He introduced his brother and he right away criticized his ways of living as well as his career, " Now he is out in Hollywood, D.B, being a prostitute." (Page 4) This in my opinion revealed how Caulfield denied to share out the fact that his brother actually obtained money due to his success as an author. In addition to his brother, Caulfield also introduced Mr. spencer who was an old history teacher of his. He clarified that he went for a quick visit and the first observation shared was Mr. Spencer's appearance, " I don't much like to see old guys in their pajamas and bath-robes anyway, their bumpy old chests are always showing and their legs, old guys' legs, at beaches and places, always look so white and unhairy." ( page 10) This in fact with no doubt, proved to me that Caulfield can be judgmental as well as sarcastic.
Nevertheless, I am eager to see how Holden Caulfields way of being gets him through daily situations since he is certainly unpredictable, yet a very interesting narrator.
-Yaressy Garcia
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DeleteIn response to my peer, Yaressy Garcia, I can agree that Holden definity shows an judgemental and pessimistic attitude towards most of his surroundings. After reading the first couple of chapters in the novel, I started to notice that Holden uses foul language. In society today, some teenagers can relate to Holden in a way due to the fact that many of us tend to use those words such as "damn" and "hell" in daily vocabulary. However, I was quite surprise to see these terms from Holden especially since the book was published in the early 1950s. As Yaressy has stated, "Take in consideration that most young teens in the 1950s did not identify themselves with these type of terms since they were considered as vuglar language." Also, Holden displays that he is a rebellious teenager since he doesnt seem to care about his education, and he doesnt care what others think of him or have to say to him
DeleteHolden shows a side of him to be rebellious. He states, " They kicked me out... I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all... They gave me frequent warning to start applying myself i didnt do it. " (page 6) This shows that Holden is rebellious because he doesnt care about his school work. After all the times they tried to help him, he still wouldn't put in the effort. In addition to his school work, he also showed that he is rebellious with his history teacher, Mr. Spencer. We can see this in a scene that involves holden and Mr. Spencer talking. "Life is a game that one plays according to the rules… yes sir. I know it… game my ass, " (page 11) This conversation between Holden and his history teacher displays how Holden is rebellious since he does not take in consideration the advice being given to him. Lets point out the fact that Mr. Spencer is also an older man. After reading this scene you also notice that Holden can be sarcastic towards situations.
After anaylzing the first 3 chapters you can see that Holden is a teenager with a trouble past. I ask myself since he had a rough past, is his way of being the reason why he is doesnt seem to care much about school and how he puts off a judmental attitude?
In the beginning of the novel holden automatically shows you that he is a rebel because when he says, "the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and my lousy childhood was like,". This shows the reader that holden didn't have a very exciting childhood. Another example of him being a rebel would be the vocabulary he uses in the first page and how he talks about his parents it shows the reader that he doest really care that much about how he presents himself
ReplyDelete-Joshua Juarez
Just like everyone previously stated, it is obvious that from the very first page you can get a sense that he is a very rebellious teen for his time and he probably would too in our society. The social norm for their society was to conform but he was different from that. Just from reading the first sentence where he says, " .. but i don't feel like gong into it, if you want to know the truth." , you can tell that he has a negative attitude towards things. He also uses vocabulary such as "kind of crap" to express how he feels. It is obvious that he doesn't seem to be interested in anything in any sort of way. He goes on to say, "..that stuff bores me.", which evidently shows how he isn't intrigued with anything. Or this could all possibly be read wrong, and he could possibly act as if he doesn't care to avoid having to talk about it more in depth. Also he states about this "madman" situation the had happened to him and I believe that he potentially means he went to a mental hospital of some sort. He also leaves some kind of mystery as to how he didn't give out any details about his life. Holden seems as if he doesn't really care for anything which shows how he is "rebellious" in the sense that he is different from others.
ReplyDelete-Angel Villareal
In retrospect, I remember reading the opening paragraph and having to look up "David Copperfield" to make sure the book was not referring to the street magician; during that initial glance, the book could have already fooled me as contemporary literature (when it comes to literary classics, you will probably never get a narrator as colloquial as Holden!!). For this reason, the opening itself is iconic given the time the book was published.
ReplyDeleteOn first impression, Holden's personality, to me, seems more brusque than rebellious. The kid is not afraid to speak his mind, and although the line between the aforementioned personalities can range anywhere from synonymous to distinct, there is a difference in the way each would act as a narrator.
After rereading the opening paragraph, I stick with my first impression that Holden is a bit brusque, evidenced by his bluntness. From a general standpoint, the first paragraph, let alone the whole page, feels like a stranger introducing you to his whole life story. Being a diary, this sense is quite natural, but what sets Holden apart is the fact that his mind never seems to agree with itself; looking forward, his thoughts never seem finished before they hit the page. Whether or not Salinger's intention was to link Holden's youth and internal confusion to immaturity, the book has the spunk of a mind moving a thousand miles an hour- just like the protagonist himself.
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DeleteAs I reread the novel, J.D. Salinger skillfully developed a very outrageous character regarding the timeline and environment Holden Caulfield lived in. His use of profanity words throughout the beginning of the story, such as "my ass" (7) and "goddam" (50),allowed the readers to immediately notice the difference between Holden and the rest of the teenagers. It was during post-World War era, and he, as alluded in the novel, is from a wealthy family. However, he did not act as one of the elite students as expected from him; instead, he rebelled and refused to follow along the criteria that had been set for him.
ReplyDeleteIn the opening paragraphs, one can also notice that Holden has a very different style of beginning his own story. Just like Sabrina mentioned, he does not want to write an emotional narrative concerning his life. For "David Copperfield" was an autobiographical writing as well, Holden thus develops a stark contrast between his style to the traditional method. This rejection also stands to represent the rebellious nature of Holden Caulfield.
Returning to the introductory paragraphs after finishing the novel several times provides a new light to the way he begins his story. Holden's resentment to his environment, whether or not he is aware of its severity, caused him to instinctively speak, act, and live against the ideals of the time. At the same time, however, I was able to see that he also wanted to belong somewhere.
As I re-read the opening paragraph, I am immediately reminded of Caulfield's snotty attitude. As Andre Yee stated, Caulfield is not afraid to speak his mind. He is a rebellious teenaged boy who does not beat around the bush. Caulfield begins the story at Pency Prep. His language his very informal as is his tone. The use of the words "crap", "damn", and "hell" all reflect the informality of his tone. Caulfield's vulgar language emphasizes how he is a sarcastic, snotty teenager .
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the introductory paragraphs, I was quick to notice the distinct colloquial language of the narrator. While the original post on this thread had stated that there are many differences between youth culture in the past and youth culture in the present, Holden appears to be as relaxed and independent as the youth in the present day. Rather than seeming archaic, the tone and style that Salinger utilizes has aged well in comparison to other works from the same time period. This allows for audiences in the modern day to more easily comprehend the intended messages. One sentence in particular stuck me as being especially modern. This is when the narrator states, "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy," (page 3). In addition to multiple curses and a dismissive attitude, Holden expresses a bold and aloof attitude atypical to the common, controlled standards observed in the past. This accentuates his character as unique and unorthodox, especially in comparison to characters from other older texts. The author is not fearful of creating a protagonist that may be unappealing to the readers. As a result, the author creates an interesting premise for the proceedings of the novel, sparking interest in many new readers.
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning of the novel Holden came of to me as a quite talkative teenager who enjoys speaking his mind. He begins by giving his opinion on many things, his parents, his brother and his life. When saying it, he says it in a way in which he does not really seem to care about what other people think of him. Since the beginning of the novel he comes off as a casual, talkative teenager, like many in our time. But one cannot forget that this is a different time period, where teenagers regularly did not speak their mind and if they did it was seen as odd. So reading the opening at first, Holden seemed like a regular teenager, but once you are introduced to other characters you begin to see that they are not very much like Holden and that Holden holds a very unique personality for his time. Holden criticizes almost everything, while other characters do not really seem to care, keeping in mind the time period. The words that serve as clues to his attitude are words like “crap”, “hell”, “goddamn”, “madman”, and phrases like “It killed me”. This also adds to the writer’s very casual style, because our narrator is a teenage boy. I also want to add the idea of Holden referring to everyone as “phonies”, at first I did not exactly understand what he was trying to say, but more into the novel I thought maybe he is referring to people who are too typical and the same as others in society and that might begin to bother him because he sees them as superficial people just trying to fit in. Holden might say this because he himself is different than many other teenagers.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first few pages of the book again, I understand Holden Caulfield's character more thoroughly. At first, I was not fond of his character due to his negative introduction in the novel. He seemed like he does not care about explaining himself or his childhood, since he referred to it as "lousy". Also, I learned he is a very open person who will say whatever is on his mind. However, after rereading the first page, I agree with some of my peers who like Holden because we can relate to him. His character was easy to understand because I could see the way he acts is based on experiences in his difficult past which made him like that.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning, it was obvious he was planning to tell his story, and how he became the person he is afterwards. When I first read the book, I assumed he was currently in jail or a mental hospital as he was telling his story. In addition, rereading the first page made me understand where he is telling his story at the beginning. He starts with the Pencey Preparatory Academy, and how he is leaving because he was kicked out. This is the start of where his journey began.
- Janelle Douglas
After reading the first three chapters of the novel, I can say that I did not find it notably difficult to develop a sense of liking to Holden's character, as did some of my peers. It is quite clear, however, that Holden possesses characteristics such as being cynical and pessimistic, which can be expected from a teenager from today. Knowing that in the novel's time period teenagers were not expected to behave that way made Holden's character much more interesting to me. The fact that he is an outcast in his own world of emotions draws me in not to criticize him, but to try and comprehend him in a world of conformists. It is not that I necessarily relate to his character but that his thoughts and perceptions intrigue me as to figure out if his behavior is born out of environmental influences or personal dilemmas. I believe that authority figures such as his History teacher Mr. Spencer have become frustrated with Holden's behavior since it is uncommon and since he does not seem to admit to his faults but rather runaway from them by masking his emotions. To me, I admire Holden's honesty, but I also see that he is somewhat afraid to reveal his true colors. I say this due to the scene where he is confronted by Mr. Spencer about his final grade in his class. I noticed that Holden seemed to dislike when Mr. Spencer repeated things such as "Absolutely nothing" when speaking about what Holden knew content-wise in his class. For me, this was a necessary scene to reveal the narrator's emotions in terms of accepting his reality; what that is still remains a bit unclear to me. Also, I find that this whole notion of complete utter negativity coming from Holden, is flawed. Yes, Holden prefers to be viewed by his readers as mostly contemptuous; as this is the only way he seems to seek attention because most of the time he is punished or scorned. But in the scene where Ackley visits Holden's dorm, there is a moment where you start to see Holden not being so critical of at least somebody. When Ackley begins to rant about the reasons why he hates Holden's room mate, Stradlater, Holden seemingly defends Stradlater and later adds that he thinks "Stradlater's all right. He's not too bad." and "You don't know him, that's the trouble." This contradicts when he claims to call others phonies, because you can bet that most of the time, he does not really know and understand the person himself.
ReplyDelete- Daniela Vargas
After first Initially read the book I read it again in order to try and better understand the main character. Holden's character attends what seems to be wealthy schools but his language and use of words such as "phonies" and the phrases "and all" make it seem as if he isn't as educated. The first few chapters made Holden's character seem impulsive, blunt, and rude. His attitude towards people and his life are quite pessimistic which also adds onto his character. Due to his character he can be seen as an outcast but in actuality he just sees himself as different from the norm of his peers. It is hard to like Holden's character due to his flaws but not as hard to relate to him and his thoughts. The deeper you get into the book the more you begin to understand Holden and why he acts the way he does causing him to become relateable in a sense to todays teens.
ReplyDelete-Coraleigh Casasola
After reading the first paragraph I could not dismiss the extremely informal and colloquial tone of the paragraph and immediately distinguished it as a young narrator. By using language such as "crap", "hell" and "goddam" I was also able to realize that he was perhaps rebellious and deviant. He also displays a detached and nonchalant attitude in merely the first paragraph. By seemingly mocking his parents and dismissing his brothers fortune with the success of his book, it is evidenced that he is either annoyed or aloof to his family and others. However, the opening provided little insight on the backstory of the author and leaves much to the imagination of the reader. As far as the start of the story it is made clear in the paragraphs ahead what had happened, and where he will narrate about the "madman stuff that happened to him around last Christmas".
Delete-Andrea Cruz
In the opening page of the book, I automatically assumed that Holden was telling the story from his older self. With the statements "He's going to drive me home when I go home next month maybe", and "Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep".just like many of my peers, I felt that Holden is currently being held in either a psychiatric hospital, or jail. Also, Holden's claim to have experienced "madman stuff" gave me a hint on where he is currently staying.
ReplyDeleteThrough the first few sentences of the novel, I noticed that Holden is a very impatient person, all the while having a very insensitive way of speaking. He does not have a longing desire to tell a whole life story, but wishes to only speak of things as he pleases. Using words such as "lousy", "crap", "hell", and "goddam", I began to build a slight sense of disliking and awkwardness toward the main character, as did my peers. However, the way Holden presents himself within the first page made me more interested to read and figure out what type of person he really is. Taking into consideration that he is a teenager in the book, I am interested in how he changes or if he may stay the same. As of now, most of my peers and I have recognized the rebellious and cynical traits that the main character has displayed.
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DeleteWhen I began reading this book, I quickly realized the rebellious character of Holden that was mentioned in this blog post. With the consistent use of profanity and the overall colloquial feel of his narration, I could infer that he was young and someone who had an opinion for a range of topics. One thing that I also realized is the pattern in Holden's narration that you can see in the first page and later on in the novel. When he is telling a story he tends to divert slightly off-topic with an anecdote or extra details from time to time. As a reader, it was slightly irritating as I just wanted quick progression in the plot but I believe that Salinger wrote the story as such most likely because he wanted to make the reader feel as if he/she is having a conversation with Holden himself (since the story revolves around him retelling a part of his past). Also these constant anecdotes and details can also serve as a way to develop our character since we can learn little things about him that may be directly implied or suggested. Overall, this book has caught my interest and I can see its appeal.
ReplyDelete-Eric Solorio
(Constant edits were to add my name to the bottom)
The first page of Catcher in the Rye gives us insight into the bitter qualities of our protagonist, Holden Caulfield. From cover to cover, we see Holden take use of expletive vocabulary left and right which, for that time, is indicative of his projection of the quintessential rebellious teen that we've come to know as a commonality in contemporary society. Right from the very beginning we learn that Holden HATES "phonies," which we later learn can range from people conforming to the niceties of polite society, to a person giving a simple and trivial compliment in order to create a good impression. Additionally, Holden lacks patience and respect towards his parents and thinks that their being "nice" basically warrants them a phony label along with the fact that he thinks they're "touchy as hell" and would freak out if he ever shared anything personal about them.
ReplyDeleteWe also learn that Holden is going to tell us about a past event when he says, "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas," which also indicates that he will narrate from his (first person) point of view.
In response to Layla's comment, the bitter qualities that are generally stated by Holden Caulfield-in my case rather than produce a negative impression-have developed an undeniable interest and curiosity of what he may do next. When Holden exemplifies his hatred towards "phonies," it triggered my sense of empathy. At first, I was confused to what exactly defines as a "phony" in Holden's perspective until he went in depth with Ossenburger's speech within the third chapter. Applying the analysis that Megan Vu stated earlier in the comments, I also agree that the purpose of this novel was to bring realization of how conformity is ruining individuals, building up a sheer facade that differentiates real people and mere phonies. However, that only seemed to be the case for the first three chapters. Within the next three chapters, it appears to me that the discussion had shifted from his dislike for phonies to his actions that he deemed worth mentioning. Therefore, it is better to determine what exactly the purpose of this novel is only until after reading all the later chapters.
Delete-Carla Alipit Francisco
Reading the first chapters of the book I've come to learn that Holden is pessimistic and a hypocritical. He mostly emphasizes his hatred for people who are "phonies" which is ironic since he is one itself. He finds it easy to lie to other people, even for something simple. Holden explains that he is " the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life."(pg. 22), being a liar deals with the fact that you are not truthful. Holden makes it clear enough that he hates "phonies" and having him going around making up lies about almost everything, makes him a phony.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that Salinger has Holden introduce himself in the first chapter differently from other book introductions. In most books, if the story is told in first person, the character usually gives brief story about their life and what it happening to them, Holden does the opposite. He immediately showcases an annoyance to the reader and tells the reader he hates making introductions. Now knowing that this book was published in 1951, during time where teens were meant to be "innocent". Holden does not perceive any innocence, he is rather rebellious and speaks his mind freely. He has no care against what other people think and only cares for what he has to say.
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ReplyDeleteAs stated several times by more than a hundred fellow students, as well as Mr. Rodriguez, I also came to realization that Holden Caulfield has a rebellious and somewhat cynical nature. However, at first, those traits were not immediately apparent to me.
ReplyDeleteThe introductory paragraph did not put me into much shock, as it may have for other students, because I was accustomed to this sort of hostile, teenage perspective that is usually used in John Green's novels. However, it DID shock me when I realized that clearly, Salinger had written this novel decades before John Green had published his series of novels. After this realization, and reading how teenagers were suppose to act in the 1950's, I began to understand why at the time this novel was written, Holden's persona may have been seen as absolutely disrespectful and cynical.
I was also able to deduce that Holden was telling this story about his past self because of the phrases he uses such as "I am not going to tell you my whole goddamn autobiography..." and "Where I want to start telling is.." that indicate the time in which he narrates this story is the "present."
Similarly to an observation made by Shalin Nirmal, I was also able to notice how Holden was jumping around from a topic to another. However, I disagree to Shalin's comment in which he states that this technique of Holden "skipping around" leaves "...the reader with many questions to be answered" (Shalin Nirmal). I believe that the purpose of portraying Holden's inability to retain a single topic for a prolonged period of time was to highlight his short attention span, and make the reader aware of Holden's current mental state, which is not stable.
-Jennifer Ma
In response to what Jennifer said about not completely noticing Holden's deviant traits from the introductory paragraph, I also was not very surprised. Additionally to what Jennifer and Shalin noted about Holden "skipping around" and confusing the reader, I think that the part where he talks about his Oral Expression class to Mr. Antolini in chapter 24 is a perfect example of why he leaves us with so many unanswered questions, because he discusses how he hated when classmates yelled "Digression!" and also says that he actually likes when people digress because he feels that it makes things more interesting. So, perhaps he leaves us these unanswered questions in order to do just that: Make his story interesting. What do you guys think?
DeleteAfter reading the few first chapters of the book I think that you can tell Holden has a very diverse way of thinking. He does not open the book with where he was born or how great his childhood was. He simply tells you that all of that bores him and then he follows up with slight details on him and his family and elaborates on those details later on in the story. Opening like this showed a little flare to Holden personally because his writing style is so different than what you would expect in this particular time frame. This creates Holden's attitude that is different, relatable and overall blunt. Words that prove his particular diverse tone and writing style could be seen when Holden talks about his parents and says, "They're nice and all-im not saying that-but there also touchy as hell". Right off the bat after reading that sentence you can tell that Holden has a straight forward blunt attitude that teens today can relate too.
ReplyDelete-Isaiah Wilson
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ReplyDeleteAt a glance, Holden Caulfield seems to be a very interesting choice for a narrator. From the first paragraph alone, it is clear that he is rather frank, nonchalant, and often selfish. Not only are these traits communicated by instances such as calling his parents “touchy” and labeling his brother as a “prostitute” for involving himself in Hollywood’s industries, but the way that he delivers his story is unfiltered in the sense that he says things the way that he wants to. For example, he implements vulgar language like “crap”, “goddam”, “hell” and “prostitute” -- all of which are negatively seen by general audiences to varying degrees. This proves to be a considerably concerning factor as it shows that he is the type of teenager that many people of his time would not respect since they are typically expected to be conservative and conforming; which, clearly, are qualities that Holden does not have. Although I mentioned that the nature of Holden’s speech is unfiltered and frank, he also appears to be a very suspicious narrator as he notes at various points of his monologue that he “doesn’t feel like” sharing certain areas of his life (i.e. his “lousy childhood” or his parents) that may either be crucial for the audience to fully understand his perspective, or detrimental to his character as it may negatively affect the reader’s impression of him. This communicates that Holden may be a manipulative narrator who shapes his story to his advantage, which proves to be a plausible suspicion as he expresses later in the book that he relishes in giving himself a new identity and lying to people that he does not know.
ReplyDeleteAs far as understanding where he is telling his story in the beginning of the book, I wondered why Holden was near Hollywood (“He’s in Hollywood. That isn’t too far from this crumby place, and he visits me practically every week end” (Salinger 3).) because I had prior information that most of this book took place in the East Coast. In addition to that notion, I also perceived “this crumby place” that Holden described as a residential place such as an apartment, but soon began to question my assumption as it seemed that he was in a secured area and not just simply a home for him to live in, as he adds that he was visited by his brother, D.B., and was going to bring him home in the following month. I interpreted that as a way to say that he was coming home from jail; however, it was very enlightening to see that there are high chances that Holden may be writing from a mental institute, as many of my peers suggested in earlier posts. Although it was a shocking idea at first, I can understand why many of them would predict that, as many of the narrator’s thoughts and actions are considerably questionable.
The first thing I realized when reading the opening paragraph of the book is that Holden is our narrator and while that may seem like a bland analysis, it tells us that Holden already knows where the story is gonna end. He is recalling past events and noting them down then presenting them to us the audience. From his language we can relatively easily derive his cynical and seemingly hopeless attitude towards his life as he introduces himself to us questioning whether we want to know about his "lousy childhood," followed by an assortment of foul language like "crap," "hell," describing his setting as "crumby," they all server to portray his negative outlook on the majority of his life and surroundings. As you read on he sees himself as a failure but he wont tell us that, instead he hides under a blanket or cover of sort, saying "im here to break the syste, everyone else is just following it," or "I'm different." And its true for the time period attitudes such as Holdens were not popularly portrayed. However a point I hyave come accross is the idea of Juvenoia, which is the idea that the current generation is worse off than the last, that "the good ol' days" were a seemingly simpler and better time. One of my favorite content creators on YouTube have addressed it i can add a link to it at the end. The point of this being is yes Holden became something people perceived as new but this idea that the current youth generation is worse than the last has been carried on for as long as history could tell, as the quote from Socrates says "The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise." The way Holden is portrayed, his attitude and persona are seemingly built, not to forge a liking for him but instead some annoyance or hatred, you're not suppose to like Holden as much as you are to feel sorry or bothered by him. Which was very unique of Salinger in writing the novel.
ReplyDelete-Josue Cota
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD0x7ho_IYc
^Link to Juvenoia
The Catcher and the Rye has a distinct opening, it is nothing like the other novels I have previously read. Upon reading the first sentence I was anticipating for Holden to tell us where he was born, what his childhood consisted of and how his parents occupied themselves. However, at the end of that very same sentence Holden alerts us that doesn’t “feel like going into it.” I believe the first sentence quickly establishes a rebellious tone because it strays away from what I come to expect when reading a novel. In addition, informs the audience that Holden is a straightforward and cynical type of guy who only desires to share what he sees fit.
ReplyDeleteAlike my contemporaries, I also felt annoyed with Holden in the beginning of the novel. The language he uses is not what what I would expect from a character in a novel, he uses words such as lousy, goddam and crumby. As we later find out in the story, Holden is from New York City which might be the reason for his choice of words. New Yorkers have a reputation for being rude, unwelcoming, aggressive and pushy. As I read more of the novel, I began to like Holden more. The explanation for this is I related to Holden in a number of instances throughout the novel. For example, Holden states, “I’m a pacifist,if you want to know the truth.” (Salinger 59). Majority of the time I would too consider myself as a pacifist. I am a quiet and non confrontational type of person. Being able to relate to Holden made the novel entertaining and motivated me to continue to read the book.
Holden’s attitude:
ReplyDeleteAll throughout the first four chapters, readers sense Holden as a very judgmental teen. Holden really does go after those who differ from himself. From the introduction, he first critiques his older brother, D.B. He truly demonstrates his dislike for him when he calls him “a prostitute” (page 4). I believe he refers to his older brother as being that because he has gone from writing terrific stories that he was extremely fond of to producing playwrights in Hollywood in exchange for big amounts of money, which “he didn’t use to” (page 4). He then bad mouths his roommate, Ward Stradlater, because he had a great physique and always followed the rules (page 54), both things Holden did not obtain. In addition, he hates on his neighbor at Pency, Ackley, who is very ill-mannered and never respects nobody’s personal belongings. Based off of small flaws in people, Holden automatically calls mostly everyone morons or phonies, which really emphasizes his attitude towards society. Based off of Mr. Rodriguez’ background info, we can see that in the early 1950’s, teens were supposed to follow the ways in which society believed what was right, such as the qualities of D.B. who earns a living and has progressed in life. However, I see that Holden judges his brother because he does not possess those qualities, which leads me to think that Holden is a person who is very different from others his age and does not fully understand. Because Holden differs from the normal younglings in his time, his attitude is judgmental and could have been altered from past experiences in his life. In chapter 5, readers learn that his younger brother, Allie, has passed away from leukemia. Holden was very fond of him and when Allie dies, he was very heart broken. I assumed that this event was detrimental to how Holden carries himself and his depression.
Setting:
To some of my peers, it was pretty apparent that Holden was narrating his story from a mental institution. To me, it took more analysis before coming to that conclusion. To be quite honest, I just assumed that Holden was now a middle aged adult that was reminiscing about his past life. However, when rereading the first chapter, I became more aware of Holden’s clues to where the setting was. The first page he refers to the place in which he is as a very “crumby place” and that his brother frequently visits him. In addition, he reveals that he developed tuberculosis and has to come out here- the place in which he is staying at the moment- and have various checkups. In chapter five, I really connected the idea that Holden was being kept in a mental facility. He discusses his brother’s death and his ongoing depression-something some people are extremely affected by and need care.
-Jocelynn Padilla
As I first read the opening for this novel, I instantly questioned Holden’s reliability as a narrator. When he had stated “if you want to know the truth”, I became skeptical on why Holden had to state he was telling the truth. For me, this simple quote implied he was a constant liar and revealing the truth was something new to him. As stated in previous student responses, it is apparent that we as readers cannot fully rely on him even if he’s telling the “truth” as he refrains to tell us about certain things from his past such as his childhood or family. Instead he decides to focus on the “madman stuff” that happened to him which does alter his story to make the readers feel sorry for him and to think he had never felt happiness. This seemed to be true because I initially disliked Holden for being extremely critical and pessimistic about the smallest aspects of an individuals or events characteristic. However, when Holden spoke on such depressing subjects such as death, suicide, and alienation, my initial perspective changed as I thought he did not deliberately wanted to become that persona but instead his life caused him to become bitter. However, I still find it ironic how he is so rebellious and cynical yet he is trying to save his innocence; he is a walking paradox.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the perspective in which he is writing from, I initially did not realize he was writing from a mental institute, but instead from his house or school. In a way I thought he was forced to write about his experiences, as he seemed annoyed and uninterested. The sentence in which he opens up his novel with, “If you really want to hear about it”, implies that he truly does not want to share his story as he believes no one genially cares to listen to it. I thought his brother forced him to write on his experiences because he was a writer himself and perhaps he wanted to inspire Holden to become one as well. Although now that I have finished reading the novel, I still strongly believe he was in a way forced to write about his experiences by a psychoanalyst because he ends by stating “don’t ever tell anybody anything,” which implies he is a very private guy. Someone who is private would typically not write a book about his personal downfalls in life.
-Jazzlyn Aviles
As many of my peers have stated, Holden is a rather unique narrator. His word choice, in particular, is what truly sets his apart from others. Within the first page, already introducing such words as crap, goddamn, and hell, is a quite bold move on the authors side. However, I believe that is what makes this book so impactful as it is. Rarely do authors use such words within their entire book, let alone the very post page. Salinger, however, took a risk, which ultimately makes Catcher In the Rye an american classic. Holden portrays a strong sense of rebellion within the firs sentences of the book. He does not want to conform to the ideal book openings: stating where they were born, what their parents do, etc. Instead, he jumps straight into his story and his own perspective on things. Initially, I believed he was just like any other teenager. Angry at the world because he does not entirely understand it. However, while thoroughly reading the book, it seems as if he overanalyzes the world. Holden is always bound to find a flaw in any object.
ReplyDeleteInitially, the idea of Holden being present in a mental institution did not even cross my mind. However, after closely reading the introduction of the book, Holden clearly does not attempt to hide his situation. Throughout the rest of the book, he clearly shows a sense of comfort with the audience by presenting many deep, dark thoughts he has. Suicide, depression, and "feeling blue" are the main topics Holden touches on. It is truly remarkable that he is willing to openly share such sore subjects. Overall, Holden's attitude was made clear within the first few pages of the book. He is rather gloom, cynical, and pessimistic, which is what sets him apart from others. He is willing to admit to his own flaws, while also vigorously pointing out the flaws of his peers around him. Holden shows constant gaps in his logic, constantly contradicting himself, which I believe may be the reason he is in such a place to begin with.
-Noah Chavez
I agree with Noah that Holden is a very bold character and is also very straight forward. Without much of an introduction, he assumes the reader will want to know about the beginning of his life and his "lousy childhood," but says he doesn't "feel like going into it," which I found interesting that he brought up the subject in the first place. I also noticed that Holden immediately has a pessimistic attitude towards his life and those in it. He refers to his parents as "touchy as hell" and his older brother as a "prostitute." It is very clear that Holden does not concern himself with being liked by the reader; he simply is speaking his mind. Ironically, I think this makes Holden more likable. He is the precedent of young people being able to freely express their views instead of being bound to society's expectations of them. Considering the era, Holden is able to unapologetically voice the opinions that many teens probably agreed with but were unable to openly share. The opening pages of this book set the rest of the story up to be Holden's overcritical perspective of the world around him.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the book, you can tell off the bat that Holden is a pariah and has such an attitude that causes him to become anti-social and develop a cynical point of view towards the world. You can easily see that Holden has little regard in terms of remaining reserved in regards to how he communicates as evidenced by how he states, "... and all that David Copperfield kind of crap..." Another instance that uncovers Holden's attitude towards the world is when he states, "...you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like..." this is evident of the fact that Holden is cynical about the world due to his past. The fact that he describes it as lousy implies that he is going to reference instances from his childhood to support the fact that his childhood was not on par with those of other children. Based on the beginning of the novel, it could be seen that the style of writing will be reminiscent of an autobiography as Holden can choose what aspects of his life he wants to show and which ones he wants to withhold. This book gives off the tone of depression and sadness due to the fact that he is always sad when his past is brought up.
ReplyDelete-Mikayla Lubong
After reading the first sentence, I immediately got the impression that Holden was dull and pessimistic, as he used words like “lousy”, “crap”, and “crumby”. This analysis of Holden’s attitude is further proved by the indication that he doesn’t like many things. He calls his brother a prostitute, he hates the movies, and he doesn’t feel like going into his past. After reading chapter one, I predicted that this story was going to have a sad and depressing tone to it, based on the way Caulfield talks to the reader. On a different note, Holden provided subtle implications that he was writing from a place other than his home. At first glance, I initially thought he might be writing from a hotel room, or small apartment, ideal places to quickly get away from stressful situations. Now that I’ve finished the book, it is clear he is talking about staying at a mental hospital.
ReplyDelete-Ahren Aguinaldo
Right in the very beginning, you could tell that the narrator will be different from any other book. The narrator, Holden Caulfield, is a 16 year-old boy who has a very negative attitude toward almost everything. After reading the very first sentence, I was already hooked onto the book because I could tell that this narrator is a person I could relate to. Holden is a foul-mouth individual who is very opinionated. I find it very interesting how he calls many people a phony because he thinks they don’t know what they’re talking really about and just agrees with the crowd. I could see that teenagers today could relate to this because they call people “fake,” which is slang for a person who isn’t genuine at all. I believe this quote is so important to the story because it demonstrates how Holden’s attitude will be like in the rest of the book.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Holden is held in a mental facility because in the beginning he talks about how he lives in a crumby place and that his older brother, D.B., visits him every week. We know he’s not home because he states that D.B., will take him home soon (1). Then at the end of the book, he talks about a psychoanalyst guy that they have where he’s staying, indicating that he’s at some type of mental hospital because he’s sick.
It’s very interesting how Holden uses the words, “phony,” “chrissake,” and “lousy.” These words serve as clues to the overall tone of the book, which is negative because Holden tends to be very pessimistic. Holden also kept saying “it killed me” a few times throughout the book, which meant that something was very hilarious. However, it gave some type of darkness towards it whenever he said it since he was so negative towards everything. In addition, the author’s attitude is informal and subjective because the story was emotional, it had fairly easy vocabulary, and the details were vivid.
-Paola Priela
After reading the first few pages, I noticed that Holden had a bad attitude and used foul language to convey his point. When I first started reading the novel, I had a feeling that Holden was writing from a mental facility. At first, I tried to deny that feeling because I was not entirely sure. But as I continued to read, I decided to stick with my assumption. I agree with Yvette Macias that something traumatic must have happened to Holden when he was younger. I noticed that he does not enjoy having close relationships with people and seems to become odd when individuals get close to him without his consent.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Daphne Tortole’s question, I do feel that I can relate to Holden in the way that we both tend to judge others. Unlike Holden, I do not stick with that assumption; my view of them starts to change when I get to know them. As I continued reading, I thought that I would start to like Holden, but I realized that I do not like him because of his pessimistic view of the world. Throughout the book, he mentioned that he does not like “phonies”, but yet, he fabricates stories to strangers that he encounters. I see Holden as a hypocrite, and because of that, I did not find him to be a reliable character throughout this novel.
-Ayauna Cunningham
I agree with Holden having a bad attitude and his use of bad language to convey his points, while I don't believe they are always necessary I think they are traits that make him his own individual. Holden portrays himself as someone who does not like to build relationships though he seems to like being close to people, for others to know how to react and respond to him. He is quite the contradicting fellow, but I think this is what makes him so interesting, you never know what exactly to expect from him.
DeleteI can relate to Holden, as I myself can be judgmental, but unlike Holden while I keep my initial assessment in mind and am getting to know the person, I allow them the right to shed from my prejudgment.
Holden was pretty tough to figure out, I wouldn't say I figured him out until maybe the later chapters of the novel.
-Jayla Hudson
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the book you can kind of tell that the author introduces Holdens character as a negative person. Usually in other stories the main character has no problems when talking about his family or his past or current events. But I this case Holden just doesn't want to talk about it. He is very straightforward when talking about his parents and his brother D.B. which I am ver fond of which makes him an interesting character in my opinion. As you read along the introduction he uses the word "phonies" a lot. In other words using it to describe people as stupid and ignorant. He is not a stereotypical teenager who gets excited for football games; he likes to be realistic about things. So far I am interested to know what this character will bring to the reader. - Lithzy Alvarado
ReplyDeleteFrom the first sentence i could already tell that the author is not like many others. He did not introduce Holden to readers the way another author would have. Just from reading the opening pages of the book i automatically sense a very negative demeanor from the main character, Holden Caulfield. I would describe him as a typical teenager, he is a profane, outspoken pessimist who is not afraid to voice his opinion. Salinger made this character very relatable which is why this book has had me hooked.
ReplyDeleteInitially when reading i did not think that the story was being told from a mental institute. After re-reading and paying close attention the author has left us subtle clues that lead to believe that in fact Holden is in an institute. For example he says that his living space is crumby and that he had been run down just before coming to the institute where he had to settle down.
Holden is a very foul individual so there are a variety of words that serve as clues to his negative attitude. He is constantly using words like phony as well as moron and feels absolutely no shame when doing so. The author on the other hand was very specific and expressive in his writing.
-Alexis Gaskin
At the beginning of this book the narrator Holden has a different way of writing then other author. One can say that that his personality is very sarcastic and is different from teenagers in the 1950's. I actually like how Holden acknowledged the audience within the first couple sentences. J.D Salinger seems to structure the first several sentences to reveals reader to that this novel is not going to be traditional. Salinger also reveals that Holden is actually honest, even though he later calls himself a liar. The first page reveals a lot of information about the narrator Holden, like where he lives, where goes to school, and his thoughts about he's brother and David Copperfield.
ReplyDeleteJaylen Brownridge
Reading the opening paragraph of the Catcher in the Rye, the tone and style depicts the kind of character we will be seeing as we read along. Holden comes across immediately as a very rebellious and bold persona; he is without a doubt open about his feelings. Yet, while reading, we can see how he feels as if no one else will understand his issues, thus hiding it from the world and becoming as phony as everyone else. As Brenden mentions, Holden uses very vulgar and negative diction such as “lousy”, “hell”, “crap”, and “crumby”. Since the book was published in 1951, the character of Holden makes an even more deliberate standout to the historical context. From the tone and style, I can see right away Holden is the definition of a non-conformist. The “stuff that bores” him are the materials people during the time felt were important and necessary. The attitude he has towards coming from a nice, wealthy family depicts a radical and rebellious behavior instantly, making Holden an attractive character to those who feel misunderstood and confused. One thing that caught my attention was, “I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy”. From the beginning, I had just thought he was an average adolescent who was just angry at the world. Yet, this phrase made me have a better understanding of how the style of the narration seems very depressed and detached. It also shines a light on how Holden is at a place where he is seeking help for his current situation, thus perceiving his attitude and character in a more clear way.
ReplyDelete-Celeste Lettieri
From the way in which Salinger writes, it is evident that Holden is a person whom lives somewhat carefree. This is revealed through the choice of diction within this paragraph from words such as "lousy", "crap", and "goddamn. As previously stated by many who have commented thus far, they believe that Salinger adopts a rebellious tone which I agree with. However, I do not feel that Holden is rebellious in that sense. Holden claims that his childhood was lousy yet states that his parents were "touchy as hell" which i assume refers to their overall connection.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is important to note that Holden states in the beginning of chapter 3 that he is a "terrific liar". In addition to this, before Stradlater's date, Holden continuously called him sexy, however with the following chapter he emphasized how he hated him. With this in mind I believe that Holden is an unreliable character and in my opinion is the reason why Mr.Rodriguez asks us if we understand where Holden is telling the story.
-Devin Wong-Magusara
I agree with Devin in that Holden is somewhat a unreliable narrator, mainly due to Holden being a compulsive liar through out the beginning of the novel. When claiming to be a pacifist after getting into a fight with Strandler and conversing with Erenest Schmidt's mother and giving her a fake name for no apparent reason shows what type of narrator Holden is.
DeleteHowever I do somewhat disagree with Devin on Holden being considered rebellious on in the initial paragraph of the novel. As mentioned before Holden is somewhat of an unreliable narrator, so when Holden mentions his parents being "touchy as hell" it could probably refer to that Holden is constantly getting in trouble and getting kicked out of school which is why Holden's parents are always so angry with him and why this could be considered a rebellious attitude.
-Daniel R. Diaz
After reading the first few chapters of The Cather in the Rye, I was very curious when the narrator, Holden Caulfield, says he wants to tell the story of some "madman stuff" that happened to him. My interpretation and later confirmation is that he is in a mental hospital and is essentially taken out of society to recover. Focusing more on Chapter 1, I also found peculiar was that Holden refuses to talk about his childhood, rather he briefly makes negative comments about his parents and his brother D.B. Clearly Holden has a negative view of adults and is critical of his brother’s occupation. When Holden begins his story at Pencey Prep, readers can see that he is an outsider, one who is on the outside looking in. Although, I do have to note that it almost seems that he purposely put himself in that exclusion. His reference to memories of him talking to a girl on a bus and throwing a football with two other boys contradicts this whole "outsider” label, but his personality and actions says otherwise. For example, Holden failed all but one class and is expelled. His lack of care or effort and dismissive nature makes it appear to readers, especially me, that he was trying to get himself kicked out of school. Holden’s personality so far is that he is very judgmental of essentially everything and he has an expressive nature that in some way, resonates with readers. In agreement with Celeste, Holden's rebellious and seemingly carefree demeanor is relatable to the misunderstood.
ReplyDelete-Hannah McElmoyl
From the beginning of Chapter 1, it was clear to me that the narrator’s tone was quite bitter, eventually growing into cynicism. Holden began by saying, “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” Holden assumes that if the reader truly wants to know what happened, then they would want to know the very specifics of his background, but right off the bat, he shuts that down by indirectly labeling that information as “sentimental or sappy.” This was evident by the David Copperfield reference. However, I do find that there is irony within this reference because Holden claims that he does not favor any sorts of “David Copperfield” when both share similarities. For example, from the first page, we see a glimpse into Holden’s pattern of narration that at times correlate with that of Moby Dickens’s, “David Copperfield.” What I mean by this is that, at numerous points, he drifts away from the key focus of the story and dives into sometimes lengthy rants.
ReplyDelete-Reese McElmoyl
When first reading the book, it was not apparent to me that Holden was in some sort of mental facility until the end when he says, “one psychoanalyst guy they have here.” Psychoanalysis refers to studying or investigating what lies beneath human behavior. With the context that Mr. Rodriguez provided, it became obvious that Holden was a nonconformist in his time. Teen rebellion was not the norm and he was most likely seen as problematic. So Holden’s attitude and actions may be the reason why he was taken out of society to be studied.
ReplyDeleteReferring to what Devin mentioned about Holden being unreliable, I agree that most narrators are unreliable because they have the choice to include details as well as leave them out. However, I do not think his location has much correlation with his reliability. Although he was put into a mental facility or being a “madman,” I believe that he was only put into a facility for being a rebellious teen in comparison to those around him. Additionally, he still includes details and events that make him sound both good and bad. I feel as if unreliable narrators would only list the events that make the readers perceive them as good people.
-Mariza Zaratan
As we begin the book, we get a sense of a very cold and cynical point of view coming from the narrator. Holden, the main character of "The Catcher in the Rye" is a 16 year old loud mouth whom seems unable to conform into societies standards. no one around him seems to understand how he thinks or what he needs.
ReplyDeleteHolden is a teenager whom like most of us, only wants to be heard and understood even when we act somewhat difficult. It seems that Holden has a fear of becoming an adult and having to face the responsibilities of one. impending and inevitable adulthood is what awaits Holden, myself and all my fellow seniors... a sense of the unknown, a sense of losing innocence. This makes Holden look out to older individuals to give him a sense of peace with the eventuality of adulthood. Even though he is not direct, He feels no one listens to him and no one will.
-Christian Viscontti
J.D Salinger introduces Holden Caulfield immediately as a rebellious, pessimistic, and unique protagonist. While reading, the author evidently presents this character as someone who holds a negative perspective throughout life, as expressed through both his cynical thoughts and vulgar language. Although these are initially the most heavily seen and recognized, I have picked up on the qualities that Holden holds hidden underneath the surface. After reading the first several chapters for instance, I have inferred Holden to be a character of contrasting traits- from self-reliance and independence in making decisions, to continuously seeking the company of others. He also displays compassion for the few people in his life, as he described his siblings both his brother Allie and his sister Phoebe, as well as showing his small acts of generosity within his friends as well as even the strangers that he comes across throughout the city.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I agree with what others have previously inferred regarding traumatic experiences in the past affecting the person he shows to be in the present. In describing Allie's death for example, Holden described his violent reaction after his death, giving clue to the drastic effect his sibling's death left on him years after. Based off his experience, I feel that his personality all throughout the novel will express feelings all affected by his past.
-Roselynn DeCastro
At the very beginning of the novel, Holden presents himself as cynical and even a bit distrustful. He uses the phrase, "all that David Copperfield kind of crap." David Copperfield is a novel written by Charles Dickens where David is the hero/protagonist and tells his story including details about his personal life and such. Salinger is trying to present Holden as the exact opposite, he does not want to talk about the sentimental stuff and instead skips to the part of his story where he gets kicked out of Pencey. In my opinion, if I knew more about Holden's background it would help me understand why he acts in certain ways and would further enrich my understanding of his character. However, it does make him more relatable as a narrator because as a teenager it is easy to relate to Holden's problem with being misunderstood and being scared to enter into adulthood.
ReplyDelete-Daniela Nolasco
Just based off reading the first paragraph of the book, it is evident that Holden possesses a negative image of his past. He uses language that was not usually said around the 1950s, such as “crap” or “goddam.” The introduction of this character reveals his sense of disobedience and makes the reader feel confused about his mysterious, unfavorable persona. He makes a distinct personality for himself with his bitter and cynical tone. He states that he does not want to explain a lot of his past. However, he does explain what happens around last Christmas. Similarly, he mentioned that he failed four out of five of his subjects, showing that he has potential and is intelligent, yet chooses to not use his energy into things as he often “does not feel like it.” It seems that Holden is speaking from a mental facility and is getting treatment. After reading that line it made me feel for him and want to understand who he was and where he came from. On the other hand, Holden does contain vulnerable parts in the book that show you more of who he is. When he decides to leave Pencey, he remembers a happy memory of him and his friends playing football. There is more to him than his negative perspective on life and I believe Salinger does a great job on the way he wants Holden to be introduced. Holden does not like when people tell him to “act his age.” I can relate to this because as seniors, we are in an awkward phase. We are still children, but need to prepare for adulthood. As the book continues, Holden’s actions only support the idea that he is not ready to grow up.
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning of the novel, Holden's pessimistic attitude is clearly shown to the reader. He holds a very foul mouth as well as a distasteful attitude that shows his negative personality. As many of my peers have previously stated, Holden uses words such as “crap”,“goddam”, and “hell” which in the 1950s, were a vulgar choice of words. The 1950s were much different from today because everything was much more conservative which is why Holden was looked upon as a rebellious teenager during that time period. Although I believe that the author introduces Holden as a very typical teenager who many of us can relate to. I did not know when I first started reading that Holden was writing from a mental ward of a hospital. As I kept on reading though, I started to piece things together because in the novel Holden explains that his parents wanted his psychoanalyzed after he was struggling to cope with the death of his younger brother Allie. I believe that Allie’s death was also why Holden holds such a negative attitude as well as why he feels depressed and isolated throughout the book.
ReplyDelete-Sarah Solis
At first read I assumed that the author adopted a story-like perspective for his audience; however, I did not analyze who specifically the author was referring to. It wasn't until my second read and my peer's responses where I realized that Holden was narrating his story from a mental health institution. The first sentence, for starters, is a major clue that Holden is speaking to a Psychiatrist--a medical practitioner specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. He first states that the first thing that this person would want t hear is about a lousy childhood or how his parents were always busy, which are usually clichés or "common" factors as to why someone is facing problems in their life that leads to needed counseling with a specialist. Another clue would be when he bluntly stated, "Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything" which shows his lack of sincerity towards people attempting to help him or to those that do not share the same ideas as he does. This first paragraph is not the only evidence in which a reader can conclude that Holden is in a mental facility, in addition the last paragraph of chapter 24 suggests that at some point in his childhood he had been sexually molested, which only adds mystery as to why Holden thinks and asks the way he does; and it provides yet another reason why Holden's parents sent him to a mental institution rather then punishing him right away and sending him to a military school. If you ask me I do not think Holden changed at all, he had the same mindset all throughout the story. The introduction and the conclusion of the book compliments the cynical and rebellious persona that J.D Salinger developed for Holden. If this book were to have a sequel in which Holden talks about what happens after he leaves the mental facility then it would just consist of Holden being the same rebellious teen he was when he was admitted into the place; the only difference would be that instead overanalyzing other people's actions, he would be overanalyzing himself.
ReplyDelete-Alexis Rodriguez
When I initially began reading the story I was, like many of my peers, surprised at the strong language that was used by Holden. Immediately I thought he came off as arrogant, rude, and cynical. However, as I kept reading I found that his bluntness was actually very refreshing. Now a days people would not tell you what they think right away. Instead most people will indirectly tell you what they think by telling others first. I can't say that I relate to Holden's pessimistic attitude on life, but I will admit that as a teenager I tend to be quite rebellious. However, as it has been previously stated, for a teen in the 1950's it was very uncommon. I liked that this novel really captured what it means to be a rebellious teenager and I think that J.D. Salinger did a great job at developing Holden's defiant persona. This novel was definitely ahead of its time and I look forward to working more with it.
ReplyDelete-Andrea Pagano
The beginning of the novel reveals not only a brief introduction of the main characters life, but it also taps into the current setting in which the story is being told. It has become fairly clear that due to previous circumstances– not to mention the death of his brother and the loss of his infant love– Holden has indeed suffered from “madman stuff.” It is believed that based on his reaction towards his brothers loss he was interned in a psychiatric facility. The story of Holden Caulfield is narrated by himself a year later from the walls of this “crumby place”and is in the process of maybe going home once again. In addition, the introduction also educates the reader on the type of character Holden is, based on the use of diction and the way he expresses his thoughts. By utilizing phrases such as “crap”, “hell”, and “goddam” we can conclude that Holden has a full mouth yet quite understandable for his age. For an adolescent he portrays a well crafted persona that we as readers are able to connect with. Besides the fact of being torn between childhood and adulthood Holden behaves and acts upon an unbalance of maturity in which every adolescent can be found.
ReplyDelete-Gisselle Gonzalez
From the beginning of this explicit book the catcher in the rye it explains a full concept of alienation given an expression of how holden explains his story from a sad point of view being stocked kind of in a therapy hospital for his recovery. chapter gives a full flash back on how unattractive and abstractly regretful about his life in prencey prep. he explains that he not only wasn't doing well in school he was not seen as someone accepted in his society too. I also recognize that Holden immediate pessimistic view lie as he uses words that weigh and have negative connotation. like the aspect were he completely explaining his child hood as really lousy. also Holden's negative attitude did not only extend to his surrounding but also he has a full phase of being really judgmental. For example the language used in the first paragraph made me feel a little bit open to the author however the main issue is that he seems a little bit to portray himself as really unworthy. also I realize that Holden's main tone seemed really serious.
ReplyDeletealso it came to my realization that the only reasonable reason why he seems so negative and unacceptable to the other society would be because he might be experiencing a growing and also unreliably pessimistic attitude which developed through a traumatic experience he might have gone through that seemed really bad like the death of close loved one would have also changed his view of how the world might mainly seem really wicked.
-John okoh
Upon reading the introduction, I comprehend as to why The Catcher in the Rye was deemed as controversial that led to its censorship in some high schools during its time. Holden is not exactly the poster child for "ideal teen" for he is quite opinionated, negative, and even foul-mouthed. He reflects what was considered as teenage colloquial speech during its time with the example of the word "phony" that was repeatedly used throughout the beginning of the novel. However, despite the tough image that Holden has been branded with and his bitter and cynical tone, I also saw how there is a speck o sensitivity in him that is very delicate. I noticed this when he was narrating his experience of moving places and schools, "I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving." (Page 7). This caught my attention for he has been rowdy and foul-mouthed throughout the beginning and it was a bit surprising to see this side of Holden. I am inferring that Holden is narrating the story from a mental institution - not necessarily from a mental illness, but maybe from a great deal of trauma he has experienced that he is attempting to recover from.
ReplyDeleteMarie Manipud
From the very beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield's blunt and pessimistic narration leaves a very lasting impression. The very first paragraph of the novel thoroughly depicts Holden's shadowed outlook on life and his family which can be seem unappealing, leading many of my peers to dislike his negative personality. However, along with some others, I enjoy Holden's unique perspectives and find him to be a realistic representation of a, brooding, sarcastic, and many times rude, wayward teenager of today, which is phenomenal and quite interesting considering the time period. Despite Holden's cynicisms sometimes there are little moments where Holden enjoys something, such as reading a book, wearing a hat, or finding a girl from his neighborhood at his school. Holden just seems to be in a spot where many teens find themselves, lost and dissatisfied with the world. He also seems to have very acute memory, specific attention to detail about the others around him, and value for truth and honesty. These factors may indicate important events that impacted his life and as the story unfolds more can be understood and deciphered.
ReplyDelete-Atlantis Rodriguez
Upon reading the first chapter of The Catcher in the Rye, I had no knowledge whatsoever as to when this book was published. This may have affected the way I went about reading this book as I immediately felt its tone and language reflected today's culture and "vibe." Little did I know the phrase, "David Copperfield kind of crap" stated in the first sentence did not coincide to the well-known magician and illusionist, but rather to the classic Charles Dickens novel of the same name. As you can see from this misconception I really did my homework beforehand, but rather I deduced from that misread line that Holden related his life to which he was an illusionist (David Copperfield) hiding the unseen truths behind the "lousy childhood" he grew up in and conjured up what we as the audience perceive from a glance. At first, I took this chapter or rather the first paragraph very seriously. I did not even think twice when Holden mentioned his brother D.B. becoming a "prostitute" when living in Hollywood because those realities are prevalent where chasing fame in today's culture may come with the backlash of conforming to unthinkable circumstances. I have to be honest, I felt as though this book was written not too long ago, not in 1951. The language and the curse words that Salinger continuously uses did not even make me bat an eye because of the fact it is heard almost everywhere nowadays, and Holden, as a character, seemed so relatable to the "pubescent" teenager which engulfed me as a reader to keep reading. It shows you just how much controversy this book may have caused in its first release at that time as it was not your typically "must-reads", but that is just a few reasons why this book is still the "Timeless" classic it is known today.
ReplyDelete-Nathan Malicdem
As many of my peers have previously asserted, I concur that Holden is an outspoken and rather blunt individual. Given the novel's time period, Holden's thoughts and actions are inconsistent with the acceptable societal standards. For example, his constant reference to other characters in the novel as "phonies" and his use of foul language such as "goddamn" and "old sonuvabitch" demonstrate that he does not truly feel at ease in his society and does not fully associate with those around him.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the opening pages of the novel, I, similar to my peers, found the protagonist as a somewhat irritable and carefree teenager. Phrases such as "If you really want to know" and "I don't feel like going into it" (Salinger 3) shows that the protagonist is oversensitive when discussing his life. The way Holden describes his "lousy childhood" and "touchy as hell" parents also demonstrates that he holds negative attitudes towards his life and upbringing, which he partly blames for ending up in a psychiatric hospital. Initially, I felt indifferent towards Holden, due to the way he was presented by the author, but as the novel progressed, I began to sympathize with him and began to value Holden's honest demeanor and his resistance to succumb to societal standards by staying true to himself.
In addition, a section of the text that I found quite interesting occurred in chapter 2, where Holden visited Mr. Spencer. Holden states that "he started going into this nodding routine. You never saw anybody nod as much in your life as old Spencer did" (Salinger 10). Meanwhile, Holden asserts, "I shook my head. I shake my head quite a lot." (Salinger 11). This juxtaposition between nodding and shaking heads demonstrates and emphasizes the difference between Mr. Spencer and Holden: maturity.
-Nicole Isabelle
At the start of the first page, Holden reveals a lot about his character right away. The words “If you really want to hear about it…” caught me by surprise. When considering the time this book was originally published, the method of starting the book itself is a stark contrast to other contemporarily published works. The way the book begins is snooty and arrogant and gives foreshadowing to how Holden will interact with others throughout the story. The start itself connects the reader to the idea that what’s being narrated is the narrator’s, Holden, own thoughts and ideas and the fact that Holden is the type of person to do and say as he sees fit. J.D. Salinger uses slang to make Holden feel like a more grounded critical person and create a more realistic character.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, Holden voices his ideas openly. Holden uses blunt slang to describe almost anything he talks about. Because Holden often uses language that would normally be considered improper to use during the time period the book was written in, the I, as a reader, am able to make the connection from a very early point that the story itself is not only about Holden, but is revealing of his thoughts and feelings without censor. It is seen that everything Holden thinks and feels is unrestricted and it gives a forecast into Holden’s personality and the overall tone of the story.
Holden describes much about his family and various insignificant details during this first page. However, the way he begins describing these different details about his family reveals his tone and attitude towards things. I find that Holden is criticizing towards even his own family. He is often pessimistic and straightforward approach. We can see this with the use of words like, “crap” and “crumby.” I also see that Holden himself is focused on how unfortunate things are around him. It reveals a critical tone that will be used throughout the story to describe Holden’s view on the things around him.
-Seth Yves Perez
As many students have mentioned before, the protagonist of this novel seems as though he is both cynical and pessimistic towards life and the things that have happened to him. At first when I read through the first page, I wasn't paying close enough attention to where he revealed he was telling his story from. I reread the passage only to find that he was in some type of rest home to "...take it easy" after some significant events took place. Holden does not really reveal much about his past but talks about his older brother with mild contempt because he made it big as a writer in Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteHolden begins his story with his time spent at Pencey Prep, a prestigious boarding school, which he clearly had a negative experience at. He discusses the rival football game taking place on campus and how he was secluded from the rest of the students. With the new historical background, it is now obvious that Holden's character really does embody the nature of the new rebellious generations. When we learn of his expulsion from the school because of the lack of effort given towards his studies, Holden seems very nonchalant, bored, even. He introduces it with the sentences "I forgot to tell you about that.They kicked me out." The fact that he states this significant event in such a nonchalant manner really reemphasizes the diversity in which his character holds. Like previously stated, in the setting of the novel, conformity was key. Teenagers were to be "seen and not heard". Holden refusing to go to school an earn acceptable marks even after multiple meetings with the staff and his parents reinforces the idea that Holden is rebellious and indifferent. This attitude towards this specific event remain constant throughout when talking almost about everything in his life, ultimately creating Holden's identity.
-Kyianna Sykes
At the start of Catcher In the Rye I questioned where Holden was and who he was talking to, however on my second read I realized that he was talking to a psychiatrist. He comes across as quite cynical and pessimistic for a 16 year old. However, I am quite fond of how blunt Holden is, as it is different and intriguing to read. He is not the typical teenager in the 1950s. The way he starts off the novel by declaring, “If you really want to hear about it…” you almost feel as if the story he is about to tell is exasperating to him, a burden to talk about. You can tell right away that he does not have a good relationship with his parents because he docent want to divulge his childhood. Thus, giving a little bit more backstory as to why he would want to rebel, possibly attention? I was intrigued with this book right away due to Holden’s complex character.
ReplyDeleteMy first few impressions on Holdem Caulfield was that he to be very relaxed and had a diverse vocabulary than what was expected to come out of a male teenager in the 50's. This develops what my peers have concluded to be a cynical tone which is carried out throughout the rest of his story. He was also extremely casual and honest on his thoughts about his family and especially his brother D.B, whom he does not admire as much as he did before because he went from being a writer to now working in Hollywood., he even goes as far to call him a "prostitute".
ReplyDeleteSomething that grabbed my attention was that prior to the beginning of the novel, Holdem was having a conversation with someone. When first reading this particular sentence "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born" (pg.1). After reading some of my peers entries, it also came to my mind that Holdem could possibly be at a mental institute. It is not really supported towards the beginning, but there are hints given out throughout the novel on regards that even Holdem regards himself to even be crazy at times.
-Jorge Tejeda
As other students have mentioned the first couple of pages show Holden Caulfield to be cynical, or come off as a pessimistic. But later analyzing his opinions towards school and other students I concluded that is played a role for characteristics found in teenagers. Yet at first glance I was surprised by his bluntness. Although I did not agree with his justification for judging others, I still felt that I could relate to this character.
ReplyDeletealthough this character expresses himself to have a pessimistic view of the world, something I related to was his view on the future. When discussing with Holden's English teacher, "'Oh I feel some concern for my future...but not too much..'"(page 14).I feel this can relate to several teenagers, not being confident or sure enough for the future. By the future Mr.Spencer is referring to a stable job, for a stable lifestyle. I personally relate to this confusion for the future.
In the beginning of the book, Holden Caulfield most definitely expressed his personality which as my peers have stated, cynical and pessimistic. He used the words "crap", "hell", and "goddam" in the introduction and has also been using it throughout the entire novel. His language and actions along with it made him appear to be careless and rebellious which was highly against social standards considering the time period. In the 1950's, the standards of society were valued to be modest in every way such as behavior, appearance, and tradition. Holden was a juxtaposition himself because he did not have a care in the world with education and the interaction with the people that surround him, only to find out later on in the book how much his siblings mean to him. He can be a mature young man if he wants to act like it however, it's how he chooses to handle certain situations is what's holding him back. Holden's recklessness show that he feels misunderstood, lost, and is unprepared for the next step in his life which is adulthood.
ReplyDelete- Alessandra Gatchalian
Likewise towards the analysis of my peers of the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden, who is the main protagonist of the story, narrates in a bitter, blunt, and cynical voice which is also expressed in the use of vocabulary, leaving an unpleasant impression of his family and his childhood.
ReplyDeleteAs first stated in the book, "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap..." (1). J.D. Salinger starts with the first sentence and he’s already characterizing Holden Caulfield as a bold character who came off to be somewhat self-absorbed. The profanity and informality used to describe his life can we only assume that he is just a troubled teenager. During the time where adolescents were believed to willingly conform to their parents’ standards, Holden is seen as being the total opposite. He is rebellious and out-spoken where his views about life can be relatable to those of other teens.
"The reason I was standing way up on Thomsen Hill, instead of down at the game, was because I'd just got back from New York with the fencing team. I was the goddam manager of the fencing team. Very big deal. We'd gone in to New York that morning for this fencing meet with McBurney School. Only, we didn't have the meet. I left all the foils and equipment and stuff on the goddam subway. It wasn't all my fault. I had to keep getting up to look at this map, so we'd know where to get off. So we got back to Pencey around two-thirty instead of around dinnertime. The whole team ostracized me the whole way back on the train. It was pretty funny, in a way" (5). You can really sense Holden's conformity to loneliness and isolation, especially throughout this passage. He's standing alone on the hill watching everyone else have fun, however, tries to play it off by saying "it was pretty funny, in a way" to keep himself from falling apart.
-Audrey Dizon
In the beginning of the book, I was caught by surprise because I did not expect the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, to use foul language such as his repetitive use of words like, "crap", "goddam", and "hell". Because of the repetitive use of these words one can conclude that the narrator is careless, pessimistic, rebellious, and not very interested in his academics. This is because Holden's vocabulary is not advanced as one can see throughout the book by his frequent use of words such as "and all" and "I really do" and because of the use of this language one can conclude that the language throughout the novel will continue to be casual. Throughout the first page one can notice that he is fearless when speaking his mind since he begins speaking about his parents, brother, and how he implies that he is telling his story from some sort of mental hospital. I believe he is in a mental hospital because of when he says "madman stuff", "pretty run-down", and "come out here and take it easy" on the first page of the book. Him being in a mental hospital will make me distrust the protagonist because what he is saying could be something he made up.
ReplyDelete-Dariana Nieves
I completely agree with the statement above because Holden’s diction and style is extremely colloquial. The colloquial speech throughout this novel has much to do with the context, for instance, considering this is the first novel is told from a teenagers perspective I believe his casual approach in narrating all of these events is appropriate. Holden’s narration leaves a memorable impression that eventually reveals that this is no ordinary novel, this novel is filled with truth and authenticity. It is essential to note than when a novel is narrated by the protagonist to pay attention for inconsistencies or to decide as a reader whether one trusts the author or not. Personally I am on edge because although Holden is an adolescent and is clearly in some sort of institution it may be easy to just absolutely disregard any truth or sanity to his word however at the same time I consider him to be too honest. The fact that Holden casually admits about being part of an institution demonstrates his honesty and no shame in being who he is or narrating what has happened to him and how ended up where he is now.
ReplyDelete-Natalie Aguilar
When I started reading this book, the first thing that i noticed was how foul mouthed Holden Caulfield was. He started using words like "crap," "goddam," and "hell." With this use of vocabulary by Holden it makes me think of him as a tough and careless person which later we see he is when he gets expelled from Pencey and gets drunk. We see Holden acting tough throughout the whole book, he is trying to impress the reader to see him as a "cool" rebellious teen. He does this by acting like he doesn't care, paying to have sex, living on his own, getting drunk, and sneaking in and out of his house without getting caught. In the first paragraph it gives me an idea that Holden may be in some type of metal hospital due to him saying "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got a pretty run down and had to come out here an take it easy." In the first paragraph I also realized that Holden may be jealous of his brother due to his accomplishments and being in Hollywood. You see this when Holden calls his brother a "prostitute" and says "He's got a lot of dough, now. He didn't use to." He says this in order to inform the reader that his brother wasn't always wealthy. Throughout the book Holden seems reckless and this shows the reader how unprepared and lost he is to continue to his life of adulthood.
ReplyDelete-Briana Nieves
In the Catcher in the Rye I noticed Holden wasn't interested in telling his story and as Mr. Rodriguez suggests he is a careless teen who probably has bad attitude to most things. Since Holden acts this way many teenagers could see him as relatable because he rebels. I also noticed that Holden told us "he was going to tell us about this madman stuff that happened to me around last christmas." So I expected that the book would be told in a past tense first person view. Holden also points out that his brother is in Hollywood and portrays him as successful however he sounded not so praising but more jealous like many would see him as.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter two we also learned that Holden doesn't do so well in his grades. He has failed five of six subjects and will not return to Pencey. To me this is like a school career gone bad. However he also likes to point out that he at least passed english which was his favorite subject anyways. When he was talking to Old Spencer he was giving advice Holden how life is a game which is an important quote to many students who would need it to start off a good life but Holden doesn't really decide to take it to heart. One important thing I also saw was that even though Old Spencer was his favorite teacher at Pencey he somehow still got annoyed at him even though he was repeating very important advice to him for his future.
-Andrew Balolong
Right from the start, Holden Caulfield seems like he is going through what some would call the rebellious teen years. He appears distant from his family (parents at least), and unwillingness to cooperate in the sense that he would prefer not to go into too much detail about his entire life, and he experiments with this new absurd language as if to make himself seem more mature. In reality, Caulfield gives off this feeling of wanting to be isolated, which I can see will already be one of many recurring themes in the book. In terms of his location, I can see Caulfield in an infirmary or rehabilitation center of some sort when he mentions how he’ll tell his stories of this “madman stuff” that happened to him around last Christmas which also hints where the book will end and where this part in the beginning picks up juts to come full circle. Caulfield goes off on a tangent and ends up reminiscing about his older brother, D.B., who he seems rather fond of. He talks proudly of his achievements (making it out in the big world as a successful writer and eventually landing him a place in Hollywood); however, his attitude towards D.B. when he recalls that being out in Hollywood has made him in a prostitute. The attitude of Holden can be looked upon as rather distant as opposed to at least trying to develop long-term relationships with anyone. His tone is immature because he is still a teenager, but there is this faint hint of Holden attempting to transition into becoming a young adult, but with this comes the obstacles that he must first face.
ReplyDelete-Antonio Robledo
JD Salinger' protagonist in the Catcher in the Rye was unprecedented in its time. A prevailing conservative mindset in American culture viewed adolescence as a period of conformity in which not many teenagers "lashed out" or "rebelled". The introduction of Holden establishes him as an outcast from the very beginning as he reveals a tendency to stray away from the crowd, show poor academic skills, and irresponsibility as manager for the fencing team. Salinger presents the reader with a character that undermines the traditional "model teenager" in the early 1950's. Even the mere vulgarity and explicitness of his thought process allowed the reader to delve into the reality of one's mind and how not everyone is positive and willing to conform to the norms of society and the superficial perfection that many intend to uphold.
ReplyDeleteI was really surprised at Holden’s attitude he gives off in the beginning of the book. He is very blunt with his thoughts and what he says; yet his pessimistic attitude towards life and his “lousy childhood” also intrigued me to his character like many have said above. Holden seems like he has a temper and it shows in what he says in the moment such as, “I don’t know, and I don’t give a damn, How ‘bout sitting down or something, Ackley kid> you’re right in my goddamn light.” (Chapter 3 Page 21) and the reason I believe Holden acts this way is because he puts up a shield to prevent himself from being emotionally hurt. And that made me take a big liking towards his character because I feel like I can relate to that situation as well. Besides his very pessimistic attitude, I believe Holden has a side of him he just doesn’t want to show, a nicer side of him. As the book continues, Holden definitely opens up more towards the readers with his actions such as when he was leaving Pencey. I think Salinger did a great job on introducing Holden to capture the reader’s attention more.
ReplyDelete-Sierra Masi
I was really surprised at Holden’s attitude he gives off in the beginning of the book. He is very blunt with his thoughts and what he says; yet his pessimistic attitude towards life and his “lousy childhood” also intrigued me to his character like many have said above. Holden seems like he has a temper and it shows in what he says in the moment such as, “I don’t know, and I don’t give a damn, How ‘bout sitting down or something, Ackley kid> you’re right in my goddamn light.” (Chapter 3 Page 21) and the reason I believe Holden acts this way is because he puts up a shield to prevent himself from being emotionally hurt. And that made me take a big liking towards his character because I feel like I can relate to that situation as well. Besides his very pessimistic attitude, I believe Holden has a side of him he just doesn’t want to show, a nicer side of him. As the book continues, Holden definitely opens up more towards the readers with his actions such as when he was leaving Pencey. I think Salinger did a great job on introducing Holden to capture the reader’s attention more.
ReplyDelete-Sierra Masi
It is apparent from the start that the narrator, Holden Caulfield, appears to be a direct and even reluctant to tell his story. You can see from the first line of the book Caulfield says, " If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like". He has a negative tone in the beginning, this is probably due to the events that affected his outlook on the world. From the get go Holden's negative outlook on the world makes the readers question his credibility. This is because if he writes with anger towards the world his words would distort his true ideas. Through out the novel he continues to have a bitter attitude. J.D. Salinger makes Holden an antihero because of his odd character traits. These traits add unique aspect to 1951 school boy, where boys are suppose to be refined young men.
ReplyDelete-Kyle Elecanal
From the beginning of the book, the tone is set for what kind of language and attitude Holden will have. He is presented constantly throughout the book as an alienated teenager who has pessimistic views on nearly everything. He starts off on top of a hill watching the football game alone from afar. Even though he shares with us that he can hear the crowd chanting and can see both teams brawling back and forth, he insists on staying on top of the hill. Since the book was written in the 1950's it was uncommon to hear of a boy who is failing out of school. Holden might have been one of the first characters that rebelled against society in this time period. I find it interesting how society makes things okay for people to do. I liked the example provided of how teenagers are now expected to rebel against society and be foul-mouthed. It is actually pretty sad if you think about it. Holden's character was created by Salinger to show the society of the 1950's that not everyone has to follow the rules, but consequences follow with that decision.
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