Holden's plight derives from him simply being a misanthrope and or a hypocrite?

There are reasons why Holden thinks the way he thinks. He's like Jay Gatsby in the Great Gatsby. They are both so stuck in the past, and they can't accept change. Holden can't accept change, there's so many bad changes that has happened in his life, he doesn't want anymore. Allie's death is a big impact in his life, especially because he puts Allie up on a pedestal. He is constantly talking about Allie. In one of our discussion sessions, someone said that Phoebe is more mature than Holden because she has truly accepted the fact that Allie is dead. Holden still talks to himself and pretends to be talking to Allie. Also, when Holden is standing outside the museum he mentions he cannot go inside. He is scared that his perception of the museum of when he was a little kid will change. He might think the museum isn't as fascinating anymore and that magic has disappeared. He also tired of corruption and tarnishing the youth with filthy ideas. He doesn't want the younger generation to be corrupted, he likes the thought of remaining pure. He likes things to stay put, and it refers my other reason for Holden being depressed is that he doesn't like change. It's like people with OCD, one thing out of place, it upset them and it has to be put back exactly the way it was in the first place. Holden easily gets attached to those little moments that use to make him happy, and he can't learn to move on. I understand Holden's mindset because nostalgia drags me back to the past. Past filled with memories, that I wish that I can relive. But in a way if you think about it, the past made you the person you are today in the present. There's a reason why the past is the past and the present is the present.

Catcher in the Rye 10-26

Question 2b
“If a body catch a body coming through the rye.” The lyrics that the little boy sang were incorrect, but there’s so much content within the text. The song Comin’ thro the Rye, is portrayed around a girl, Jenny dragging her petticoat in the rye. I get a feeling that she is carrying her struggles and trying to set herself free. But the boy’s lyrics show that another person will catch another when they fall. It implies emotional support when someone is at the lowest point of in their life. It represents protection and comfort. Holden struggles so much with himself and the world. He feels suffocated with a world full of phony people. He hates disappointment and it hurts him even more when he disappoints the people he cares about. As soon, as he enters the city, he creates a list of people he can possibly talk to. He slowly crosses people off the list, and realizes that there’s no one. Then, he checks into a hotel all by himself and witness the evil part of the world where people spit cocktails at each other, and prostitution. It shows in the book that Holden has a soft spot for children. He doesn’t want them to witness the world as he does, and he wants to preserve their carefree childhood by being “the catcher in the rye.” He wants to shield them from the world’s hard, cold truths. To him kids are the most refreshing human beings. They will never be his definition of phony. They’re so oblivious to reality and have never been exposed to sex and mone

Catcher In the Rye Cover

My cover is not fully shown in the picture above. But this image I drew is of the Statue liberty holding a birdcage and ducks escaping from the cage and flying where they need to be. She’s also coming out of a filed of rye. The viewers are supposed to view it like they're looking up at the Statue of Liberty in order to see the ducks flying over her head. I chose the Statue of Liberty, not only because the book takes place in New York, but in the poem, Catcher in the Rye, it says, “She draigl't a' her petticoatie.” The Statue of Liberty has a garment of clothes that is draped all over her body that she has to drag around. The poem is about a girl named Jenny and I made the Statue of Liberty resemble Jenny. Her struggles to drag all her weight through the rye symbolize freedom. History tells us that the Statue of Liberty symbolizes independence and freedom. Liberty literally means freedom from external or foreign rule; independence. Instead of the torch I drew her holding a birdcage. In the book, Holden is constantly asking where the ducks go for winter. He’s looking for answers because he, himself, has nowhere to go and no idea what do with his life. He’s trying to find the light in the tunnel, and escape this imprisonment he’s feeling. I drew the ducks escaping and flying away from that imprisonment. The main theme of my cover is about freedom, getting past the stage of feeling imprisoned and never looking back.

Catcher in the Rye 1-9

Question 2d
This passage shows how much Holden cares for Jane. He thinks Stradlater doesn’t deserve an amazing girl like Jane. Jane triggers nostalgia for Holden, he misses all the times they spent together over the summer. He remembers all the little things about Jane and he feels like Stradlater wouldn’t appreciate them the way he does. I think Holden personally feels like he has to protect Jane and reserve the image of “a girl he can play checkers with.” She’s like a trophy in a case and Holden doesn’t want any smudges or fingerprints. I imagine Jane to be the saddest girl with the most beautiful smile when I read Holden’s descriptions of her. How she put all the kings in the back row signifies a barrier to protect her from something. In this case, this something is her stepfather. But now Jane is going on a date with a guy who Holden vividly remember taking advantage of another girl in the backseat. Stradlater was only interested in conversation about Jane’s stepfather walking around naked. Holden was annoyed that Stradlater took it as some kind of perverted joke. I think the reason why Holden was so nervous was because Stradlater knew how to get his way with girls. He knew the ugly side of Stradlater while Jane does not. He also knows that a lot of girls are interested in Stradlater’s good looks and he’s worried that Jane might fall for them as well. That’s why he used the term “sexy bastard”. Sexy is used as a compliment but bastard most of the time is used as a negative connotation. Stradlater has a dual personality. He has an ugly side who is a secret slob, and a charming side he shows to girls. This is passage also is a real world application, when you know someone does not deserve another person.

Coming Through The Rye

When I read this poem I imagine a very thin, pale girl with dark brown hair in a white silk petticoat that has been slightly torn, with stains along the bottom. She is drenched from head to toe, and her mascara has been smudged. If you saw her, you wouldn’t know if it was from the rain or her tears. She has scars and bruises scattered across her pale skin. The sky is grey, and Jenny is running across a meadow that has tall blades of grass brushing against her arms, irritating her skin. I imagine her face to be triumphant and for once in her life confident about the direction she is going. Her story goes about like this in my head. When growing up she had to live life with guidelines given to her by her parents and by age 18 her parents set up an arranged marriage to a much older, financially supportive man. Her scars and bruises came from herself and the man that she was forced to spend the rest of her life with. But then, one day she meets a young man, her age, that paints another image of the world that she has never looked at before. She gains the courage to stand up for herself, because she has finally come to realize that society’s opinion of her doesn’t matter. She runs away from the man she’s married to, so she can spend the rest of her life with her lover that is waiting for her on the other side of the meadow. This idea I got from when I read verse three, “gin a body meet a body comin thro’ the glen, gin a body kiss a body, need the warld ken?” Petticoats are usually worn underneath a garment of fancy dresses and when it describes this girl Jenny just wearing a petticoat, it can symbolize that she has thrown away all the burdens. Jenny is now free.

The Things They Carried

Prompt: What was taken away from whoever went inside the tunnel?
The men didn't feel confident because they were labeled weaker than someone like Henry Dobbins. Henry Dobbins is bigger than the rest. I think the word bigger shows off manliness. Society views men with muscles and a six pack. They're not supposed to be scared of anything, but then what are other reasons why these men are so scared besides not being accepted into society?
Inside this tunnel, everything is taken away from them. From the beginning everything is already taken away from them, because they're at war away from their loved ones. But to put them in another unfamiliar environment where its pitch black. It's almost like stripping them completely naked and making them feel vulnerable and transparent. They also have no sense of direction, and having a feeling where to go always makes you feel ten times better. Just the fact that you know where you're destination is means the journey is over. You can get out of the stage where you feel butterflies and goosebumps. Losing sight is something unimaginable to think about. The thought that you can't see the people around you, what's coming ahead of you, and also the thought of anything can happen in a flash is unsettling. All the men have is their bare two hands, but it won't help them with their fears. Feeling their way out is another frightful process. It's like the feeling where you put a blindfold around your face and stick your hand in a box. When we see an object, we automatically decide whether to touch it or not. But in this case when site is taken away, the ability to have a choice is very limited. Your screams will be muffled, and no one would ever know what's happening. It's a creepy thought.

Gryphon

Miss Ferenczi is such a bold character. She's so confident in everything she says and it seems like she's comfortable in her own skin. She is a quirky and quite interesting person with weird beliefs, but it is kind of risky putting weird beliefs into a young child's mind. This is the time where they develop and they are very vulnerable to silly lies such as Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. Some things she says aren't necessarily appropriate for the age she's teaching but others are quite interesting and fun to think about.

1. Six times eleven equals sixty-eight, if someone said that was true to me, as a child I would believe it. I have a very stubborn personality, so it would be hard later to grow up and realize that the answer was actually sixty-six. I would keep asking why and why and eventually it would lead to nowhere. That part was just confusing and irrelevant. Math has always been taught to be logical and find out accurate answers. It's not something you can have fun with. I wish it was fun; I think we all do, but messing around with a child's knowledge is simply cruel. Don't get me wrong I think I'd find it fascinating to have Miss Ferenczi as a teacher. I would love to hear all her adventurous stories, but how she twists around proven facts, things you just can't change, into lies would be confusing to a child.

2. I think the general idea that the author was trying to do was making Miss Ferenczi someone who would actually prepare the kids for the future and reality. I think sometimes adults never want to expose their kids to the real world, but we all have to face it sooner or later and you can't keep them hidden. But how she said death doesn't exist kind of contradicts the characters goal of exposing the kids to the real world. I'm not a very religious person, but everyone has different beliefs of what comes after death whether its heaven, hell, or reincarnation. I know one thing that is true, that we all die. That's all I ever knew to be true. The parts before and after death don't makes sense, but death is not something complicated. It's just a time where you let someone else live. It takes a long time to find out why I'm here and you always wonder where you go afterwards. It's also something my parents never tried to cover up and that's saying something.

3. I think it's nice that Miss Ferenczi exposed kids to a different religion other than Christianity. I know all my life whenever friends find out that I'm just not much of a religious person, they take me to church. Nobody was ever different and I think it's nice that she's giving kids more options to choose from and not just stick to something common. I was a Christian at one point but for the wrong reason. I just thought it was the right way to live just because it's the religion that I hear about the most. As I thought about it more and more I respected people's beliefs and how much they had faith in their high power. I just had a couple of disagreements and some parts just didn't make sense to me. Another part of me was saying, "No, why would so many people believe in this religion though?" I just thought I should just be open to many people's beliefs and listen before I decide to put my faith in it. I don't want to get my hopes up.