Throughout the book, I have noticed that Holden has become a lot more hostile towards others, especially at the end. He was always pushing people away from him throughout the book, but it became more and more pronounced nearing the end of the novel, like when he insulted Sally. Holden acts a little differently towards his sister Phoebe. This, I think is good in part because if he acted to his sister how he acted towards Ackley, than he would not be a very good person. He acts almost like he wants to relive his messed up childhood through hers. His childhood consisted of being sent away to an all boys boarding school, and then having his brother dying as well. I also think that when he tells Phoebe about wanting to be the “catcher in the rye”, that showed that Holden isn’t always such a hostile person. I think that him catching the kids that may run/fall of the imaginary cliff is sort of a metaphor, almost like he is stopping them from leaving the happy world of childhood. I think this because Holden had a great childhood at first, but then as he started to grow up, he had trouble finding his place in the world, and he also had a traumatic experience with his brother dying at a very early age. He knows that growing up is really, really hard, and if you’re like Holden and can’t find a place where you fit in, it’s really awful. I talked with my mom about this and from what she remembered about the book, she said that because Holden had such fond memories of childhood and such bad ones of growing up, the metaphor signifies that he almost wants to try and stop people from growing up. When it hit me that I was growing up and leaving childhood for the first time, it was unpleasant, and jarring. Right when Holden starts talking to Phoebe, it says, “Then, all of a sudden, she said, ‘Oh, why did you do it?’ She meant why did I get the ax again. It made me sort of mad, the way she said it. ‘Oh, god, Phoebe, don’t ask me. I’m sick of everybody asking me that,’ I said. “A million reasons why. It was one of the worst schools I ever went to.” That kind of shows just how bitter and almost frustrated Holden is with being forced to be someone he doesn’t want to be. Also, I have noticed that Holden is acting more and more angrily at the very end of the novel. I think that anger is mostly towards the world in general, and it was triggered by seeing the curse words carved into the walls. Holden is sort of rejecting the world around him, because he wants to just move away from everyone and everything, and live in the mountains somewhere. I think he’s just tired of trying to be molded by his parents into some person he is not, tired of all of the phonies in society, and mostly tired of him not finding his place in the world. Holden has a very interesting relationship with his sister and acts differently in the relationship. I pity him for this, because that feeling of being lost must tear him up inside, and the stress of being something your parents don’t approve of is also really hard to deal with. In chapter 17, it says, “The worst part was, the jerk had one of those very funny, ivy league voices, one of those very tired, snobby voices. He sounded just like a girl. He didn't hesitate to horn in on my date, the bastard. I even thought for a minute that he was going to get in the goddamn cab with us when the show was over, because he walked about two blocks with us, but he had to meet a bunch of phonies for cocktails, he said. I could see them all sitting around in some bar, with their goddamn checkered vests, criticizing shows and books and women in those tired, snobby voices. They kill me, those guys.” This shows that Holden is not giving in to be the rich, snobby, well educated person his parents and society thinks he will become, but his very own person. This also shows that he doesn't like the people that his parents want him to become, and that he doesn't even want to associate with them. Another quote from the book is from chapter 25. It says, “I figured I could get a job at a filling station somewhere, putting gas and oil in people's cars. I didn't care what kind of job it was, though. Just so people didn't know me and I didn't know anybody. I just thought what I do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf mutes. that way I wouldn't have to have any goddamn stupid useless conversations with anybody. If anybody wanted to tell me something, they’d have to write it on a piece of paper and shove it over to me. They'd get bored as hell doing that after a while, and then I'd be through with having conversations for the rest of my life. Everybody to think I was just a poor deaf mute bastard and they leave me alone. They’d let me put gas and oil in their stupid cars, and they’d pay me a salary and all for it, and I build me a little cabin somewhere with the dough I made and live there for the rest of my life.” This shows that Holden is fed up with the society he lives in and just wants to move away so he doesn’t have to talk to or deal with any phonies. It also shows that Holden is becoming more and more frustrated with the world he lives in.
2 Comments
1/4/2017 12:18:47 pm
Throughout all of your posts, you seem to have some really interesting commentary on the novel! This one especially sticks out, mainly seeing your devoted take on the symbolism behind what it really means to be "a catcher in the rye" and how it connects to Holden's rotten attitude and outlook. All of the evidence you use helps connect and tie dots that wouldn't really be there before, which is really nice to read. I wouldn't ever think of comparing Ackley to Phoebe with how opposite they are- but it seems to work! As well, I liked the part considering how Holden is trying to break away from his assumed nature. He's not just annoyed at high class "phony" people, he's afraid of becoming one.
Reply
1/8/2017 05:12:03 pm
I agree with Kendall here. In just about everything. However, as these are blog posts, I think you ought to do a bit more with breaking up the text chunks. Too much small text on a screen makes it difficult to read. Break it up with images or text "blow outs" (the large texts that are often quotations from the book, etc).
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI am Andrew, a high school kid attending PVHS. I enjoy golf, track, Xbox, and skiing. I have a passion for cars. I love reading, and my favorite book is Game of Thrones. Archives
January 2017
Categories |