Roar Post #2: The Cathcer in The Rye

summary


Holden starts out his walk leaving Pencey talking to a women he meets at the train station. He would quikly find out she is the mother of one of his schoolmates, a much hated boy he hints. However, Holden does not admit his dislike of Ernest. He instead, goes on a rampage of lies abotu how much of a wonderful person Ernest is. Holden would later arrive in Penn station, take a cab to a local hotel, and go to a party in the lavender Room. Before he ehads to the Lavender Room, he remebers his little sister, Phoebe. He refers to her as "Old Phoebe"(like he does with most people). He compliments her intelligence and kindness. For some reason this is the first tiem he mentions Phoebe, he did not mention Phoebe at all during his reminiscence of Allie. Holden would meet up with three women he was eyeing during his stay in the Lavender Room. He remarked that one looked okay, and the other two were guly. He danced with each of them, and always talked about their dancing. It was obvious he truly did not find anyone of them truly attractive. Holden would also refers to their conversations as dull and dry. He would later leave the Lavender Room minutes after the three ladies left and head to his room.
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Sex is something I really don't understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away. Last year I made a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in the ass. I broke it, though, the same week I made it - the same night, as a matter of fact(Salinger 63).

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Holden is a teenage boy. He has a natrual interest in women, however he has a weird interest. He doesnt seem to have a praticular type, but he seems very picky. This quote however contridicts his thoughts of women. In this quote he seems more horny instead of his complex way of thinking. He is driven by emotion and chemicals, although he constantly portrays himself as a complex person, someone most people wouldnt understand. He also tries to portray himslef above adults and teenagers, as if he is the only sane person in the world. But he only ends up looking childish in the end, and more specifically like a teenager.

Reaction to The Catcher in the Rye

Summary
Holden is the main character of the book. He plainly states t the reader he has no intention of sharing his childhood. He is also a proven potty mouth; he swears a lot and repeats them endlessly after every single page. At first he talks as if he doesn’t care about anything, as if he doesn’t care about life, school, his parents, anything. However, when Jane was brought up, Holden seemed a bit nervous (Jane was once a friend of Holden’s years ago). Holden was obviously jealous of his roommate, Stradlater, because of his “relationship” with Jane. Holden was intensely angry at Stradlater, and tried to fight him. After his feud with Stradlater, Holden decided to leave Pencey; a boarding school he was going to but would be kicked out on Wednesday. The main question left unanswered about Holden is, why is he such an angry and unhappy person?
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“I’m pretty illiterate but I love to read” (Salinger 18).

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Throughout the chapters I read, I have realized Holden has a passion for English. He even indirectly states he is an English wiz by quoting Stradlater. It seems like reading and writing is his, but he’s not the only one that shares this passion. Holden’s older brother and younger brother have this passion. Holden’s older brother is a writer, and Archie (his younger brother) used to write poems on his base-ball mitt. But the word that still throws me off of this theory is the word “illiterate.” I’m assuming Holden has received a decent education, with his father being a Governor, his brother being a writer, and his education at a boarding school.