"Sometimes I horse around quite a lot, just to keep from getting bored. What I did was, I pulled the old peak of my hunting hat around to the front, then pulled it way down over my eyes. that way I couldn't see a goddam thing."I think I'm going blind," I said in this very hoarse voice. "(pg.35)
Context:
Holden Caulden, a Pencey Prep student tells us about the boring school routines, environment, and roommates. In Chapter 3, Holden narrates to us about how in the times he is most bored, he horses around like with Ackley. This was seen when he talked about his fooling around habits in the quote above. From the perspective of Holden, he is bored easily and finds ways to kill time by daydreaming and acting as another character.
Response/Reflection-Intertextual Connection:
This reminds me of a movie called The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. In the movie, Walter Mitty the main character is stuck having a boring life and job. Every day, he has the same routine and boring tasks. To compensate and change up his lifestyle, he inhabits a world of daydreaming, where he is always the hero in them. This way, Walter can escape his boredom and his daily routines as he spends his monotonous days at a publication, developing photos. Walter Mitty lives in a society, where he feels like there's no new adventure, with his job being a cycle of work, sleep and eat. With Holden, it is similar as the prep school prepares him but also limits the adventure and creative mind, changing his and other's mindsets.
Holden and Walter are trapped in their own, prisons of boredom and the only way for them to escape is by going to their imaginary world of their mind. They seek their adventure and creativity in order to stop them from going "insane". In both their societies, their main pattern is a repetitive cycle in order to reach their goals. Personally, I think living in any society whatsoever is suppose to be enjoying the most out of life and being successful and reaching their dreams. However, in these scenarios, its the opposite for these characters, as they must escape to their own worlds to enjoy these features. In Pencey Prep, they want prestigious students and in the society of Walter, the people are stuck in a cycle of working, basically having no fun. In the end, they will eventually veer off course as it is too much to bare. From this idea, could the boring environment and the horsing around also be why Holden left his past schools?
Quote #2.
"We always had the same meal on Saturday nights at Pencey. It was suppose to be a big deal, because they gave you steak. I'll bet a thousand bucks the reason they did that was because a lot of guys' parents came up to school on Sunday..."(pg.40)
Context:
In Pencey Prep, Holden discusses the dinner routine, where he continues with talking about how phony the school was when he talks about the food in the quote above. In this context, Holden talks about how the school, Pencey only treats the students to good food only when the parents come. The school tries to trick the parents into thinking that it is an excellent school for their kids. Holden explains how the school is phony, where they act fake in a way to keep a good reputation in the perspective of others.
Response/Reflection-Extratextual Connection:
This reminds me of a text to world connection, connecting back to world war two history. Just before World War 2, Ghettos-Jewish quarter/sections were established, to segregate the Jewish from the rest of society. At that time, the Red Cross wanted to see the conditions of the area where the Jewish had to live, specifically a place called Theresienstadt. The Germans invited them to visit, but it was all a hoax. Before they had arrived, the Germans had made the place look nicer by painting buildings, adding flowers and having social events. In the end, the Red Cross was tricked into thinking it was a suitable place. In the situation of the Red Cross, it showed that they were gullible enough to believe that the Germans treated the Jewish well when they segregated them. The Red Cross gained their "trust" and allowed the formation of Ghettos to continue. After the world saw what was actually happening, actions were taken.
This is similar to the case of Pencey Prep where similarily, the parents were tricked into thinking that the school was a great place for the kids. They were thought to be served excellent food, which would make them this the school was a prestigious place. The school is risking a lie to make the parents trust the school and gain a good reputation. In life, the idea of being "fake", or phony results in people disliking the character, as they are no longer credible. These types of people are looked down upon as they could be putting on a show, while their true intents are hidden. This is displayed in both scenarios where one side tricks the other, risking the consequence that could uprise. Wouldn't the school suffer consequences for their actions if the parents found out? Does the school weigh gaining parents trust more than the risk of losing their prestigious reputation?
Quote #3.
"I had to pack these brand-new ice skates my mother had practically just sent me a couple of days before. That depressed me. I could see my mother going in Spaulding's and asking the salesman a million dopy questions—and here I was getting the ax again."(pg.58)
Context:
Holden Caulfield continues to narrate when he was involved in a fight with his roommate Stradlater. After all the pressure he encountered, it caused him to leave early than on the scheduled day. Holden packs up his belongings quickly and stumbles upon his ice skates, which led to him saying the quote above. He says how he received a gift of skates from his mom and that made him feel guilty as he feels like he didn't deserve the reward because he was failing school. The idea that he was failing school and that his parents didn't know that he was also expelled, meant that he knew they would be disappointed.
Response/Reflection-Personal Connection:
This situation connects to a scenario that occurred to me, a text to self connection. The scenario happened in 4th grade when I received back a math test, and I received a score of less than 50%. After getting home, I found out that my parents had bought me a telescope. That day, I felt like I didn't deserve the gift from them because I brought home disappointment where I was in the situation where I had not studied for a test and my parents have worked so hard to come to Canada and raise me here. Which led me to think about their effort and how these results were not what they wanted. Then after they bought me a gift for me unknowingly, it worsened the idea that I disappointed them and that I did not deserve it.
This is similar to how Holden felt guilty about getting a gift as he was not doing so well in school, so there was no point in rewarding him. The idea of getting a gift relates to rewarding a particular person for his or her actions. Getting a gift is supposed to make them feel good about themselves. However, when the person doesn't deserve it, it emphasizes the sadness because someone spent money or time to get you a gift when you have done the opposite of accomplishment. This type of problem mostly occurs when people do not reach the standards of others. This is common amongst parents and children where the children do not meet standards like Holden, or also relevant amongst friends, where one gift could be better than the other. With the idea in mind of not reaching standards of another. Will Holden change his ways so that he will not feel guilty anymore? Why didn't he change his ways earlier?
Holden and Walter are trapped in their own, prisons of boredom and the only way for them to escape is by going to their imaginary world of their mind. They seek their adventure and creativity in order to stop them from going "insane". In both their societies, their main pattern is a repetitive cycle in order to reach their goals. Personally, I think living in any society whatsoever is suppose to be enjoying the most out of life and being successful and reaching their dreams. However, in these scenarios, its the opposite for these characters, as they must escape to their own worlds to enjoy these features. In Pencey Prep, they want prestigious students and in the society of Walter, the people are stuck in a cycle of working, basically having no fun. In the end, they will eventually veer off course as it is too much to bare. From this idea, could the boring environment and the horsing around also be why Holden left his past schools?
 |
| The photo above shows jail cell bars being broken out of, representing the idea of escaping. This picture represents the idea of how Holden and Walter Mitty escape their daily boring routines and life. They escape to their own world of fun, as in both of their situations, their creativity is limited and are restrained to only do work like a jail cell, but when they horse around, that's when they escape from the jail. |
Quote #2.
"We always had the same meal on Saturday nights at Pencey. It was suppose to be a big deal, because they gave you steak. I'll bet a thousand bucks the reason they did that was because a lot of guys' parents came up to school on Sunday..."(pg.40)
Context:
In Pencey Prep, Holden discusses the dinner routine, where he continues with talking about how phony the school was when he talks about the food in the quote above. In this context, Holden talks about how the school, Pencey only treats the students to good food only when the parents come. The school tries to trick the parents into thinking that it is an excellent school for their kids. Holden explains how the school is phony, where they act fake in a way to keep a good reputation in the perspective of others.
Response/Reflection-Extratextual Connection:
This reminds me of a text to world connection, connecting back to world war two history. Just before World War 2, Ghettos-Jewish quarter/sections were established, to segregate the Jewish from the rest of society. At that time, the Red Cross wanted to see the conditions of the area where the Jewish had to live, specifically a place called Theresienstadt. The Germans invited them to visit, but it was all a hoax. Before they had arrived, the Germans had made the place look nicer by painting buildings, adding flowers and having social events. In the end, the Red Cross was tricked into thinking it was a suitable place. In the situation of the Red Cross, it showed that they were gullible enough to believe that the Germans treated the Jewish well when they segregated them. The Red Cross gained their "trust" and allowed the formation of Ghettos to continue. After the world saw what was actually happening, actions were taken.
This is similar to the case of Pencey Prep where similarily, the parents were tricked into thinking that the school was a great place for the kids. They were thought to be served excellent food, which would make them this the school was a prestigious place. The school is risking a lie to make the parents trust the school and gain a good reputation. In life, the idea of being "fake", or phony results in people disliking the character, as they are no longer credible. These types of people are looked down upon as they could be putting on a show, while their true intents are hidden. This is displayed in both scenarios where one side tricks the other, risking the consequence that could uprise. Wouldn't the school suffer consequences for their actions if the parents found out? Does the school weigh gaining parents trust more than the risk of losing their prestigious reputation?
 |
| The mask represents the idea of hiding one's identity. It is often seen in movies and theatrical plays, where the mask conceals the person's true self, or in movies, the masks trick people into thinking they are someone else. The mask is a good example to depict the quote and connection as people are tricked into thinking a place is better than it actually is. |
Quote #3.
"I had to pack these brand-new ice skates my mother had practically just sent me a couple of days before. That depressed me. I could see my mother going in Spaulding's and asking the salesman a million dopy questions—and here I was getting the ax again."(pg.58)
Context:
Holden Caulfield continues to narrate when he was involved in a fight with his roommate Stradlater. After all the pressure he encountered, it caused him to leave early than on the scheduled day. Holden packs up his belongings quickly and stumbles upon his ice skates, which led to him saying the quote above. He says how he received a gift of skates from his mom and that made him feel guilty as he feels like he didn't deserve the reward because he was failing school. The idea that he was failing school and that his parents didn't know that he was also expelled, meant that he knew they would be disappointed.
Response/Reflection-Personal Connection:
This situation connects to a scenario that occurred to me, a text to self connection. The scenario happened in 4th grade when I received back a math test, and I received a score of less than 50%. After getting home, I found out that my parents had bought me a telescope. That day, I felt like I didn't deserve the gift from them because I brought home disappointment where I was in the situation where I had not studied for a test and my parents have worked so hard to come to Canada and raise me here. Which led me to think about their effort and how these results were not what they wanted. Then after they bought me a gift for me unknowingly, it worsened the idea that I disappointed them and that I did not deserve it.
This is similar to how Holden felt guilty about getting a gift as he was not doing so well in school, so there was no point in rewarding him. The idea of getting a gift relates to rewarding a particular person for his or her actions. Getting a gift is supposed to make them feel good about themselves. However, when the person doesn't deserve it, it emphasizes the sadness because someone spent money or time to get you a gift when you have done the opposite of accomplishment. This type of problem mostly occurs when people do not reach the standards of others. This is common amongst parents and children where the children do not meet standards like Holden, or also relevant amongst friends, where one gift could be better than the other. With the idea in mind of not reaching standards of another. Will Holden change his ways so that he will not feel guilty anymore? Why didn't he change his ways earlier?
 |
| The coal represents the idea of not deserving something from a person. Coal is associated with Santa Claus and Christmas, where coal is given to kids who are naughty and undeserving of gifts. This represents Holden feeling that he doesn't deserve the gift from his mom or anyone because he does poorly in school and is getting kicked out.
Works Cited
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. Print.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Dir. Ben Stiller. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2013. Film.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "Theresienstadt: Red Cross Visit." United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web.
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