Holden Found Everywhere

'Better is one's own duty imperfectly carried out than

following perfectly the law of another.

Better is death in the fulfillment of one's own law,

for to follow another's law is perilous.'

-The Bhagavad-Gita

 

I believe that this quote is pushing for nonconformity.  It basically says it is better to do something your own way, than to follow some other person's way. It makes you your own person. It is better to dye as yourself, because following another's rules is dangerous to your identity. I think this relates to Holden because I feel he is afraid of losing himself in the world. I get the feeling that he doesn't want to be forgotten. Holden sees how easy it is to just live and die without being noticed. He starts the story with, "If you really want to hear about it..." (Salinger 1). Maybe he doesn't come right on and say it, but isn't that why people tell their story? So that others can learn from it? This way he can never be forgotten! I mean if we didn't want to "hear about it", why would we be reading the story anyway?

"'Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.' 
'Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it.'
Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it's a game, all right- I'll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren't any hot-shots, then what's a game about it? Nothing. No game" (Salinger 8). 

The way Holden talks, it's almost as if he has given up on the world. It's as if he sees no point because there is no way to win unless you play by the rules- which he does not want to do.

 

And I so hate consequences
And running from you is what my best defense is
Consequences
Oh God, don't make me face up to this
And I so hate consequences
And running from you is what my best defense is
Cause I know that I let you down
And I don't want to deal with that

It just now hit me this is more than just a set back
And when you spelled it out, well, I guess I didn't get that
And every trace of momentum is gone
And this isn't turning out the way I want

And after all of my alibis desert me
I just want to get by
I don't want nothing to hurt me
I had no idea where my head was at
But if my heart says I'm sorry can we leave it at that
Because I just want for all of this to end

Relient K- I So Hate Consequences ♫ ♪ 

 

This song is from an album I listen to when I am in a rebellious mood. The album is called MMHMM and it is song by the musical group Relient K. I think this song fits Holden perfectly. Right now, we know that he keeps getting kicked out of schools and does not seem to care about much of anything. He doesn't want to face anything for many reasons. I believe one is that he is scared to disappoint people, even though he is so self riotous and won't admit it. He won't tell his parents he got kicked out because he doesn't want to disappoint them again.

 

When I got tired of running from you
I stopped right there to catch my breath
There your words they caught my ears
You said, "I miss you son. Come home"
And my sins, they watched me leave
And in my heart I so believed
The love you felt for me was more than
The love I'd wished for all this time
And when the doors were closed
I heard no I told so's
I said the words I knew you knew
Oh God, Oh God I needed you
God all this time I needed you, I needed you

 

This line comes latter in the song. I think this is how Holden is feeling. We don't know much about Holden's parents maybe he lacks love from them. They may still be hurting from the loss of their other son, but maybe this is the reason Holden acts the way he does.

Something that Stuck..

We all hope to be different. We hope that we won't be like everyone else and just walk by when we see someone in need, leaving them for the next person to deal with. But when the time comes, what do we really do? When you walk the streets of Chicago and you see the overwhelming number of people in need, do you immediately pass judgments? If your first thought is that they are not your problem and that they put themselves in that position, then you are like so many others. This is something I thought I was above; however, chapter 13 of The Catcher in the Rye tested this for me. If you don't know (spoiler alert), in chapter 13, Holden hires a prostitute. I am sad to say this immediately made me think poorly of Holden. Without hearing the rest of the story, I had passed judgment on him as if he were not as admirable as I once imagined. Of course, I learned that Holden didn't do anything and that all he was looking for was company - even if he was not even consciously aware of this. So now I feel like I am no better than I once thought. While some will say it is a perfectly normal reaction, I can't help but wonder if my reaction makes me like all the rest. Is judgment something that is imbedded in us as we grow up here in America? Can it not be helped? It makes me long for the childhood days. The days were there was no such thing as prejudice, because the only thing that matters is whether or not this new person will play with you or not. Why can't we all have this childhood innocence?

Holden Through my Eyes

    Holden Caulfield is a very interesting character! In many stories, the author creates a character that can be very annoying. Have you ever read a book that you just had to put down because you couldn't handle the way the character acted? Or the decisions that they made? If not, let me tell you that it can get very frustrating! As I am reading this book, I have found that the good and the bad in Holden make him seem more like a real person! He swears an awful lot. Sometimes I feel that it is unnecessary sometimes; however, teens today have their own type of slang as well. He is over dramatic and judgmental, but he is also the type of person that notices the little things! "I mean when she was talking and she got excited about something, her mouth sort of went in about fifty directions, her lips and all" (Salinger 77). If you are just having a conversation with someone, you would not notice things such as this. Holden does. He is also very thoughtful! He always comes back to the same things. For example, Jane keeps coming to his mind. He thinks about things like them playing checkers together and hanging out on her front porch.

Chapter 5, Grief

     After reading chapter five, Holden almost seems more real to me. His reaction to his brother's death does not surprise me. "I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddamn windows with my fist, just for the hell of it" (Salinger 39). I cannot even imagine what I would do if I lost one of my siblings. They say there are different stages of grief, don't they? We all go through these stages in our life when grief comes to us. I think it is worse for people if they try to hold everything in! In a way you are harming yourself by doing this. The emotions have to come out at some point and the build up can result in unpleasantness for everyone! His reaction was one of anger and loss. He may have been feeling terrible because he couldn't do anything to help his brother. The feeling of helplessness built up in him for so long that when he finally died, it all came out. I think the fact that he broke is hand does not really upset him. It serves as a kind of a remembrance to him about his brothers death. He will always have his screwed up hand, right?

The Catcher in the Rye (Chapter 2,3, & 4)

    After reading these chapters of the Catcher in the Rye, I think that I like Holden. He seems like a very interesting kid! We don’t know much about what the story is or what happens to him so I cannot really say whether this judgment will last; however, as far as first impressions go, I think I will rather enjoy him. He seems to be a pretty typical teenager. We know that he is rebellious because he smokes and he is getting kicked out of his school. It makes me wonder if he doesn’t care or if maybe he is just lacking attention.
    Through the many things that he talks about, I find that I can empathize with him. We share many of the same opinions, such as our feelings for books. “What really knocks me out is a book that when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it” (Salinger 18). I don’t like that he seems to not do what he wants. He thinks things through a lot from what I can tell. “‘I oughta go down and say hello to her, at least.’
    ‘Why the hell don’tcha, instead of keep saying it?’ Stradlanter said.” (Salinger 32-33). I am told that I do this as well, and I now see how annoying it can be. Maybe we have more in common than I suspected!

Dream Big

     For Arnold, I feel that dreaming means anything is possible.  When I reread chapters two and three, I noticed that Arnold seems to be trapped in this world that he didn't get himself into and can't get himself out of.  This is when he turns to drawing. When he draws, it's almost as if he is drawing a different world.  A world where life can be happy for the readers. A world where dreams can come true. 
     I also believe this; that dreams can lead you into an entire different world.  For me though, that world exists in books and how I interpret them. When I read a book, I'm basically shut out from the world.  In books the possibilities are endless. 
     I feel that Arnold would say "why not?" to the quote "dream big".  For him, dreams are possibilities.  Why not think of the possible and not the impossible?
     Depending on how strong of a person you are, your dreams can depend a lot on others.  If you are the kind of person that is not very confident, your dreams will probably get shoot down right back in your face.  But if you are a person with confidence, it won't matter what other people think about anything. Let them think what they want to think. DO NOT let them get to you because when you let that happen, that's when you give up on your dreams.  Be the person you want to be. 

The American Teenager

The American teenager is free.  They have their entire life in front of them.  The teenage years are a very important period in a person's life.  It's a time to experiment with many different things; however, if he or she is not careful, it can also be dangerous.  While the teen can go anywhere and do anything with their life, they must choose wisely.  We are all different.  You cannot peg the American teenager to behaving one certain way.  He or she is unique.  Some are born to be leaders and some followers, but we are free.