Chapter 19, Past Cultural Views on Gays, the Catcher in the Rye:

       In Chapter 19 of "the Catcher in the Rye" we encounter Holdens opinion on gays  for the first time after him seeing them at a bar. Calling them "flits" we also see his personal view on them through the use of the term as an insult to a friend. This scene asked for me to dig deeper on what the views on gays were back in the 1950's or maybe if they were even recognized at all.
       Today's modern views on gays vary between each individual, but with equality being a prime thing of peer pressure in group discussion and with mass media covering more social and political events, I believe modern times have brought a new light on gay equality for the better. To see how far this movement has become let's look at where the gay community was at, specifically during the 1950's.
      The 1950's were not a place of major change in gay rights but events and organizations that were formed during this era set the ball rolling for later years. The Mattachine Society, the first major gay organization was formed during the early 50's and would give rise to the unity of gays giving them a bigger voice. It did also include the release of The Homosexual in America: A Subjective Approach which was seen as a one of the most important  works of the gay movement. Gay bars were scarce but where mainly found near very large cities, like San Fransico, places like these were formed as gay centers mainly from when the rejected gays from the military who where dropped off here and not wanting to face humiliation from there home town, stayed there. Holdens view may have not reflected the society as a whole but with many other factors in the book I believe it to be traced back to the author J.D Salinger's personal opinion. I believe J.D Salinger to of had a negative view towards gays partially due to his role in the military, I'd think that gays being excluded from the draft and not having to fight overseas would create a negative vibe especially from the armed forces.
      Examining the chapter would also further revel Holden's actions around others but I think what made this chapter stand out was the encounter with the gays maybe furthering the conclusion of Holden having a past encounter  trouble at home. If you think we had more time with Holden, do you think he would ever bring up an event like that?

Chapter 24: Holden's Past: Darker than We Expected

In chapter 24, Holden goes and visits Mr. and Mrs. Antolini. Mr. Antolini was Holden's English teacher at Elkton Hills. Mr. and Mrs. Antolini are very kind to Holden, but there are a few strange things that occur. The strangest of all, is that when Holden goes to bed, he is woken up by Mr. Antolini stroking his head. Holden is terrified by this, and flees immediately. Once this incident happens, he says, "That kind of stuff's happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid. I can't stand it." These 2 sentences tell us so much about Holden's past. It becomes apparent to us that Holden was sexually abused as a kid. I do not think that Mr. Antolini was really going to do any harm to Holden, but the fact that it has happened in the past shows us that just the fact that Mr. Anotlini stroked his head scared Holden enough to run away. While this piece of information gives us a glimpse into why Holden is so depressed and has so many trust issues, it still leaves many questions unanswered, like who abused Holden. The fact that Holden was abused gives us a lot of information, but I think that the fact that J.D. Salinger left out the details is very smart. If Holden were to just tell us all of the details, it would not go along with Holden's character at all. He has a hard time talking about things that happen to him in the first place, let alone when he is terrified and when it is about such a hard topic. I think that Salinger made a very wise decision in not giving all of the details that we so crave. After reading this chapter, we know that Holden's past was may darker and harder than we expected.

Chapter 23: The Fear of Not Being Caught.

     In Chapter 23 of The Catcher in The Rye, a few of Holden's usually well hidden emotions appear a little more obviously to us. Holden still gives us quite a few of his signature contradictory comments, particularly towards the end of the chapter however, they are a little more easily decoded. At the end of this chapter, Holden is in the midst of trying to run away when he says to Pheobe, "not that they would've killed me or anything if they'd caught me home, but it would've been very unpleasant" but then after hes actually managed to escape he says "I didn't give much of a damn any more if they caught me. ... I almost wished they did in a way." I think this attempted escape is more of a subconscious cry for help than anything else, by reading between the lines we can see that Holden is really feelinghopelessly alone and severely depressed. In this scene its clear Holden realizes hes doing something wrong, or at least something he knows his parents would disapprove of, and secretly I think hes hoping that someone will care enough to stop him. He begins his escape with a sliver hope that just maybe, this time it would be different and someone would come after him. However, in unfortunate accordance to most of the people Holden chooses to give a short window of opportunity to reach out to him, they fail to do so and disappoint him once again. Holden even says as he exits the building that "The elevator boy didn't even notice me". So with out the guidance of any sort of parental figure, Holden enters New York City alone again, a sort of crossing of the threshold pushing him a step further into the reality of his approaching adulthood he so desperately wishes to reject entirely. Do you think that Holden will ever be able to recover from this sort of neglect? Will he ever be able to enter the adult world and thrive?

Chapter 25

Mia Bonner

In chapter 25 Holden reaches his maximum depression stage. He becomes angry (when he wants to kill whoever wrote "fuck you" on the wall) and begins to make poor decisions (he decides that he is going to run away). But, Holden spends the entire day with Phoebe. While at first when he met with Phoebe his mind was set on leaving, but being with Phoebe forced him to realize that he actually was happy.. Holden actually did miss people.. And Holden didn't really want to leave anymore. Watching Phoebe go around and around on the carousel, overwhelms Holden and he even feels as if he might cry. Holden did not know how it happened, but he felt overjoyed and full of happiness. I, like Holden have experienced this same feeling. Last winter, I attended the "Santa's Helper's" Christmas gathering at the Hester House.  For four hours I walked around with two little african american children. I took them to several stations consisting of; a picture with Santa, a arts and crafts area, a section to have snacks and eat with their friends, and lastly, I took them to an area with a big table full of all different Christmas gifts. They were allowed to pick out one for themself and one for each of their parents. These children were very poor, needy, and in search for happiness just like Holden. After we were finished with going around to all the stations, we went outside and I watched as all the little kids ran around. One minute they were "down in the dumps", but the next minute, they were free from all worries, they realized that they can be happy. I realized that this was the best feeling ever, watching these kids run around with big smiles on their faces. It was a feeling just like holden, I wasn't exactly sure why I was so happy, but I knew I was. I was happier than ever, and so were they. They didn't care who was around them, whoever it was they were going to share their happiness, they were going to get everyone off their butts  so that they could come play with them. This day was certainly a highlight in my life. This day was when I realized that anyone can be happy, no matter the circumstances. If you just realize that you can let go, and not worry so much... you will be much happier. 

Do all kids grow up?

Holden finally returns home to his little sisters unending love? No. After all Holden has been through he goes home and begins talking to his little sister. As he talks to her she becomes scared for Holden and keeps saying, "Daddy'll kill you". As a growing up child she is beginning to talk like an adult. Already she is beginning to understand what society wants from people like Holden. So, following what she knows about society she lectures Holden about what he should do. Holden however only wants to be with his little sister, not an adult. Holden starts to become annoyed with her uncharacteristic
"adult-likeness". As an article from A science magazine points out humans, unlike other organisms, copy their teachers absolutely. Even if an something is weird or ineffective the child will still follow exactly what the teacher does. This is why Phoebe is unintentionally putting down her brother. What Holden really needs is support and someone to talk to, but since according to society Phoebe should reprimand him, that is what she is trying to do. This shows a fault in our society. I think it would be best if children did not imitate their parents. If they were able to forge their own paths, or in Holden's case, just remain innocent, I think that our society would be better. For example, if a child sees his parents divorce, would it no be better for him to not copy his parents and remain steady with his own wife? Do you think that it is better to have each generation start anew, or to continue to do what our fathers have done?

Another Failed Attempt at Getting a Mentor

  In Chapter 24 of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden has one of the most unsettling experiences described in the novel. This is, of course his interaction with Mr. Anatoli. Throughout the book, Holden has been looking for a mentor. He tries to talk to many different characters, but he either is unable to express himself or the person he is talking to refuses to listen to him. In the first half of Chapter 24, it seems like Holden has finally found someone to mentor him in the form of Mr. Anatoli. However, things go awry. There are many allusions to sexual abuse in this chapter, for example Mr. Anatoli calls Holden 'handsome' and pets him while he sleeps. However, Holden gives us an important clue at the end of the chapter: "When something perverty like that happens, I start sweating like a bastard. That kid of stuff's happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid." Here, Holden indicates that he might have been sexually abused before this part of his life, and I personally think that this is probably why he is so distrustful of adults and growing up in general. This probably also accounts for Holden's slight madness, if that's what it is.

 

Why do you think that Holden was or wasn't sexually abused? How might this have affected him?

A moment- Chapter 23

Throughout the book and Chapter 23, I believe Holden is coming to terms with who he really is and what he can accomplish. We never really see Holden cry, even throughout all the obstacles in the Big Apple has thrown in his path, but in Chapter 23, we see Holden cry for a very odd reason. It doesn't quite say what for but I think he was realizing what he was turning into and how he will never be able to take back the actions he has done. Holden is rushing and speeding along to get out of the house, once his parents arrived home. I think this chapter really brings out the sensitive side in Holden. We imagine this tough kid, who wants to be alone.. but as he sits on Phoebe's bed to tie his shoes, he just cries. It makes me wonder if he is trying to be tough to show us something or to get attention. Many of his actions and thoughts make me think that this Chapter is foreshadowing a suicide attempt. At the end of the chapter, Holden has gotten out of the house but then says ".. I didn't give much of a damn any more if they caught me." (p. 180) I think this quote that Holden is saying is that he wants to be found so that he won't have to sneak around anymore and lie about every little thing. I think it is coming to him that he wants to be open and known.. he wants attention, but he isn't getting it.

So is Holden really alone and depressed as he may seem in the book? Does he commit certain actions for attention? 

A Little Joy Can Go a Long Way

Holden Caulfield throughout The Catcher in the Rye, has tried to explain to people why he thinks everyone is a phony, and what his views on the world really are. Holden gave hints throughout the book of what he really thought about adulthood, but in Chapter 22, Holden spills everything he believes onto his sister. He tells her about how much he hated everyone that went to Pency, and how he hated the old man who visited on Veteran's Day. Phoebe interrupted his rant asked him if he like anything. Holden had nothing to say to that because he couldn't think of anything that he liked. This got me thinking. I realized that Holden actually hates everything in the world, and all he wants to do is avoid adulthood. I wanted to ask Holden why he hates everything and everyone, and why he calls everybody a phony. Then I realized that Holden never understood the point of living life, and the joy and benefits of life in this world. I think that if Holden learned to appreciate this joy, and a reason to live he would be much better off. If he realizes joy, then his crisis of not know what the point of life would end and he would be able to live an enjoyable life. My question for my classmates is why does Holden feel so scared of adulthood, and what needs to happen to him to make him happy to become an adult?

Ch. 21: The Caulfield Reunion

In chapter 21, Holden returns to his home to visit Phoebe, who he finds asleep in D.B.'s room. After watching her sleep for a while, he reads through her notebook, and eventually wakes her up to talk with her. At first, Phoebe is ecstatic when she sees Holden, but she later grows questioning when she asks why he came home early. Specifically, I found the moment when Holden describes children sleeping "all right" as opposed to adults "look(ing) lousy". I think this ties in with Holden's idea of the adult world being full of "phonies".

Holden thinks that the true "identity" of adults can be seen while they are asleep, while children are innocent and have nothing to hide. Sometimes, after my mom goes through a rough day at work, she falls asleep on the couch while I eat dinner. She snores pretty loudly, so its kind of hard for me to concentrate on eating with her loud snoring in the background. This instance made me connect to Holden's thought on adults, and in a way, I agree with him. He also seems pretty relaxed when he watches Phoebe sleep, which I can relate with as well. I don't have younger siblings, but I enjoy watching my dogs sleep, especially in the evening. I don't know why, but it really calms me down.

In my opinion, I think Holden feels more calm in the presence of children instead of adults, which, at this point of the book, is quite clear. Do you think that Holden turns to the youth to seek tranquility from his lonely world? Or do you think he relies on Phoebe specifically, his only sibling, for comfort?

Still Lonely After A Drink

Throughout the book there is a recurring thought of being depressed. Holden tries on several occasions to drink away his problems even though he knows that this is not going to help him at all. We see Holden in a vulnerable state when he gets “sloppy drunk.” Although we have heard Holden say multiples times how he feels depressed, when he says “ I was concealing the fact that I was a wounded sonuvabitch” (pg. 150) this really hits home because this not only refers to his little drunken wounded show, it also applies to his feeling in reality. Holden has been concealing the fact that he is wounded emotionally since the beginning of the book. Holden is also extremely lonely along with this depression. When Holden gets lonely and depressed he turns to girls. Holden finally leaves the bar in order to go phone Jane, but once he gets to the phone he doesn't want to call her anymore. Instead he decides to call Sally. Once the phone call with Sally did not work out he decides to try and get the bar tender to go on a date with him. When all else fails Holden decides to visit the recurring pond with the ducks. Holden says " I know Central Park like the back of my hand, because I used to roller-skate there all time and ride my bike when I was a kid." while at the park he is so cold that he thinks he might get pneumonia and he kind of thinks this is a good thing except the way his mom, dad and Phoebe would feel. Holden starts to imagine how his death would be from the funeral to his eternity in the ground. Holden would rather be dumped into a lake instead of buried why do you think that is? Holden is constantly trying to talk to someone why? Why is Holden constantly trying to go back to places he went as a child? How do you think everyone would react to Holden's death? Would anyone except family care?

Chapter 20: A Drunken Night

Holden's drunken escapade can tell us a lot about the notorious liar's true thoughts. While Holden is sober, he claims he is "the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life." But I think it's clear that he's not the greatest when he can't even hold onto a record. Therefore most of the things Holden does in this chapter should reveal his truer thoughts. First of all, there's Sally Hayes. Holden loves her like no other, except maybe Jane. Holden calls her up at about one in the morning to tell her that he will be there on Christmas Eve to trim her tree. It's difficult to tell if he's just calling her out of drunken stupidity, or if he's calling her because he feels something special and is "in love with her and wants to marry her" (p.124). Another one of Holden's drunken antics leads him to the pond with the ducks he always talks about in Central Park. When Holden sits down at the bench near the pond and starts thinking about his funeral if he were to die of pneumonia that night. He thinks of all of his relatives and then associates that memory with all of the people at Allie's funeral. He thinks about how his parents would react if he died, as Allie's death still haunts them. He also thinks about Phoebe, who she claims is quite fond of him, and wonders how she would react if he died as well. These thoughts make Holden feel bad and therefore he decides that he should visit Phoebe just in case he died anytime soon.

Do you think Holden's thoughts seem more true to you in this chapter? Do you think Holden loves Sally? Why is Holden so interested in this particular pond? Do you think a traumatic incident occurred there? How do you think Phoebe and Holden's parents would react if he died?

Children and Loneliness: Chapter 21 


     Throughout the book, Holden has both expressed and showed his fascination of little children. I think both Holden's loneliness and sense of innocence within the children that draws him in.  In previous chapters his mood changes after being in the presence of children younger than himself. For example, When holden was watching that little boy walk the curb between the road and the side walk, He becomes happier and can relate to the child. Although it is out in the open that holden is afraid of growing up, I think there is a small part of him that feels like he either missed out on being a child or wants to save the children from falling of the cliff into adult hood.

     In chapter 21 he expresses how peaceful phoebe, his sister, looks when she sleeps with his statement, "She was laying there asleep, with her face sort of on the side of the pillow. She had her mouth wide open. It was funny" (159). Then he goes on to say, "I felt swell for a change" (159). This statement expresses the change in mood he feels being in the presence of his younger sister. He no longer feels scared his parents will come come, that he will get pneumonia, or even his familiar feeling of loneliness.
    Why do you think Holden leans toward younger children in his periods of sorrow? Is this a healthy way to deal with loneliness? Why the fascination with kids?

Just Need Some One To Talk To

Once again Holden is out and about. He is waiting on his friend Luce. Today he is at a well known bar named the Wicker Bar. A lady who plays the piano terribly, her partner who whispers the same small paragraph before they start their performance, and a stuck up bartender who only talks to the "rich and famous". This bar sounds like a depressing place where single and maybe even married men come spend their lonely evenings to get drunk. Well that seems to be Holden's crowd. When Luce finally shows up, Holden describes Luce as a very sexual man, yet every single time Holden brings up the subject of sex Luce says to grow up, and he changes the subject.  Also Luce seems like a man who likes to get into peoples business. When Holden tells us that Luce knows rather a person is a flit or a lesbian just by looking at the person. Holden ask Luce a lot of questions, I think again Holden is just feeling lonely, and he's trying to spark up a conversation. What Holden is looking for, and needs is a friend who he can talk to and spill everything that is bothering him so he won't hold it in. Like what Mrs. Flemming said in class sometimes everybody needs to cry, but Holden has not bonded with anybody who he feels comfortable cry with. By the way Luce keeps giving short answers he does not want to have a conversation at the moment. Or he is not much of a conversationalist at all. Towards the end of the chapter Holden offers Luce to have one last drink, but Luce says no and claims he is late for something. Holden is always leaning on an alcoholic drink when you he lonesome or bored. Would you consider Holden a slight alcoholic?

Goddam Phonies

Throughout chapter 18, Holden gives us a large insight to his thinking. The chapter begins as Holden leaves the skating rink after his poor date with Sally. Holden does not act as though he cares much about the event that had recently transpired, but the readers can tell from his actions that he is upset. Although Holden just had a drink, he has a meal after leaving the rink. The very next thing Holden does is go to a phone booth and call Jane. Holden looks for company because he feels lonely and upset. He wants to spend time with or simply talk with someone else. Since Jane is not home he looks for others to call. Finally, he decides to call Carl Luce, a Columbia student that is three years older than him. After hanging up with Carl, Holden tells us, "I think he was pretty surprised to hear from me. I once called him a fat-assed phony." (p. 137) This quote shows the readers that Holden and Carl were never especially good friends. It proves how desperate Holden really is for some kind of understanding, support, or conversation. While telling us about the incident in the phone booth Holden gets distracted as always. He diverges to tell us that girls will always think what they want to think about certain guys, "no matter how big a bastard he is". (p. 136) After leaving the phone booth, Holden decides to kill time by going to the movies at Radio City.

At Radio City, Holden shows the readers what he hates most in the entire world: Phonies. Before the film, the Rockettes did a show for the audience. Then a man on roller skates came on stage and told jokes while performing tricks. Later, a Christmas show begins and several actors carry crucifixes and sing "Come All Ye Faithful!". Finally, the movie begins. The film is about an engaged British man, Alec, who loses his memory in the war. He falls in love with a new girl, and he writes a book to help her publishing business. Eventually his old fiancée, Marcia, recognizes him and brings him home. After getting hit in the head by a cricket ball, Alec regains his memory. Ultimately everyone is happy and the right lovers end up together. Holden detests all of it. He can't even focus on the spectacles before the movie because he keeps worrying about how phony it is. He says he can't stop imagining the actors practicing for the show. After telling us about the film Holden says, "All I can say is, don't see it if you don't want to puke all over yourself." (p. 139) He sits next to a woman that cries throughout the "phony" film and acts cruel to her child. This makes him hate the movie even more. After leaving Radio City, Holden walks to the Wicker Bar, where he was supposed to meet Carl Luce. As he walks he thinks about how much he would hate the army, on account of all the phonies that would be in it. Holden resents the adult world because he perceives it as phony, fake or insincere. He acts as though he needs a mentor or a supporter in his life, but he constantly resists the world around him. Do you think that Holden should continue to push against others? Do you think he should be more open about his feelings? Should he simply ask for the help he might need? Is the wall that he has built against the world counterproductive? Why or why not?

Teenagers Stretch the Truth

In chapter 18, Holden starts by leaving the ice rink after a terrible date with Sally. For a boy who just threw himself at a girl then reverted back to insults after rejection, Holden seems very unaffected. This is shown by his first thought after leaving, "When I left the skating rink I felt sort of hungry..." He does not seem to care at all about his fight with Sally, but instead seems to focus on getting food. After that he realizes that Jane may be home and tries to call her. This further proves his favoring of Jane. No one answers and he hangs up. He goes into thought about Jane's past. At a Fourth of July party Holden was very jealous of her date, but instead of saying so, he digs deep to find many reasons to hate her date, Al Pike. First he brings up how conceded he is, but finds himself eventually insulting Al's swimsuits and diving ability before he tries to get back on topic. He then goes into a very similar situation where he set up a female friend's roommate up on a date with his friend, Bob Robinson. Bob and Al are both described similarly but Jane defended Al at the time and Holden is now defending Bob. This shows that both teens defended their friends, no matter how they acted, proving that they do stretch the truth sometimes. Holden starts trying to make plans for the evening. He eventually decides to get a drink with Carl Luce at ten o'clock. Holden has a decent amount of time to spare and decides to head on down to Radio City. This is where the deepest connections appear in this chapter. Holden procedes to make fun of every act or film that appears. The one that he did not insult was the kettle drummer in the orchestra. He likes him because he was the best drummer he had seen. This thought might even be stretched truth due to the fact that Holden and Allie used to come watch the orchestra just for the drummer. His love for Allie could make him really love this drummer, even if he truly hated the drummer. After that, the longest connection was the English movie.

It was about a man who loses his memory in war and becomes engaged to a woman while being engaged in his previously lived life. He eventually regains his memory but stays with his newly engaged girlfriend.Throughout Holden's explanation of the film, he was saying how terrible and cheesy it was, but it obviously had some meaning to him deep down. This relates to Holden's changes throughout his lives, but he never seems to come out on top, unlike the main character in the movie. Do you all think that this film is foreshadowing to a future partner for Holden? Or even something else? If so, what is it? And do you think he actually thought the movie was disgusting and phony? 

Absurd Acting

ABSURD ACTING

In chapter 16, Holden talks about seeing Hamlet with his siblings as a kid. Sir Laurence Oliver played Hamlet, and Holden tells us that he has a fantastic voice and he's very good looking. However, Oliver's acting disappointed Holden because D.B. had said Hamlet was a "sad, screwed-up type guy", but according to Holden, Sir Laurence Oliver was too much like a "goddamn general".

On the left, Sir Laurence plays Hamlet, and on the right, a book cover illustration shows a complete different look for Hamlet. Casting directors often cast actors that act completely different than we imagine, and sometimes this can be great, and other times, like Holden, the audience leaves the movie theater very frustrated. For example, many expected Katniss in The Hunger Games as different races because Suzanne Collins never gave a specific race to Katniss. Because Katniss' appearance wasn't specific, Katniss became someone everyone can relate to. However when they made it a movie, Katniss was a white female, which may have been a shock to some readers. Jennifer Lawrence is naturally pretty and more real looking than other actresses, which may have been a shock to some people expecting to see a tiny little model-looking actress. Casting decisions can greatly impact the success of a film. Can you think of an example where a casting director cast someone in a movie that contradicts how you pictured them to be? Do you think it was successful? Explain why or why not.

Who's the phony -- Holden or the World?

Throughout the book, Holden’s main complaint is the phoniness of the adult world. This theme resonates through Chapter 17, in which he takes his ex-girlfriend Sally Hayes out on a date. In Chapter 9, Holden had complained about how phony he found Sally to be but he decided to go out with her any way. As he waits for Sally at the Biltmore hotel, he notices girls lounging around waiting for their dates and finds it depressing as he muses about the artificial and phony lives that lay ahead of them. When Sally arrives, he is pleased to see her, much to his own surprise, as he did not fancy her. Inside he is thinking, “Oh puh-lease, why am I so pleased to see her?” He does mess around with her in the cab, as he was acting “super seductive and all.”

He found the actors in the play phony because he felt they were too good at what they were doing--- too good to be believable and too full of themselves. At the intermission, he is irritated by the artificial conversation people around him were having about the play.  Also, when Sally begins insisting that she knew someone she saw,  he taunts her by saying that she should go give him a kiss. He is nauseated by the encounter between Sally and her old acquaintance. He even found Sally’s reason to go ice-skating after the theater phony. He knew that she was merely going there to wear revealing clothes, not because she loved skating.

      In this chapter, Holden even seems to admit that he is crazy. He acknowledges the fact that he is giving us, the readers, a rather haphazard account of his life. His tone seems to convey, “I know something is wrong with me, and yet I seem to be proud of it.” Holden seems to pride himself on his view of the world. He finds reality horribly phony and wants to escape to an alternate dimension where no one puts on an “act,” and phoniness is not a part of reality. He is proud of his own conception of reality. 

The old saying goes, Pride leads to the fall.

So my questions are…

1.     Is Holden’s pride justified, or is he too obstinate to accept reality for what it is?

2.     Is  it Holden’s pride that gets him into trouble?

Explain/Justify your answers.

"I swear to God I'm a madman."
In chapter 17, Holden goes on his date with Sally.  Holden arrives at the Bitlmore early so he has to wait for Sally to arrive.  While he waits Holden tells us that he doesn't understand boring guys and remembers Harris Macklin, an old roommate from Elkton Hills.  He talked about how he was the best whistler too and said that he shouldn't really care about boring guys because maybe they all have their own hidden talents.  Once Sally arrives, Holden says he falls in love with her and tells how stunning she looks.  Once they get in the Cab to go see the play Holden "seduces" her and they start hooking up in the cab.  While they were playing tonsil hockey, he says things like he loves her.  But his explanation for him saying it is what interests me. He says it was a lie but at the time he meant it, then he says "I'm crazy. I swear to God I am."  Once they got to the theatre they see the play the Lunts.  After the first act, Sally goes and talks to some phonie which makes Holden jealous.  After the second act, they talk more which just makes Holden more jealous.  They get back in the cab and Holden tells us about how he just wants to take Sally home now, but he agrees to go ice skating with her at Radio City.

Once they ice-skate for a little bit they go sit down inside and this is when Holden goes off the rails.  Holden begins to rant about how terrible all boy schools are and Sally might keep politely  reminding him to stop yelling.  Holden then asks to run away with him somewhere Massachusetts and Vermont and live away in a log cabin.  After she declines him Holden asks to leave because she is a "royal pain in the ass".  Sally begins to cry and Holden begins apologizing, but she does not accept his apologizes.  Then Holden oddly enough begins to laugh.  And he leaves her just to cry.  Holden then explains to us that he probably wouldn't have taken her, even if she wanted to go. Insinuating that he didn't really mean what he said.  But then at the end he tells us, that when he said it he meant it at the time and says at the end. "I swear to God I'm a madman."  This chapter increases our suspicion that Holden is telling this from a mental institue. But, do y'all think Holden is actually mentally insane?   Or do you think he is just depressed? Or maybe just immature?

Museum Obsession

By: Rhett Cardwell

           In Chapter 16 of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is looking for his sister, Phoebe in a local New York park. He finds a girl tightening her skateboard and so Holden asks if she knows Phoebe. She says that she might be at the "museum with the Indians". The only thing is, it's a Sunday. The muesum is closed on Sundays. Knowing that he won't be able to find his sister Holden decides to do what he has been doing for the past couple of chapters. Walk around with what seems like no purpose. He thinks about how The Museum of Natural History looked when he was a child. The thing that's interesting to me is that he goes on a rant about this place. He talks about all the things that it contained like, Columbus and the Spainards, indians, guards of the museum, and even eskimos. When I say rant, I mean a complete obesssion with the museum. He talks about this muesum for almost three pages straight with no indentions. No indentions meaning the whole thing is just one huge paragraph. Throughout the book it's been interesting to see and point out where Holden talks about what's going on in his world and then how he switches it to a topic that doesn't matter to the actual plot. He goes into such detail about each of his past experiences that don't really contribute to the story. I'm curious as to what y'all think about this. Why do you think Holden tends to go on these seemingly endless rants over somtimes very meaningless ideas? Do you think they possibly contribute to the story, if so why?

New York City Muesum of Natural History!

Madness to Mania: Chapter 15

Throughout chapter 15, the last line of the section reveals something incredibly strange about Holden in his sense of religious beliefs and the power of money. After the two kind nuns leave Holden at the breakfast bar with his ten dollar charity donation, he starts to doubt wether he was generous enough or if he should have given more money for a just cause. This moment is highly contradictory since Holden in the previous chapter stated that he did not agree with organized religion, however, he still is willing to give more “dough” to the nuns and charity. Holden states, “Goddamn money. It always ends up making you blue as hell” even though he was almost going to pay the women’s check at the bar (pg. 113). This statment proves to the reader that Holden’s narration is truly unreliable and argumentative. 

In addition to his opinion on money, this chapter seems to have more lines in which Holden states something and then almost instantly rearranges his wording. For example, when the troubled teenager is discussing how religion and Catholicism could ruin a talk, he confusingly says, “I’m not saying it ruined our conversation or anything--it didn’t--but it sure as hell didn’t do it any good” (pg. 113) This line and countless others show that Holden is having a harder time phrasing opinions while simultaneously trying to sound polite. One possible explanation for this large amount of “flight of ideas” could be “self-reference” or “loss of goal” which are mental speech disorders extremely common in young adults. In the case of Holden whom the reader can predict is in a mental health facility, he often rethinks his statements to make sure they do not come across as blunt or rude. If one was to read aloud this chapter, they would realize that Holden repeats many similar phrases such as, “that’s all I’m saying”, “I didn’t...”, and “but...” (pgs. 105-113). 

       From this article of the Huffington Post many book critics and reviewers believe that Holden is suffering some form of mania or depression due to his method of speech and associative memory which is not the uncommon for the time period. Is the author trying to give us clues that there is something wrong mentally with Holden through his process and wording? Do you believe Holden is actually insane or does he have some sort of sanity left in him? If so, explain why or why not.

"The goddam movies. They can ruin you."

           Chapter Fourteen gives an insight into Holden's very interesting religious views for the first time. He has an atypical look at religion that is by no means arbitrary. In fact, his conclusions he draws about Christianity and Jesus are based on his experiences. For example, he firmly believes that Jesus never sent Judas to hell. He is sure that one of his Disciples would have, but he once "bet a thousand bucks" that Jesus didn't. Holden most appreciates Jesus's ability to forgive, because he has a hard time forgiving people and forgiving himself. He cannot forgive himself for preventing Allie from coming with Bobby go to Lake Sedebego, and this is why he repeatedly tells Allie, "Okay. Go home and get your bike, and meet me in front of Bobby's house."He wants so badly to believe that Jesus will forgive him, because knowing that helps him stay somewhat sane when everything goes wrong.
           When we feel depressed, our brain has a self-defense mechanism that helps us plow through our hard times. These mechanisms are different for each person. Holden's is to suddenly image the next few moments of his life as a movie, where he becomes the center of attention for once, similar to Olive Penderghast, in the movie Easy A.

Holden says, "I'm sort of an atheist," (99). Do you believe him? Do you think that he really believes that "those goddamn movies...ruin you" (104)? Do you think these lines are examples of instances when Holden contradicts himself? Why or why not?

Building More on Biltmore

Chapter: 15

"And I certainly didn't feel like going to another hotel and getting my brains beat out. So what I did, I told the driver to take me to Grand Central Station. It was right near the Biltmore, where I was meeting Sally later, and I figured out what I'd do, I'd check my bags in one of those strong boxes that they give you a key to, then get some breakfast. I was sort of hungry." --Holden Caulfield, from The Catcher in the Rye (Page 107).

In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield agrees to meet Sally Hayes at Biltmore Hotel for a matinee. Biltmore Hotel is across from The Grand Central Station; it's one of the four hotels built around Grand Central Station. Gustav Braumann opened the hotel on January 31, 1913. However, this building is no longer in existence, it has been replaced by the Bank of America Plaza. The kissing room was a famous place for couples to meet. Biltmore was also well-known because of it's restaurants. Biltmore also held the first indoor sauna and swimming pool. Biltmore was a luxury hotel during its fame. Biltmore is an allusion referenced in The Catcher in the Rye. Holden had many choices of where he could go and what he could do at Biltmore. I think that's one of the hotel's specialties. J.D Salinger uses Biltmore as an allusion because in the beginning of book Holden says flatly, "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...but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." (Page 1) So allusions are one of J.D. Salinger's ways of giving us a relative time period. As far as allusions, J.D. Salinger uses a lot of them, and Biltmore is one that some of you may have skipped over. Why do you think J.D. Salinger uses so many allusions verses just a few of them? Why or why not would you think Biltmore is an important allusion? Explain.

Who's the real phony

Through out Catcher and the Rye, Holden is constantly narrating things that do not always make sense or he is always contradicting what he said in the previous sentence. In chapter 14 Holden calls a minister phony, which is a very strong accusation to make. Holden shows that he is too scared to grow up and relents becoming a "phony adult", but all along he is the real phony. He never gives out the correct name, age, and definitely not story. Holden speaks about  this boy Arthur Child saying " That poor bastard I used to get in quite a few arguments about it, when I was at the Whooton School", but after claims "He was a very nice kid, and I liked him." Holden is always saying something, but always means something else or changes his mind. In the bible Holden claims Judas was a liar and failure to Jesus. He finds people so unreliable and untrustworthy. Though throughout this chapter he begins to become more vulnerable and manages to narrate some of the information he has been keeping in,  foreshadowing possible damaging memories.

These backstabbers, Liars, and Fake girls resemble this theme of not trusting, holding the truth in and pain. Like in Catcher in the Rye, Holden starts to drop hints of incidents of his past to the readers like in the movie Mean Girls. The girls become so fed up and tell secrets to each other and the truth begins to come together. Through out this movie backstabbing is swarming the school. Like Holden, Regina is always agreeing with something, but her actions contradict her. As for Holden he says he like Arthur Childs, but arguing with someone and calling them a bastard does not necessarily give off the signal of liking someone. They all have low self esteem as does Holden. Also when Holden can't find someone that can fill his desire he moves on to another person hoping to meet someone who will talk to him, as do these girls. Once they get what they want they move on. They are major liars and phonies. 

Who is the real phony in the book? Why does Holden claim the adult world phony, when he too lies? Is Holden trying to say more?