5 Qs

Closed-ended:
Who was the only person to show good character in the James Castle situation?
Open-ended:
Why does Holden like kids so much?
World Connection:
Do you think Holden litteraly wants to be the catcher in the rye or is there a deeper meaning?
Universal Theme:
Do you think Holden belongs in a hospital?
Literary Analysis:
`What do you think happened to Holden that would make him have to go to the rest home?

Be You, be Me

Marriage,
A relationship with obligations,
which so too many across these nations choose to participate in.
Don't let me be your better half,
I love you too much to go through with splitting you in two don't,
be part of me just,
listen wholeheartedly to the thoughts that my soul has brought to me and,
respect the different perspectives I've been subjected to due to my experiences,
let me,
show you what I feel I owe you for,
helping me grow through affection and trust.
I will do the same for you plus protection and,
not because I must, just because
I like to see you smile.
Not that I'm scared to see you frown or,
scared to let you down.
With each other there's nothing to fear so,
as the years go by and,
the idea of marriage draws nearer and clearer and,
seems to be all around us,
surround us lets,
both put one knee down, on the ground,
so to see brown eye to eye.
Its okay, cry but,
understand why
there should be no price on living the life right for us my,
fingers will be your ring 'cuz,
you and me are just two singles.
It's okay to mingle remember,
in the end we both got a friend
who in front of we don't have to pretend to be or,
bend our personality like,
were our own society see,
in reality
love won't last past legalities.
Anyway,
your aware of how much I care so,
there's really no need to be scared to,
let you be you.
Let me be me.

"In the first place, I hate actors."

pg117
I am not using this quote literally for the analysis. I think Holden's whole beef with actors is kind of a symbol. It is a symbol for how he feels about society and many people in society that make it what it is. It is clear that Holden hates the fakeness or "phoniness" of society. An actor is an embodiment of fakeness. It is like the epitome of the thing that Holden seems to hate the most about society. I'm not saying all actors are fakes or anything negative about them. I think it is funny that he chooses actors to unload his hatred on. They are some of the only people in society that act fake for a good reason, it is their job and it is all done consciously. At least they know they are acting fake. They are definitely some of the only people in society who are honest about their fakeness so I think a lot of them are pretty cool compared to a lot of non-actors.

lack or respect/motivation

Maybe Holden does lack respect for authority. But does having a lack of respect for authority say something negative about his character? People disrespect others when they think they show more negative character traits than positive. So is it bad that Holden's opinion is what it is about authority? To say that his disrespect for authority is a problem is an opinion. I would say that it is not at all a problem. I respect the fact that Holden can look at something and not just accept it and deal with it. He looks for the best in people and society, including authority. He finds more negative sides of authority than he does positive and that is why he disrespects them. It might be a problem if he was a jerk to all authority but he is actually pretty nice and respectful to them in person. I definitely do not see disrespect towards authority as a problem in America.

The author shows this struggle in many ways. The thing I think of most is the scene in the bar. Holden acts obviously mature enough to order a drink but he can't because of the number of years he has been alive. In my opinion he should be legal to drink way before so many others who are over 21 years old. Also he saw the older women at the bar. They were old enough to where anybody would consider them adults. But If you think about it who was more mature, Holden or the women? I think this was a symbol by the author saying that the measure of your age is not the same as the measure of your maturity. I feel if Holden were given the opportunities of an adult he would become an adult, or at least much more of one than most people. The biggest struggle I face in becoming an adult is seeing the date of birth on my intermediate driver's license.

I feel sympathy for Holden as well as pass judgement. It kind of sucks that he is so alienated everywhere he goes but he doesn't really try to do much about it. Maybe he likes being alienated. In that case I don't really feel bad for him because he seems like he is doing pretty well. I like the way he observes things and sticks to his guns about what he disagrees with. But he is probably just as much of a phony as most other people. He just has a hard time seeing how they could be really like that. Holden always thinks certain things are stupid but he never does anything about it. He doesn't even admit that he thinks they are stupid if he is asked. That is definitely phoniness.

Question#4

The difference between childhood and adulthood is not about how many birthdays you have had. As a child you are far more concerned about wants and desires than an adult. As a child you are able to sacrifice what you need to do for what you want with fairly small consequences. As an adult your experience and wisdom does not allow your desires to outweigh your needs. Adulthood is about necessities and how to get them. You must personally do what needs to be done for you to get what you need to live. It is only if you have extra time or resource that you are able to afford wants.

In this day and age, in this country and select others, many (not all) people are able to afford wants; many people are able to not fully become an adult. The technologies that have become so common in recent years have allowed many of us to list entertainment as a need to live. Not all of us are children but many of us at least have some child left in us. However, they have also brought much more freedom to think, create and share ideas and ideals and evolve in many ways as a species. But is this modern evolution good or bad? Is it ideal to keep a certain amount of child in all of us? Is the so publicized "American Dream" to be a child?

Question

I am probably going to do burn a cd with different songs on it that I believe critisizes or represents the American Dream. I already have some ideas of song and artists to put on the cd.