Quote 1:
"You take a guy like Morrow that's always snapping their towel at people's asses-really trying to hurt somebody with it- they don't just stay a rat while they're a kid. They stay a rat their whole life. But I'll bet, after all the crap I shot, Mrs. Morrow'll keep thinking of him now as this very shy, modest guy that wouldn't let us nominate him for president. " (p.64)
Context:
After Holden gets into a fight with Stradlater, he boards a night train to get away from Pencey Prep earlier. On the train, he meets Mrs. Morrow, who is the mother of Ernest Morrow, who Holden and his classmates dispises because he caused trouble. Holden wanted to have some fun by lying to Mrs.Morrow about her son and lied about all the great things that he has done. Mrs. Morrow talks about how her son was too sensitive and shy with others. To keep Mrs. Morrow's idea of her son good, Holden lies to make her feel good by giving her what she wants, her son being a good modest boy who is shy.
Response/Reflection- Personal Connection:
This quote reminds me about a situation that happened in my elementary school years. This occurrence was when I was at my friends house on a rainy day. My friend was unique where he was different when was at home and when he was with his friends. At home, he was like a perfect kid, who didn't get in trouble, however, with his friends like me, he was crazy and energetic. At the house, there was a patio with a tarp roof over the patio, protecting it from the rain. The tarp was sagging, filling up with water and he decides to play with the water in the tarp. A couple of pokes later, the tarp ripped, spilling water onto him and a big hole in the tarp. Later, his parents come out and they asked me what happened. I lied and said the weight of the water was too much and it broke on its own. I protected my friends from getting in trouble and I prevented his parents from thinking differently of him.
In both cases, it shows similar features where Holden and I both lied to keep someone happy. I kept my friend and his parents happy and Holden kept Mrs. Morrow happy, preventing her from learning the truth, which would've devasted her. From this, I believe that lying is an important part of society where if everyone told the truth, the world wouldn't be seen as a nice place to be in. However, lying is only good when it is for a good reason such as delaying the suffering of someone or lying out of kindness. Lying is good, for those reasons which were represented in the connection and quote. Then if people lie for good reasons sometimes, why does Holden think of people who lie as phonies, if he lies too? Will he change his mind about what he thinks about phonies?
Quote 2:
"The first thing I did when I got off at Penn Station, I went into this phone booth. I felt like giving somebody a buzz. I left my bags right outside the booth so that I could watch them, but as soon as I was inside, I couldn't think of anybody to call up." (p.66)
Context:
When Holden arrived at his station in chapter 9, he immediately wanted to communicate with others. He had just left Pencey Prep, to leave the phonies and to let his parents hear the news before he comes home. Continuing on, Holden tries to think of people to call, but he cannot because it would lead to trouble or they weren't helpful to him, as they were phonies. This scenario shows how Holden is helpless and lonesome, as he is unable to talk to anybody and cannot get help.
Response/Reflection-Intertextual Connection:
I think this is similar to the text to text connection, connecting this situation with Holden with the TedTalk video about people suffering depression. The TedTalk video listed as Confessions of a depressed comic by Kevin Breel. He talked about himself and about how other people in the world who suffer depression would avoid seeking help because society just looks away as a real problem occurs. The ones who suffer depression don't know how to cope with the problem, so they ignore it thinking that it would go away later. Kevin talks about how there's the stigma towards depression, where it is seen as unattractive and shows a negative type of nature. People who suffer depression would not want to tell others, as they fear that they would be looked down upon or rejected. He talks about how it was something that people who suffer it would not want to involve others.
This general world situation is similar to Holden where his situation represents the idea that he feels lonely as he cannot go find others for help they are either phony and do not want to associate with them or he does not want to involve his loved ones. He is protecting his family, especially his mother from knowing that he was kicked out of Pencey Prep because it would hurt her idea of her son. With the TedTalk, they share similar ideas of loneliness and that they feel helpless. They talk about the ideas of being depressed and how depression leads to them isolating themselves. However, in the end, it can be too much to bare for people suffering depression, which could be similar with Holden with his family. Would Holden try to go back to his family, because he can't take the mental thought about seeing them again?
Quote 3:
"She's really smart. I mean shes's had all A's ever since she started school. As a matter of fact, I'm the only dumb one in the family. My brother D.B.'s a writer and all and my brother Allie, the one that died, that I told you about, was a wizard."(p.75)
Context:
When Holden was staying at the Edmont Hotel, he contemplated about calling his little sister, Phoebe. He talks about the excellent characteristics about her. Then he realizes that in his entire family, that he was the only dumb one. This quote represents his feeling of being out of place. It displays how he feels alone and misses his family. From realizing that he is not intelligent compared to his other family members, he thinks they don't miss him. Holden stays away from his family as he doesn't feel wanted.
Response/Reflection- Intertextual Connection:
This situation and quote remind me of the animated movie Frozen by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. In Frozen, there are two main characters, Anna and Elsa. They are sisters, however, Elsa has powers that turn anything she touches into ice. After she injured her sister using her powers, she chooses to suppress her powers, hiding it from everyone, instead of mastering it. However, when a mishap occurs, bringing winter to the city and people find out about her powers, she runs away, as she is out of place compared to everyone else. She thinks that she has hurt everyone enough and that they all hated her, so she isolates herself from everyone even her loved ones. Even though she misses them, she would not risk hurting them anymore.
In both situations, the main character's Elsa and Holden are ashamed about who they are as they are outliers of the groups. They feel like they don't belong so they both "run away" and isolate themselves from their loved ones and friends. I think that whenever you are left out in a group because you don't fit it, it lowers your ego and makes you ashamed. With being ashamed in mind, it can alter how they feel about themselves and keep a disconnection. Thus, from this idea, Holden thinks he does not fit in with the family, does that this will make him look for new people to befriend? Does this mean that he will change his ways so that he will feel accepted?
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| This picture shows a duck with a group of swans. This photo represents the general plot and the ideas of the quote, about being different compared to the rest of the group. In the book, Holden (the duck) would try to fit in with the rest (the swans), but in the end, they would think differently. Holden is lonesome and isolates himself in the chapters 8-11, which is represented by the photo(he is one of his own kind). |
Works Cited
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. Print.
Frozen. Dir. Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. Disney/Pixar, 2014. Film.
Kevin Breel | Confessions of a Depressed Comic. Dir. Kevin Breel. Confessions of a Depressed
Comic. TED, May 2013. Web.
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