Holden and Young people

Holden is a huge fan of younger kids... they are the only people in the book that he doesnt consider phony. When hes talkin to Phoebe about being the catcher in the rye, and that he will catch all the kids before they fall off. He's trying to say that he will help them and keep them from being adults and becoming phony. He thinks that when you become an adult you turn into a phony person, and thats why he loves kids because they are still young and innocent and he doesnt want them to get older and become phony so hes going to try and change everyone and keep them from changing, and he still wishes he could be young like them and not have to worry about all the adult situations and problems that occur when your an adult.

Character analysis

Luce- When Holden thinks about goin to see Luce he stats off really excited, because he remembers back during school when Luce told Holden and other younger guys different stories and things about sex. When Holden finally goes to see Luce things have changed a lot and Luce has grown up a little big and gets a little annoyed by Holden. He tells Holden that he should get psycoanalysed by his dad, and that really makes Holden mad. Luce i think is an important character in the story because after this year I when he tells Holden he needs to be analysed Holden starts to realize maybe he should and it could eventually lead to Holden realizing he might be crazy or coming out and finally admitting it.

My thoughts on Holden now...

After reading this far, I began to realize that Holden i think is scared of change and also the way he is acting and the things he is doing is just a way to escape from his problems or problems that keep coming back up like the death of his younger brother. We think Holden is a little strange because hes an outsider but really i think he likes being the outsider and thats why he doesn't try to hard to change it. He likes not having to deal with anything and just being able to watch and observe everyone else, and him being an outsider is just the way he deals with his problems.

Quote of Holden's

"Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone."

- What Holden is tryin to say here is that he doesn't want his life to change. He doesn't necessarily like how it is going right now but he wouldnt change it for something else. I think he is also trying to say that he wishes he could just pause time and stay in his childhood forever so that he wont ever have responsibilities and he can always be free and careless like he has been doing right now. He thinks that when you get into adulthood you become phony and i dont think Holden wants that to happen to him so thats what he is saying in this quote is that he wants life to stay exactly like it is now so he wont get older and can always be a child.

Childhood or Adulthood

Holden can't decide if he wants to be an adult or a child, hes right on the border of both and he keeps jumping over to the different sides every other minute. One minute he will say he doesnt need anyone and he can live on his own in New York like he has been doing, but the other minute he is making up a false name for no reason and making up stories to tell people that are talking to him and being nice to him. I don't think Holden really thinks to much about his actions, and is just living his life carelessly so he doesnt really have to many responsibilities, but also he is acting old enough so it seems like he can be on his own and he doesnt need anyone to watch over him or help him out in any way...

Post #3

Impression of Holden After Chapter 5:

- After reading chapter 5 my impression changed a little bit on Holden. I was starting to think that he was a little strange and he might actually have something wrong with him but when he is writing that paper for his roommate Stradlater, he starts to tell a story about his brother who seemed like the perfect kid. The way he talks about him seems like Holden really liked his brother and loved having him as one. He tells you that his brother then died from being sick, and that night Holden slept in the garage and broke out all of the windows in the garage. He said his parents wanted to get him psycoanalysed, but even though he doesn't really admit it I think the reason he broke those windows was because of the death of his brother. He must have really cared for his brother and for him to all the sudden die really messed with his head. So after readding chapter 5 I think Holden is just misunderstood, and the death of his younger brother just messed with him alot and he just stopped caring anymore. His brother was a perfect student and all and look what hapened to him so he doesn't see a point in trying if that could just happen to him too...

Post #2

First Impressions of Holden:

- My first impression is that I think he is just a really laid back kind of guy. He doesn't really care what people think about him hes just living his life the way he wants too. He doesn't seem to really want to try to hard when it comes to school which I feel the same way! He probably could do well in school if he put in the effort to do the stuff he needed too. He seems like he doesn't really go out to try to make new friends he is fine with being alone and by himself, but he is a pretty nice guy to his roommate and Ackley. In all i don't really have a problem with him so far and he seems pretty normal except for in the reading it seems like he talks to himself alot and thats a little bit weird...