Chapters 16-18

“Certain things they should stay the way they are.” p.122 What does it say? It would seem that Holden doesn‘t want people or life to change. What does it mean? Part of him wants to remain a child in order to be safe and happy. Holden misses his brother who he describes as being perfect and he wants to keep his sister safe when she tries to come with him because he sees her as being unspoiled by the outside world. If things stay the way they are then his brother wouldn’t have become ill and died and his sister would never lose her innocence. What does it matter? Where is Holden going and what is he doing with his life? I think this is the question all people ask themselves throughout their lives starting when they’re teenagers. Holden’s language is often juvenile even though he thinks he’s ready to take on the world. He thinks about getting married and living an idyllic life in the wilderness and proposes this to Sally who rejects the idea as fantastic. She wants to wait until they finish college, but he thinks waiting will ruin their chances and everything will change. Holden seems to view the world as a place full of phonies and idiots. He calls himself a madman because he goes back and forth from acting like a child to trying to be an adult. In the end, Holden is getting help, but he still remains cynical about the future. He thinks he’ll do alright, but how do you know if you will do something until you do it? According to Holden, you don’t.

Chapters 8-11

Holden is “shooting the crap around” in Chapter 8 when he finds himself talking with a classmate’s mother. It’s as though he doesn’t want Mrs. Morrow to know her son, Ernest, is a terrible person who snaps towels at other guys trying to hurt them. Then he makes her son out to be a saint and exaggerates the truth so much it would be unbelievable to anyone but his mother. I’m not sure where Holden toys with the audience (readers) except maybe where he talks about calling Jane and posing as her uncle, telling whoever answers that Jane’s aunt is dead, and then changes his mind. Or when he’s talking about what a good golfer he is or that he was almost in a movie short. Holden seems to be exaggerating to the audience just like he was to Mrs. Morrow. I think he’s trying to impress the reader with his exploits, but the words he chooses to express/describe himself are often unflattering.

Chapter 5

Holden expressed his grief about Allie when he punched all the windows out in the garage and then tried to punch out the windows in the family car too, but couldn’t because his hand was already broken. I can relate to Holden’s anger about not being able to control something so important in his life. I feel angry when I think I’ve been treated unfairly and I think that’s how Holden felt. He still grieves for the loss of his brother because he keeps Allie’s baseball mitt with him. I think he was using the composition as a way to cope with the loss and as a tribute to his little brother, but also because he thinks about him a lot and misses him. No one close to me has died yet, but I have had some losses. My sisters are a lot older than me and moved away from home when I was little. I think sometimes it would be nice to have a brother. I don’t think society always handles death in a positive way. Sometimes there’s too little grief and occasionally there’s too much. Society seems to be confused about how to handle most situations and can’t personalize grief so that all people are comfortable.

Chapters 2, 3, & 4

Holden seems to be straightforward and doesn’t hold back what he thinks. I like that he has strong opinions about people and describes them pretty accurately. For instance, Holden says he’s “ not too crazy about sick people” and “what made it even more depressing, old Spencer had on this very sad, ratty old bathrobe.” and the room smelling of Vicks. But, he still takes Mr. Spencer into consideration and keeps his negative thoughts to himself. Holden really didn’t like having his essay read aloud, but he didn’t tell Mr. Spencer that either. I suppose the only thing I really don’t like about Holden is that he’s pessimistic about his life so far in general. He’s a pretty typical teenager because he doesn't think much beyond the present. He starts “horsing around” with his roommate and taps dances for no apparent reason other than he’s bored. I empathize with Holden because it seems pretty awful to have to go an all male boarding school and not particularly like your roommates. He’s also failing four out of five classes and seems disinterested in most subjects and I can relate to that. I can sympathize and empathize with Holden when he says, “I was getting sort of nervous, all of a sudden. I’m quite a nervous guy.” I think he was nervous thinking about Jane Gallagher even though he doesn’t say so.