Soph in-class writing make-up
In a well-organized 12-15 sentence paragraph, write about
ONE of the following topics found in The
Catcher in the Rye. Note a minimum of four specific incidents and/or even
lines (quotations) from the novel.
1. The Catcher in the Rye both values and
criticizes education and the educational system.
2. Allie,
Jane, or Phoebe (you will write about one) each presents both hope and problems
for Holden.
3. True
to the Peter Pan syndrome, Holden prefers that things remain the same while he
dislikes change or growth.
4. The Catcher in the Rye criticizes
American materialism.
Post before the end of class. You might want to work in a Word document and save periodically so that your work will not be lost in case of computer or electronic problems.
posted by JTF @ 10:37 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I enjoyed Chris Blackwell’s post as Earnest Morrow’s mother. I thought it was unique and is a scene that I did not even think of when doing this assignment. One thing that I liked was that the thoughts of the narrator in the passage matched up with the dialogue.
Allan’s post as Maurice was also good and represented basically what I thought of Maurice. He showed Maurice planning to make a fool of Holden which is exactly what he did when he came for more money. I also liked it because it gave a lot of information on what Maurice thought of the situation.
Katie Lee’s post as Sally Hayes was well written and was detailed. It portrayed the whole scene she was in while also giving side comments about what she thought about things. It also adds personal things about Sally Hayes which adds to the passage.
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is certainly shown as a troubled youth. One of the things the reader learns about Holden is that he is no rush to grow up. When Holden goes to the park to see if Phoebe is there, a child tells him Phoebe may be at the museum. Holden likes how nothing ever changes there, “ The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything stayed right where it was. (121)” Holden enjoys going to the museum because he knows what to expect and that everything will be consistent. Another crucial part of the book is Jane. “What she’d do, when she got a king, she wouldn’t move it. She’d just leave it in the back row.(31-32)” Holden said she would do this because it looked “pretty”. This was a very juvenile move, but it did appeal to Holden. Holden also comments on how he is not a fan of structured sports. He said he enjoys throwing the football around, but has no interest in actual games. This is strange because boys his age are always looking for ways to compete. So by expressing he has no interest in structured games, is another example of how he does not want to grow up. The ducks are also an example of Holden’s struggle to accept change. The ducks, unlike Holden, learn to adapt to change. They know it is time to move on to a new place when the seasons change.
Phoebe Caulfield presents Holden Caulfield both hope and problems in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Phoebe is Holden’s kid sister, and she is a very intellectually inclined eight-year-old girl. Holden and she have a very close relationship, and she unknowingly forces Holden into the realization that he can no longer live in his fantasy adolescent world. Phoebe is the one of the very few people in the world that can actually make Holden happy. Holden has a very negative outlook on the world; however, when he is with Phoebe, he feels that he has something to live for. Practically everything that Phoebe does makes Holden smile because he knows that she is still living in her perfect fantasy world where she changes her middle name every other day. However, even though she brings him this hope and this happiness, she also makes him realize that he is no longer in that world. He has to be the adult when he is with her and take care of her. One of the major problems that Phoebe brings to Holden’s attention is that he doesn’t like anything. When Holden snuck into his family’s apartment to talk to Phoebe, she asked him what he actually truly liked in the world. This made Holden speechless because he could not think of anything. When he finally was able to think of his late brother Allie, Phoebe forced him to realize that he did not like anything alive and on earth at that moment. This is how Phoebe was both hope and a problem for her brother Holden.
In The Catcher in the Rye, Phoebe represents both hope and problems throughout the book. She represents hope to Holden in many ways. One indication of this is how Holden thinks of Phoebe in general. She is the only person that Holden truly seems to care about. Holden goes to his parents’ house, which he was purposely avoiding earlier, solely to see his little sister. Another example of how Phoebe represents hope is how she represents basic life to him in a way. Throughout most of the book, Holden is in this state of confusion where he does not know what he wants, but when he is with his sister he does not think of all the crazy and odd things he usually does. Although Phoebe is a primarily positive figure in Holden’s life, she also represents problems for Holden. One clear problem that Phoebe shows is how she messes up Holden’s plans to go away. Holden was planning to leave and just live on his own for a while, but Phoebe stops him without even realizing. Her innocent and immature personality leads her to discourage Holden accidentally when she is just trying to do what she wants. She goes up to him with her little suitcase and tells him she is going with him. This leads Holden to the realization of his crazy idea and he decides not to do it. In the end the one significant problem Phoebe presents to Holden ends up being a moment that turns out for the better.
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is troubled boy who has major issues. He accuses the adult world of being filled with phonies while he says that childhood has honesty and innocence. If it were up to Holden, nothing would change in life and you wouldn’t have to grow up to be a phony adult. A good example of Holden’s like of the unchanging can be shown in the museum scene. Holden fears change and complexity. As a kid, Holden frequently visited the museum and he enjoyed that things rarely changed in the museum exhibits. He says, “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was” (121). He disliked however that the only thing that would change would be you. Another main part of the story where Holden doesn’t want to let go of his childhood is when he talks or thinks about an old friend named Jane Gallagher. He describes how they always used to hang out together, hold hands, go to the movies, and play checkers. It disturbs Holden when his roommate at Pencey goes on a date with her because he worries that they had sex. He fears that by doing so, Stradlater is robbing her of her innocence and childhood. Holden himself is a virgin and is very confused about sex even though he is greatly interested in it. He even admits, “Sex is something I just don’t understand. I swear to God I don’t” (63). Every time he has an opportunity for intimacy he stops and his attitude changes as he is trying to preserve his own innocence in a way. Another crucial part of Holden’s childhood was his brother Allie who died. Holden often mentions how much he misses him and brings up stories of when they were kids. He expresses that Allie was a wonderful child and that he was very bright and fun to be around. All of these scenes are instances where Holden tries to preserve his childhood and not grow up.
In The Catcher in the Rye, we learn about the many emotions of Holden Caulfield. Many of them come up when he mentions his good friend Jane Gallagher. Although thinking about Jane causes Holden to feel joy, he also feels pain and jealousy when he thinks about her and her date with Stradlater. “… and though I was pretty damn sure old Stradlater hadn’t given her the time – I know old Jane like a book – I still couldn’t get her off my brain.” He is very jealous when Stradlater comes back from the date and does not even know if her name is Jane or Jean. The thought of them together drove him crazy because he did not want to think of anyone taking advantage of someone like Jane. But whenever he thinks of Jane, he always has happy thoughts about her, especially small quirky things that most people would not take much notice to. Her quirks “killed” him. He liked the way she lost all her balls when golfing and even when she played checkers and kept all her kings on the back row. She gave him hope in a sense of how much he could trust her. “She read a lot of poetry and all. She was the only one, outside my family, that I ever showed Allie’s baseball mitt to, with all the poems written on it.” Holden trusted Jane enough to let her see his brother’s baseball mitt, which held a sentimental value in his memories of Allie. He did not feel like he could trust many people outside his family, but Jane was special.
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